英语听书《白鲸记》第699期

 It is plain, then, that phrenologically the head of this Leviathan, in the creature's living intact state, is an entire delusion¹. 于是，很明白，从骨相学上说来，在大鲸活着而毫无损伤的时候，它的头就全然是一种使人迷惑的东西。

As for his true brain, you can then see no indications of it, nor feel any. 至于它的真正的头脑，你根本就一点也找不到什么迹象，一点也觉察不到。

The whale, like all things that are mighty², wears a false brow to the common world. 跟凡是伟大的一切东西一样，大鲸也是对人间戴起一副假面具的。

If you unload his skull³ of its spermy heaps and then take a rear view of its rear end, which is the high end, 如果你拿掉了它脑壳里那些鲸油块，然后，打它后边（也就是它那隆起的地方）看一看它的后形，

you will be struck by its resemblance to the human skull, beheld⁴ in the same situation, and from the same point of view. 那么，它那跟你从同样角度、同样观点来看人类的后脑而结果却是完全相似的情况，一定会教你大吃一惊。

Indeed, place this reversed skull (scaled down to the human magnitude) among a plate of men's skulls⁵, and you would involuntarily confound it with them; 老实说，如果把这只倒置的脑壳（把它缩得跟人类的脑壳一般大小）放在装有许多人类脑壳的一只器皿里，你准会不自觉地把它跟人头混淆不清；

and remarking the depressions on one part of its summit, in phrenological phrase you would say—This man had no self-esteem, and no veneration⁶. 同时，看到它脑顶那地方的凹处后，你准会照骨相学的术语说——这家伙是毫无自尊心，毫无虔敬心的了。

And by those negations, considered along with the affirmative fact of his prodigious⁷ bulk and power, 而你把这些否定的断语，跟它那巨大的躯干和威力的肯定的事实一起考虑一下的话，你自己就会对那具有最高的威力的道理所在，

you can best form to yourself the truest, though not the most exhilarating conception of what the most exalted⁸ potency⁹ is. 出乎意料地得出虽然不是最痛快的然而却是最正确的概念来。

But if from the comparative dimensions of the whale's proper brain, 不过，如果你从原来的鲸脑的相当容积上，

you deem it incapable¹⁰ of being adequately charted, then I have another idea for you. 还认为不能对它获得适当的轮廓的话，那么，我给你另外出个主意。

If you attentively¹¹ regard almost any quadruped's spine¹², 如果你对差不多任何一种四足动物的背脊都留心地注意一下，

you will be struck with the resemblance of its vertebrae to a strung necklace of dwarfed¹³ skulls, all bearing rudimental resemblance to the skull proper. 那么，就它那脊骨跟一串结在项链里的许多缩小的脑壳，全都跟发育不全的正式的脑壳极相仿佛这一点说来，又要叫你大吃一惊了。

1 delusion   

n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑

参考例句：

• He is under the delusion that he is Napoleon.他患了妄想症，认为自己是拿破仑。
• I was under the delusion that he intended to marry me.我误认为他要娶我。

2 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

3 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

4 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

5 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

6 veneration   

n.尊敬，崇拜

参考例句：

• I acquired lasting respect for tradition and veneration for the past.我开始对传统和历史产生了持久的敬慕。
• My father venerated General Eisenhower.我父亲十分敬仰艾森豪威尔将军。

7 prodigious   

adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• This business generates cash in prodigious amounts.这种业务收益丰厚。
• He impressed all who met him with his prodigious memory.他惊人的记忆力让所有见过他的人都印象深刻。

8 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

9 potency   

n. 效力，潜能

参考例句：

• Alcohol increases the drug's potency.酒精能增加这种毒品的效力。
• Sunscreen can lose its potency if left over winter in the bathroom cabinet.如果把防晒霜在盥洗室的壁橱里放一个冬天，就有可能失效。

10 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

11 attentively   

adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神

参考例句：

• She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

13 dwarfed   

vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The old houses were dwarfed by the huge new tower blocks. 这些旧房子在新建的高楼大厦的映衬下显得十分矮小。
• The elephant dwarfed the tortoise. 那只乌龟跟那头象相比就显得很小。 来自《简明英汉词典》