英语听书《白鲸记》第725期

 Chapter 83 Jonah Historically Regarded 第八十三章 从历史上看约拿

Reference was made to the historical story of Jonah and the whale in the preceding chapter. 关于约拿和大鲸的史实，前一章已经提到了。

Now some Nantucketers rather distrust this historical story of Jonah and the whale. 现在有些南塔开特人还是不大相信约拿和大鲸的这番史实。

But then there were some sceptical Greeks and Romans, who, standing¹ out from the orthodox pagans of their times, 不过，还有一些持怀疑论的希腊人和罗马人，他们坚持他们当时那种传统的邪端异说，

equally doubted the story of Hercules and the whale, and Arion and the dolphin; 对海格立斯与大鲸，对阿赖翁与海豚的传说同样表示坚决怀疑；

and yet their doubting those traditions did not make those traditions one whit² the less facts, for all that. 可是，尽管如此，他们之怀疑这些传说，丝毫没有使这些传说不能成为事实。

One old Sag-Harbor whaleman's chief reason for questioning the Hebrew story was this: 有一个萨格港的老捕鲸人，他驳斥这个希伯来故事的主要理由是这样的：

He had one of those quaint³ old-fashioned Bibles, embellished⁴ with curious, unscientific plates; 他有一本古色古香的《圣经》，里面有好些希奇古怪、缺乏科学根据的插图，

one of which represented Jonah's whale with two spouts⁵ in his head, 其中，有一幅画着约拿那条大鲸，头上长有两个喷水孔，

a peculiarity⁶ only true with respect to a species of the Leviathan(the Right Whale, and the varieties of that order), 就大鲸（露脊鲸和各类鲸）的种类说来，所显现的特点是再正确也没有的了，

concerning which the fishermen have this saying, "A penny roll would choke him"; his swallow is so very small. 关于这一种鲸，捕鱼人向来有这种说法："一个一分钱的馒头也会把它哽死；"说明它的食道很小。

But, to this, Bishop⁷ Jebb's anticipative answer is ready. 但是，在这一点上，哲布主教早就有现成的预示式的答案。

It is not necessary, hints the Bishop, that we consider Jonah as tombed in the whale's belly⁸, but as temporarily lodged⁹ in some part of his mouth. 这个主教说，我们不必认为约拿是葬身于鲸腹中，他不过是暂时呆在鲸嘴的什么地方而已。

And this seems reasonable enough in the good Bishop.  这个善良的主教所说的话，看来倒是颇为合理。

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 whit   

n.一点，丝毫

参考例句：

• There's not a whit of truth in the statement.这声明里没有丝毫的真实性。
• He did not seem a whit concerned.他看来毫不在乎。

3 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

4 embellished   

v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色

参考例句：

• The door of the old church was embellished with decorations. 老教堂的门是用雕饰美化的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The stern was embellished with carvings in red and blue. 船尾饰有红色和蓝色的雕刻图案。 来自辞典例句

5 spouts   

n.管口( spout的名词复数 )；（喷出的）水柱；（容器的）嘴；在困难中v.（指液体）喷出( spout的第三人称单数 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水

参考例句：

• A volcano spouts flame and lava. 火山喷出火焰和岩浆。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The oil rushes up the tube and spouts up as a gusher. 石油会沿着钢管上涌，如同自喷井那样喷射出来。 来自辞典例句

6 peculiarity   

n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖

参考例句：

• Each country has its own peculiarity.每个国家都有自己的独特之处。
• The peculiarity of this shop is its day and nigth service.这家商店的特点是昼夜服务。

7 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

8 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

9 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》