英语听书《白鲸记》第753期

 Broad on both bows, at the distance of some two or three miles, and forming a great semicircle, 这时，在船头两侧、相距两三英里的海面上，有一个大半圆形，

embracing one half of the level horizon, a continuous chain of whale-jets were up-playing and sparkling in the noon-day air. 环抱着半个水平面，原来是络绎不绝的一串大鲸的喷水，正在午刻的空中光闪闪的向上迸射着。

Unlike the straight perpendicular¹ twin-jets of the Right Whale, which, dividing at top, 它跟露脊鲸的笔直的双喷水不同，露脊鲸的双喷水喷出来后，

falls over in two branches, like the cleft² drooping³ boughs⁴ of a willow⁵, 就在上边分成两支又淌下来，活象尖裂垂挂的柳枝。

the single forward-slanting spout⁶ of the Sperm⁷ Whale presents a thick curled bush of white mist, continually rising and falling away to leeward⁸. 抹香鲸那种向前斜冲的单喷水，却现出一丛稠密缠绕。有如灌木的白雾，不断往上冒着，又不断落向后边。

Seen from the Pequod's deck, then, as she would rise on a high hill of the sea, 这时，站在"裴廓德号"的甲板上看去，这艘船好象就要攀上一座高山似的海洋，

this host of vapory spouts⁹, individually curling up into the air, and beheld¹⁰ through a blending atmosphere of bluish haze¹¹, 那堆雾蒙蒙的喷水，一串串地袅袅升向空际，透过那层交混着浅蓝色的雾障看去，

showed like the thousand cheerful chimneys of some dense¹² metropolis¹³, descried¹⁴ of a balmy autumnal morning, by some horseman on a height. 有如一个站在高岗上的骑者，在一个令人神往的秋晨，突然看到一个人烟稠密的大都市的无数令人高兴的烟囱。

As marching armies approaching an unfriendly defile¹⁵ in the mountains, 好象一支在山间行进的大军走到了一条曲折的隘路，

accelerate their march, all eagerness to place that perilous¹⁶ passage in their rear, and once more expand in comparative security upon the plain; 立刻都加速步伐，急于要走出那条险径，想再度舒畅地走在比较安全的平原上；

even so did this vast fleet of whales now seem hurrying forward through the straits; 这一大队现在似乎在急忙穿过海峡的鲸群，就正是这般情况；

gradually contracting the wings of their semicircle, and swimming on, in one solid, but still crescentic centre. 它们慢慢地缩小着那半圆形的两翼，紧密地挤在一起，但还象一小弯蛾眉新月似的，继续向前游去。

1 perpendicular   

adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The two lines of bones are set perpendicular to one another.这两排骨头相互垂直。
• The wall is out of the perpendicular.这墙有些倾斜。

2 cleft   

n.裂缝；adj.裂开的

参考例句：

• I hid the message in a cleft in the rock.我把情报藏在石块的裂缝里。
• He was cleft from his brother during the war.在战争期间，他与他的哥哥分离。

3 drooping   

adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词

参考例句：

• The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
• The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。

4 boughs   

大树枝( bough的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
• A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。

5 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

6 spout   

v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱

参考例句：

• Implication in folk wealth creativity and undertaking vigor spout.蕴藏于民间的财富创造力和创业活力喷涌而出。
• This acts as a spout to drain off water during a rainstorm.在暴风雨季，这东西被用作喷管来排水。

7 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

8 leeward   

adj.背风的；下风的

参考例句：

• The trees all listed to leeward.树木统统向下风方向倾。
• We steered a course to leeward.我们向下风航驶。

9 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

10 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

11 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

12 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

13 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

14 descried   

adj.被注意到的，被发现的，被看到的

参考例句：

• He descried an island far away on the horizon. 他看到遥远的地平线上有个岛屿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At length we descried a light and a roof. 终于，我们远远看见了一点灯光，一所孤舍。 来自辞典例句

15 defile   

v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道

参考例句：

• Don't defile the land of our ancestors!再不要污染我们先祖们的大地！
• We respect the faith of Islam, even as we fight those whose actions defile that faith.我们尊重伊斯兰教的信仰，并与玷污伊斯兰教的信仰的行为作斗争。

16 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。