英语听书《白鲸记》第814期

 　　That office consists in mincing¹ the horse-pieces of blubber for the pots; an operation which is conducted at a curious wooden horse, planted endwise against the bulwarks², and with a capacious tub beneath it, into which the minced³ pieces drop, fast as the sheets from a rapt orator's desk. Arrayed in decent black; occupying a conspicuous⁴ pulpit; intent on bible leaves; what a candidate for an archbishopric, what a lad for a Pope were this mincer⁵! Bible leaves! Bible leaves! This is the invariable cry from the mates to the mincer. It enjoins⁶ him to be careful, and cut his work into as thin slices as possible, inasmuch as by so doing the business of boiling out the oil is much accelerated, and its quantity considerably⁷ increased, besides perhaps improving it in quality.

　　这项差使是要把白马鲸脂块剁碎后放到锅里去；做法是使用一只尾部安在舷墙边的木马，下边放着一只很大的木桶，剁碎的肉片就落在木桶里，速度之快有如一个慷慨激昂的演说家把讲稿从讲台上一页页地翻落下来。他穿着庄重的黑衣服；高踞在显眼的讲坛上；全神贯注在圣经纸上（原注：圣经纸！圣经纸！这是大副们对剁肉手的固定的叫喊声。意思是叫他剁得仔细，尽量切得越薄越好，因为切得薄就可以多熬出油来，也许不仅可以改进品质，而且还能大大增加分量。）；这个剁肉手可多象一个大主教职位的候补人，可多象罗马教皇的小厮呀！

　　Chapter 96 The Try-Works

　　第九十六章 炼油间

　　Besides her hoisted⁸ boats, an American whaler is outwardly distinguished⁹ by her try-works. She presents the curious anomaly of the most solid masonry¹⁰ joining with oak and hemp¹¹ in constituting the completed ship. It is as if from the open field a brick-kiln were transported to her planks¹².

　　要从外表上识别一艘美国捕鲸船，我们除了看到它有吊起的小艇外，还可以看到它有炼油间。炼油间是整个捕鲸船的一部分，它奇特得有如用?树麻皮掺混起来的一种最坚固的泥水作物。它仿佛是把旷野上一座砖瓦窑给搬到船上来了。

　　The try-works are planted between the foremast and mainmast, the most roomy part of the deck.

　　炼油间就设在前桅与主桅之间的地方，也是甲板上最为宽敞的部分。

1 mincing   

adj.矫饰的；v.切碎；切碎

参考例句：

• She came to the park with mincing,and light footsteps.她轻移莲步来到了花园之中。
• There is no use in mincing matters.掩饰事实是没有用的。

2 bulwarks   

n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙

参考例句：

• The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty. 新闻自由是自由最大的保障之一。 来自辞典例句
• Surgery and X-irradiation nevertheless remain the bulwarks of cancer treatment throughout the world. 外科手术和X射线疗法依然是全世界治疗癌症的主要方法。 来自辞典例句

3 minced   

v.切碎( mince的过去式和过去分词 )；剁碎；绞碎；用绞肉机绞（食物，尤指肉）

参考例句：

• He minced over to serve us. 他迈着碎步过来招待我们。
• A young fop minced up to George and introduced himself. 一个花花公子扭扭捏捏地走到乔治面前并作了自我介绍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 conspicuous   

adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的

参考例句：

• It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显，抽烟对健康有害。
• Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。

5 mincer   

n.粉碎机

参考例句：

• With a household food mincer, one can cook many kinds of food for immediate consumption. 有了家用食品粉碎机，很多食品都可以现做现吃了。

6 enjoins   

v.命令( enjoin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Accordingly, Council enjoins concerned branch undertook nervous investigation, argumentation works further. 据此，国务院责成有关部门进一步进行了紧张的调查、论证工作。 来自互联网
• Humanity enjoins us to teach them agriculture and the domestic arts. 基于人道精神我们乃教导他们农业与持家之道。 来自互联网

7 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

8 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

9 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

10 masonry   

n.砖土建筑；砖石

参考例句：

• Masonry is a careful skill.砖石工艺是一种精心的技艺。
• The masonry of the old building began to crumble.旧楼房的砖石结构开始崩落。

11 hemp   

n.大麻；纤维

参考例句：

• The early Chinese built suspension bridges of hemp rope.古代的中国人建造过麻绳悬索桥。
• The blanket was woven from hemp and embroidered with wool.毯子是由亚麻编织，羊毛镶边的。

12 planks   

（厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点

参考例句：

• The house was built solidly of rough wooden planks. 这房子是用粗木板牢固地建造的。
• We sawed the log into planks. 我们把木头锯成了木板。