英語聽書《白鯨記》 第281期

Scorning a turnstile wheel at her reverend helm,she sported there a tiller;

它不屑在受人尊敬的船舵上裝只旋輪,卻開玩笑似地裝上一只舵柄;

and that tiller was in one mass, curiously carvedfrom the long narrow lower jaw of her hereditaryfoe.

那舵柄是用它那宿敵的整塊狹長的下頜骨精工鏤刻出來的。

The helmsman who steered by that tiller in atempest, felt like the Tartar, when he holds back hisfiery steed by clutching its jaw. A noble craft,

在暴風雨中掌著舵柄的舵手,就象一個韃靼王緊勒著他那匹暴躁的駿馬的下頜使它止步。它雖然是艘高貴的船,

but somehow a most melancholy! All noble things are touched with that.

卻不知怎地,又是一艘非常憂郁的船,凡是高貴的東西都不免叫人心里有這種感覺。

Now when I looked about the quarter-deck, for some one having authority, in order to proposemyself as a candidate for the voyage, at first I saw nobody;

這時,我打后甲板上張望一下,想找到一個當權(quán)的人,好讓我來自薦當水手,可是,起先,一個人也看不到;

but I could not well overlook a strange sort of tent, or rather wigwam, pitched a little behindthe main-mast.

我就不能不注意到一個奇形怪狀的篷帳,或者不如說是一間小房子的東西了,它搭在主桅稍后一點的地方。

It seemed only a temporary erection used in port. It was of a conical shape, some ten feethigh;

它似乎是在進港后才臨時搭起來的。它是一個約十英尺高的圓錐體;

consisting of the long, huge slabs of limber black bone taken from the middle and highest partof the jaws of the right-whale.

是用一只露脊鯨的嘴巴的正中和頂部的一片片闊長的石板似的軟黑骨塊搭成的。

Planted with their broad ends on the deck, a circle of these slabs laced together, mutuallysloped towards each other,

它把那些闊大的骨片插在甲板上后,這些石板似的東西就環(huán)成一個圓圈,用帶子結(jié)攏,彼此互相斜靠著,

and at the apex united in a tufted point, where the loose hairy fibres waved to and fro like atop-knot on some old Pottowotamie Sachem's head.

在頂上結(jié)成一個尖簇,那些蓬松如發(fā)的須根就在那里飄來飄去,直象是古代的波托沃塔米酋長的頭頂髻。

A triangular opening faced towards the bows of the ship, so that the insider commanded acomplete view forward.

朝船頭那面開有一個三角形的出入口,因此,在里邊的人可以一望無遺地憑眺前面的景色。

And half concealed in this queer tenement, I at length found one who by his aspect seemed tohave authority;

我終于發(fā)現(xiàn)在這個古怪的房子里,影影綽綽地有一個人,這個人看樣子象是個當權(quán)的人物;

and who, it being noon, and the ship's work suspended, was now enjoying respite from theburden of command.

由于正值午刻,船上的工作都停著,現(xiàn)在他正暫時擺脫指揮全局的重任,在那里休憩。

He was seated on an old-fashioned oaken chair, wriggling all over with curious carving;

由于正值午刻,船上的工作都停著,現(xiàn)在他正暫時擺脫指揮全局的重任,在那里休憩。

and the bottom of which was formed of a stout interlacing of the same elastic stuff of which thewigwam was constructed.

椅子下端也是用那造這小房子的同樣富有彈性的材料牢固地交織起來的。