英語聽書《白鯨記》第354期

But it was especially the aspect of the three chiefofficers of the ship, the mates, which was mostforcibly calculated to allay these colorlessmisgivings, and induce confidence andcheerfulness in every presentment of the voyage.Three better, more likely sea-officers and men, eachin his own different way, could not readily be found,and they were every one of them Americans; aNantucketer, a Vineyarder, a Cape man. Now, itbeing Christmas when the ship shot from out herharbor, for a space we had biting Polar weather,though all the time running away from it to the southward; and by every degree and minute oflatitude which we sailed, gradually leaving that merciless winter, and all its intolerableweather behind us. It was one of those less lowering, but still grey and gloomy enoughmornings of the transition, when with a fair wind the ship was rushing through the water witha vindictive sort of leaping and melancholy rapidity, that as I mounted to the deck at thecall of the forenoon watch, so soon as I levelled my glance towards the taffrail, forebodingshivers ran over me. Reality outran apprehension; Captain Ahab stood upon his quarter-deck.

尤其是這艘船上三個主要頭目,那大二三副的態(tài)度,都表現(xiàn)得足以教人消除這些無謂的憂慮,足以教人對航程的各種情況引起信心和愉快。這三個比較好又比較象船上頭目和水手的人,雖然各有一套,卻并不是容易找得到的,他們每個人都是美洲人;一個是南塔開特人,一個是維因耶德人,一個是科德角人。且說這只船離開港埠的時候,正是圣誕節(jié)期間,雖然暫時我們還在過著冷徹肌膚的北極氣候,但航程卻時刻都在離開那種氣候,向南奔駛;而且我們向前駛去的每分每秒,也正在慢慢地把那種無情的冬季,和冬季種種難耐的氣候撂在我們后邊。有一天早晨,正是天色不那么陰霾,將明未亮,但還是灰??的時分,船只隨著一陣順風,以報復似的急跳和傷感的速度向前急沖,那會兒,我正登上甲板去值上午班,把眼睛向船尾欄桿一瞄,我頓時渾身掠過一陣預兆性的寒顫?，F(xiàn)實超過恐懼;亞哈船長站在他的后甲板上了。

There seemed no sign of common bodily illness about him, nor of the recovery from any. Helooked like a man cut away from the stake, when the fire has overrunningly wasted all thelimbs without consuming them, or taking away one particle from their compacted agedrobustness.

他的身體似乎看不出有什么普通的癥狀,也看不出他已經(jīng)好了多少。他那樣子就象一個剛從火刑柱上解下來的人,雖然火焰烤干了四肢,卻沒有把四肢燒掉,也分毫沒有損及他那久經(jīng)風霜的結實軀體。