英语听书《白鲸记》第397期

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After their departure, taking place in inverted¹ order to their arrival, the canvas cloth was cleared, or rather was restored to some hurried order by the pallid² steward³.  在他们以不同于刚才进来时的相反次序离开后,帆布就收拾干净,或者不如说是由那个面有菜色的茶房匆忙地刷一刷。

And then the three harpooneers were bidden to the feast, they being its residuary legatees.  于是,便请三位标枪手来入席,他们就是残羹冷饭的承受人。

They made a sort of temporary servants' hall of the high and mighty⁴ cabin. 他们只是把这间崇高的船长室,权充一下仆役间。

In strange contrast to the hardly tolerable constraint⁵ and nameless invisible domineerings of the captain's table, was the entire care-free license⁶ and ease, the almost frantic⁷ democracy of those inferior fellows the harpooneers.  跟船长餐桌上那种难受的拘谨和说不出又看不见的专横气氛恰成显著的对比,这些下等人的标枪手全然快活不羁,自由自在,简直具有如疯如狂的民主精神。

While their masters, the mates, seemed afraid of the sound of the hinges of their own jaws⁸, the harpooneers chewed their food with such a relish⁹ that there was a report to it.  他们的上司,那三个大二三副,似乎是连他们自己的牙齿相碰声都感到害怕,而这些标枪手却把食物咀嚼得这样津津有味,啪嗒作响。

They dined like lords; they filled their bellies¹⁰ like Indian ships all day loading with spices.  他们吃得犹如帝王;他们象印第安船只镇天装进香料一样填装起他们的肚腹。

Such portentous¹¹ appetites had Queequeg and Tashtego, that to fill out the vacancies¹² made by the previous repast, often the pale Dough-Boy was fain to bring on a great baron¹³ of salt-junk, seemingly quarried¹⁴ out of the solid ox.  魁魁格和塔斯蒂哥就有这么可怕的胃口,他们把先前吃剩的东西全都填个干净不算,往往还弄得那个面色灰白的汤团不得不搬上一块未经砍斩的咸牛肉来,那坎牛肉就象是刚从一只活公牛身上斩下来似的。

And if he were not lively about it, if he did not go with a nimble hop-skip-and-jump, then Tashtego had an ungentlemanly way of accelerating him by darting¹⁵ a fork at his back, harpoon-wise.  如果汤团不这样灵活,如果他不这样机警地三步并做二步走去张罗的话;那么,塔斯蒂哥就会以一种非绅士的方法,以掷标枪的姿势把标枪戳着他的背脊来催促他。

And once Daggoo, seized with a sudden humor, assisted Dough-Boy's memory by snatching him up bodily, and thrusting his head into a great empty wooden trencher, while Tashtego, knife in hand, began laying out the circle preliminary to scalping him.  有一回,大个儿奇兴突发,为了要帮助汤团记忆,竟把他兜体一抓,提了起来,把他的头直揿进一只空的大木盘里,而塔斯蒂哥便手里拿着刀,旋来转去,准备剥他的皮。

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