英语听书《白鲸记》第477期

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New Zealand Tom and Don Miguel, 新西兰的汤姆和唐.米格尔，

after at various times creating great havoc¹ among the boats of different vessels², 在各个不同的时间里，在各式各样的船只的小艇间闯下了大祸后，

were finally gone in quest of, systematically³ hunted out, 经过勇猛的捕鲸船长们的搜索，有系统地猎逐。

chased and killed by valiant⁴ whaling captains, 追捕而终于被杀死了。

who heaved up their anchors with that express object as much in view, 这些船长一看到那显明的目标就都拖起锚来，

as in setting out through the Narragansett Woods, 如同古代的巴特勒(巴特勒——据百周年纪念版注，作者所指的这个巴特勒是威廉。巴特勒中校，他在一七七八年远征印度。)队长从那拉甘塞特湾(那拉甘塞特湾——在美国罗得岛的一个小湾。)出发，

Captain Butler of old had it in his mind to capture that notorious murderous savage⁵ Annawon, 存心要逮住那个罪恶昭彰的杀人魔王安那温，

the headmost warrior⁶ of the Indian King Philip. 即印第安"国王"菲力浦(菲力浦"国王"——英国移民给米他柯默特(1620—1676)，美洲印第安的万潘那亚格族的酋长所起的称号。)的打前锋的武士一样。

I do not know where I can find a better place than just here, 我不知道能够在哪里找到一个比这儿更好的地方，

to make mention of one or two other things, which to me seem important, 可以让我提出我觉得很重要的另外一两桩事来，

as in printed form establishing in all respects the reasonableness of the whole story of the White Whale, 它们都是以书籍形式从各方面来证实整个有关白鲸的故事是合乎常理的，

more especially the catastrophe⁷. 尤其是提到它所造成的大灾害。

For this is one of those disheartening instances where truth requires full as much bolstering⁸ as error. 因为这是那些令人沮丧的实例之一，是非曲直都需要有充分的根据。

So ignorant are most landsmen of some of the plainest and most palpable wonders of the world,  大多数陆地人对于世界上一些最平淡而又最为显著的奇事竟是如此无知，

that without some hints touching⁹ the plain facts, historical and otherwise, of the fishery,  因此，如果不提出有关捕鱼业的历史上的或者其它方面的简单事实，

they might scout¹⁰ at Moby Dick as a monstrous¹¹ fable¹², 他们可能会把莫比－迪克讥笑为一种荒唐的神话，

or still worse and more detestable, 甚至更其糟糕也更其可恶的，

a hideous¹³ and intolerable allegory. 把它讥笑为一种恐怖难堪的寓言。

First: Though most men have some vague flitting ideas of the general perils¹⁴ of the grand fishery, 首先，虽然大多数人对这一规模宏大的捕鱼业的一般危险，

yet they have nothing like a fixed¹⁵, vivid conception of those perils, and the frequency with which they recur¹⁶. 有一些模糊缥缈的印象，然而，他们对于这些危险以及他们脑子里所常常想到的危险，却一点也没有什么固定明晰的概念。

One reason perhaps is, that not one in fifty of the actual disasters and deaths by casualties in the fishery,  理由之一也许是因为在五十件渔业界的意外事故的实际死难中，

ever finds a public record at home, 在国内从来一件都没有公开记载过，

however transient and immediately forgotten that record. 哪怕那记载是怎样昙花一现，随即就被人遗忘了的也没有。

Do you suppose that that poor fellow there, 你可会想到，这会儿也许就有一个可怜的家伙，

who this moment perhaps caught by the whale-line off the coast of New Guinea, 在新几内亚的海面上被捕鲸索缠住了，

is being carried down to the bottom of the sea by the sounding leviathan 正被一只大海兽给拖到海底里去了么

do you suppose that that poor fellow's name will appear in the newspaper obituary¹⁷ you will read to-morrow at your breakfast? 你可以为这个可怜的家伙的名字，会出现在你明天吃早餐时看到的报纸的讣告栏里么?

No: because the mails are very irregular between here and New Guinea. 不会的。因为这里跟新几内亚之间的邮递很不正常。

In fact, did you ever hear what might be called regular news direct or indirect from New Guinea? 事实上，所谓来自新几内亚的直接或间接的正常新闻，你可曾听到过么?

Yet I will tell you that upon one particular voyage which I made to the Pacific, 然而，我却要告诉你，有一回，我在去太平洋的一次航程中，

among many others we spoke¹⁸ thirty different ships, 从我们跟其他许多人的谈话中，就得知有三十艘不同的船只，

every one of which had had a death by a whale, 每艘船都有一个被大鲸弄死了的人，

some of them more than one, and three that had each lost a boat's crew. 有些还不止一人，有三艘船还各损失了整只小艇的船员呢。

For God's sake, be economical with your lamps and candles! 千万请你节省灯油和蜡烛!

not a gallon you burn, 你当然点不了一加仑油，

but at least one drop of man's blood was spilled for it. 不过至少那里面总洒有一滴人血。

Secondly¹⁹: People ashore²⁰ have indeed some indefinite idea that a whale is an enormous creature of enormous power; 其次，岸上人也的确有一种不明确的想法，认为大鲸就是力大无边的大生物。

but I have ever found that when narrating²¹ to them some specific example of this two-fold enormousness, 但我又始终发现，每当我把这种体大力大的生物的典型事例说给他们听的时候，

they have significantly complimented me upon my facetiousness²³; 他们却又很有意思地夸奖起我的戏谑来，

when, I declare upon my soul, 于是，我只得凭良心对他们说，

I had no more idea of being facetious²² than Moses, when he wrote the history of the plagues of Egypt. 我是跟那个写埃及的灾史(指《旧约。出埃及记》。)的摩西一样，一点也没有要戏谑的念头。

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