英语听书《白鲸记》第736期

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and as that long canal—like the grand Erie Canal— is furnished with a sort of locks (that open and shut) 同时，因为那根长长的水道——象伊利大运河一样——还装有两扇水闸似的东西（可开可关），

for the downward retention⁴ of air or the upward exclusion⁵ of water, therefore the whale has no voice; 向下可以扣住空气，向上可以排泄水量，因此大鲸也没有声音；

unless you insult him by saying, that when he so strangely rumbles⁶, he talks through his nose. 除非你侮辱它，说它在非常奇特地发出咕噜声来时，是靠鼻子说话的。

But then again, what has the whale to say? 那么请问，大鲸会有什么可说的呢？

Seldom have I known any profound being that had anything to say to this world, 我就不大听到任何城府很深的人会对世人公开说些什么，

unless forced to stammer⁷ out something by way of getting a living. 除非为了偷生苟活，这才不得不结结巴巴地哼出些什么来。

Oh! happy that the world is such an excellent listener! 呵，幸而人间是一个如此卓越的倾听者！

Now, the spouting canal of the Sperm⁸ Whale, chiefly intended as it is for the conveyance⁹ of air, 说到抹香鲸的喷水道，它生来主要就是要传递空气的，

and for several feet laid along, horizontally, just beneath the upper surface of his head, and a little to one side; 它刚好长在它头部上层的下端，稍微靠边一点的地方，平平地伸展几英尺。

this curious canal is very much like a gas-pipe laid down in a city on one side of a street. 这条希奇古怪的水道，极象一根铺设在城市街旁的煤气管。

But the question returns whether this gas-pipe is also a water-pipe; 但是问题又来了，这根煤气管究竟是否也就是一根自来水管，

in other words, whether the spout² of the Sperm Whale is the mere¹⁰ vapor¹¹ of the exhaled¹² breath, 换句话说，抹香鲸的喷口究竟只是呼出来的一阵气呢，

or whether that exhaled breath is mixed with water taken in at the mouth, and discharged through the spiracle. 还是呼出的气跟嘴里吸进去的水混在一起，又通过那喷水孔排泄出来呢。

It is certain that the mouth indirectly¹³ communicates with the spouting canal; 嘴巴肯定是间接跟那支喷水道互通声气的，

but it cannot be proved that this is for the purpose of discharging water through the spiracle.  只是不能由此而得出结论说：这是为了要通过喷水孔排水而设的。

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