🔊 Had you followed Captain Ahab down into his cabin after the squall that took place on the night succeeding that wild ratification of his purpose with his crew, you would have seen him go to a locker in the transom, and bringing out a large wrinkled roll of yellowish sea charts, spread them before him on his screwed-down table. Then seating himself before it, you would have seen him intently study the various lines and shadings which there met his eye; and with slow but steady pencil trace additional courses over spaces that before were blank. At intervals, he would refer to piles of old log-books beside him, wherein were set down the seasons and places in which, on various former voyages of various ships, sperm whales had been captured or seen.

在那场风暴之夜--船员们狂热地赞同了他的目标之后--如果你跟随亚哈船长下到他的舱室,你会看到他走向舰尾的储物柜,取出一大卷皱巴巴的泛黄海图,摊开在固定住的桌子上。然后,他坐在桌前,你会看到他专注地研究那些映入眼帘的线条和阴影；并用缓慢而稳健的铅笔在先前空白的地方勾勒出额外的航线。他不时参考身边堆积的旧航海日志,里面记录了在不同船只的以往航行中,抹香鲸被捕获或看到的季节和地点。

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squall /skwɔːl/

n. 飑,突然的狂风暴雨➕

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ratification /ˌrætɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/

n. 正式批准,认可➕

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transom /ˈtrænsəm/

n. （船尾的）横梁,艉板；气窗➕

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log-books /ˈlɒɡ bʊks/

n. 航海日志,工作记录本➕

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sperm whales /ˈspɜːm ˌweɪlz/

n. 抹香鲸➕

🔊 While thus employed, the heavy pewter lamp suspended in chains over his head, continually rocked with the motion of the ship, and for ever threw shifting gleams and shadows of lines upon his wrinkled brow, till it almost seemed that while he himself was marking out lines and courses on the wrinkled charts, some invisible pencil was also tracing lines and courses upon the deeply marked chart of his forehead.

在他如此忙碌时,悬挂在链子上的沉重锡灯随着船的晃动不断摇摆,不断在他布满皱纹的额头上投下变幻的线条光影,以至于几乎让人觉得,当他在皱巴巴的海图上勾画线条和航线时,某支无形的铅笔也在他深深刻印的额头海图上描绘着线条和航线。

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pewter /ˈpjuːtə(r)/

n. 白镴（锡与铅等的合金）➕

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gleams /ɡliːmz/

n. 微光,闪烁➕

🔊 But it was not this night in particular that, in the solitude of his cabin, Ahab thus pondered over his charts. Almost every night they were brought out; almost every night some pencil marks were effaced, and others were substituted. For with the charts of all four oceans before him, Ahab was threading a maze of currents and eddies, with a view to the more certain accomplishment of that monomaniac thought of his soul.

但并非唯独这一夜,在舱室的孤寂中,亚哈如此沉思于他的海图。几乎每个夜晚,海图都被取出；几乎每个夜晚,一些铅笔痕迹被擦去,另一些被替代。因为面前摊开着四大洋的海图,亚哈正穿行于洋流和漩涡的迷宫,以期更确定地实现他灵魂中那偏执狂想。

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solitude /ˈsɒlɪtjuːd/

n. 孤独,独处➕

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pondered /ˈpɒndəd/

v. 深思,仔细考虑➕

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effaced /ɪˈfeɪst/

v. 擦掉,抹去➕

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substituted /ˈsʌbstɪtjuːtɪd/

v. 代替,替换➕

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threading /ˈθredɪŋ/

v. 穿行于,蜿蜒通过➕

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eddies /ˈediz/

n. 漩涡,涡流➕

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monomaniac /ˌmɒnəˈmeɪniæk/

adj./n. 偏执狂的；偏执狂患者➕

🔊 Now, to any one not fully acquainted with the ways of the leviathans, it might seem an absurdly hopeless task thus to seek out one solitary creature in the unhooped oceans of this planet. But not so did it seem to Ahab, who knew the sets of all tides and currents; and thereby calculating the driftings of the sperm whale's food; and, also, calling to mind the regular, ascertained seasons for hunting him in particular latitudes; could arrive at reasonable surmises, almost approaching to certainties, concerning the timeliest day to be upon this or that ground in search of his prey.

对于任何不熟悉海中巨兽习性的人来说,在这个无垠的海洋中寻找一个孤独的生物,似乎是一项荒谬而绝望的任务。但对亚哈来说却非如此,他知晓所有潮汐和洋流的规律,从而能计算出抹香鲸食物的漂流,并回想起在特定纬度猎捕它的规律季节；因此,他能得出合理的推测,几乎接近确定,何时是最佳时机到达这片或那片海域搜寻他的猎物。

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leviathans /lɪˈvaɪəθənz/

n. 海中巨兽,庞然大物➕

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unhooped /ʌnˈhuːpt/

adj. 无边无际的,未被箍住的（此处指没有边界的海洋）➕

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sets /sets/

n. （潮水、水流等的）流向,方向➕

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driftings /ˈdrɪftɪŋz/

n. 漂流,漂移➕

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ascertained /ˌæsəˈteɪnd/

v. 查明,确定➕

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latitudes /ˈlætɪtjuːdz/

n. 纬度；纬度地区➕

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surmises /ˈsɜːmaɪzɪz/

n. 推测,猜测➕

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timeliest /ˈtaɪmliɪst/

adj. 最及时的,最合时宜的（timely 的最高级）➕

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prey /preɪ/

n. 猎物,牺牲品➕

🔊 So assured, indeed, is the fact concerning the periodicalness of the sperm whale's resorting to given waters, that many hunters believe that, could he be closely observed and studied through the whole cycle of his migrations, the places and the periods of his every visit could be as certainly foreknown as those of the returning swallow. In this respect, the sperm whale is in some sort distinguished from other leviathans, by the uncommon care with which he is known to divide his time between the various pasturages of the sea.

确实,抹香鲸定期造访特定水域的事实如此确凿,以至于许多猎手相信,如果能通过其整个迁徙周期密切观察和研究,它每次来访的地点和时间就能像归来的燕子一样被确切预知。在这方面,抹香鲸在某种程度上区别于其他海中巨兽,因为它以非同寻常的谨慎,将时间分配在海洋的不同牧场上。

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periodicalness /ˌpɪəriˈɒdɪkəlnəs/

n. 周期性,定期性➕

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migrations /maɪˈɡreɪʃnz/

n. 迁移,迁徙➕

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foreknown /fɔːˈnəʊn/

v. 预知,先知➕

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pasturages /ˈpɑːstʃərɪdʒɪz/

n. 牧场,牧草地➕

🔊 Hence, too, that the Peruvian Indians of the coast, by patient observation, became so expert in the habits of the whale, that they would go out in their frail canoes, and boldly give chase to leviathan, as he rolled his vast bulk along their shores. And though their pursuit often resulted in failure, yet sometimes they succeeded; and then down went the poor Indian, with all his beads and trinkets, into the wonderful deeps, whence he never more rose with any of his stolen goods.

因此,秘鲁沿海的印第安人通过耐心的观察,变得对鲸的习性如此精通,以至于他们会乘坐脆弱的独木舟出海,大胆地追逐海中巨兽,当它沿着海岸翻滚其庞大的身躯时。尽管他们的追捕常常以失败告终,但有时也会成功；然后,可怜的印第安人连同他所有的珠子和饰物,沉入奇妙的海底深处,从此再未带着任何窃取的货物浮起。

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frail /freɪl/

adj. 脆弱的,易碎的；虚弱的➕

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trinkets /ˈtrɪŋkɪts/

n. 小装饰品,不值钱的小玩意➕

🔊 Nor have there been wanting instances where the white man has shown himself not a whit behind the Peruvian in his daring. For not only are there examples where single boats have, by sudden and violent onset, captured large whales; but there are incidental traditions of still greater wonders: of whole fleets of boats, sometimes, being carried down by the insatiable monster they were hunting; and of the great beast himself, rushing with open jaws upon the pursuing ship, and meeting it, head to head, in a crash that shivered her timbers.

也不乏白人展现出不逊于秘鲁人胆量的实例。因为不仅有单艘小船通过突然猛烈的攻击捕获大鲸的例子；还有偶然传说的更大奇迹:有时整队船只被他们猎捕的贪婪怪物拖入海底；以及那巨兽本身,张开大口冲向追捕的船只,迎头相撞,将船板撞得粉碎。

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insatiable /ɪnˈseɪʃəbl/

adj. 贪得无厌的,无法满足的➕

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timbers /ˈtɪmbəz/

n. （建筑或造船用的）木材,船骨➕

🔊 But Ahab, my Captain, still moves before me in all his Nantucket grimness and shagginess; and in this episode touching Emperors and Kings, I must not conceal that I have only to do with a poor old whale-hunter like him; and, therefore, all outward majestical trappings and housings are denied me. Oh, Ahab! what shall be grand in thee, it must needs be plucked at from the skies, and dived for in the deep, and featured in the unbodied air!

但亚哈,我的船长,仍然以其楠塔基特式的阴郁和粗犷在我面前移动；在这涉及帝王和国王的插曲中,我必须坦言,我只与像他这样的可怜老捕鲸人打交道；因此,所有外表的华丽装饰和排场都与我无缘。哦,亚哈！你身上任何伟大之处,都必须从天空攫取,从深海打捞,在虚无的空气中铸就！

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grimness /ˈɡrɪmnəs/

n. 严峻,冷酷,可怕➕

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shagginess /ˈʃæɡinəs/

n. 蓬乱,粗糙➕

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majestical /məˈdʒestɪkl/

adj. 庄严的,宏伟的（majestic 的变体）➕

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trappings /ˈtræpɪŋz/

n. （象征地位、财富的）外部标志,装饰➕

Chapter forty-four: The Chart (第四十四章:海图)

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