🔊 It was late at night when we were all set about the try-works. The night was dark and cloudy; the sea rolled heavily, and the ship seemed struggling in the convulsions of a fit. The try-works, composed of two huge pots set in brick, were placed between the foremast and mainmast, the widest part of the deck. The fittings of these pots were peculiar. The bricks were laid in cement, and over the whole a sort of rude arch was turned, and the top was covered with large sheets of iron. Into this temporary furnace the minced blubber was thrown, and there it boiled and bubbled like a red-hot crater.

夜已深沉,我们齐聚在炼油灶旁。夜色如墨,乌云密布；海涛汹涌,船身在阵阵痉挛中挣扎前行。炼油灶由两个砌在砖座中的巨锅构成,置于前桅与主桅之间,那是甲板上最宽阔的区域。这些锅的装置甚是奇特。砖块以水泥砌就,整体搭起一个粗糙的拱顶,顶部覆以大铁板。切碎的鲸脂被投入这临时熔炉,在其中沸腾冒泡,恍若一座赤红的火山口。

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try-works /ˈtraɪ wɜːrks/

n. 炼油装置,特指捕鲸船上提炼鲸油的设备➕

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convulsions /kənˈvʌlʃənz/

n. 抽搐,剧烈的震动或动荡➕

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fittings /ˈfɪtɪŋz/

n. 装置,设备,配件➕

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blubber /ˈblʌbər/

n. （鲸、海豹等的）鲸脂,海兽脂➕

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crater /ˈkreɪtər/

n. 火山口；陨石坑；坑➕

🔊 From the mouths of these furnaces came a fierce, red glare, which threw a lurid light upon the faces of the men who tended them, and upon the dark sea and the black hull of the ship. The smoke and the smell were intolerable. The smoke poured out in dense, black volumes, and the smell was like that of a slaughter-house.

炉口喷出炽烈的红光,将诡异的光影投在照看它们的船员脸上,映照着漆黑的海面和船壳。烟雾刺鼻,气味难耐。浓黑的烟柱滚滚升腾,气味如同屠宰场般腥臭。

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lurid /ˈlʊrɪd/

adj. （光线）怪异的,可怕的；（细节）骇人听闻的,刺眼的➕

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intolerable /ɪnˈtɑːlərəbl/

adj. 无法忍受的,难耐的➕

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dense /dens/

adj. 浓密的,密集的；愚钝的➕

🔊 But it is not the smoke and the smell alone that are objectionable. The heat is so great that it is impossible to stand near the try-works without being scorched. The men who attend them are stripped to the waist, and their bodies are covered with sweat and oil. They look like demons in the infernal glare.

但令人反感的岂止烟雾与气味。热浪如此灼人,靠近炼油灶势必被炙烤。照看炉灶的船员皆赤膊上身,汗水和油脂覆满身躯。在地狱般火光的映衬下,他们形同鬼魅。

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objectionable /əbˈdʒekʃənəbl/

adj. 令人反感的,讨厌的➕

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scorched /skɔːrtʃt/

adj. 烧焦的,烤焦的➕

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infernal /ɪnˈfɜːrnl/

adj. 地狱般的；可恶的,讨厌的（加强语气）➕

🔊 The process of trying out the oil is a simple one. The blubber is cut into small pieces and thrown into the pots. As it melts, the oil rises to the surface and is skimmed off into coolers. The scraps that remain are used for fuel to feed the fires. Thus the whale furnishes the means of its own destruction.

提炼油脂的过程颇为简单。鲸脂被切成小块投入锅中。油脂融化后浮至表面,被撇入冷却器。剩余的碎渣用作燃料,以维持炉火。如是,鲸鱼便提供了毁灭自身的工具。

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skimmed /skɪmd/

v. 撇去（液体表面的浮物）；略读➕

🔊 As I stood watching the try-works, I could not help thinking of the strange contrast between the peaceful beauty of the night and the hellish scene before me. Overhead, the stars shone with a clear, cold light; around, the sea murmured softly; but here, in the midst of this quiet, was a scene of fierce activity and hideous transformation.

我驻足凝视炼油灶,不禁思及夜空宁谧之美与眼前地狱景象间的奇异对照。头顶,星辉清冷；四周,海波低吟；而此处,在这片寂静中央,却上演着一场凶蛮的劳作与狰狞的蜕变。

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hellish /ˈhelɪʃ/

adj. 地狱般的,极其恶劣的➕

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hideous /ˈhɪdiəs/

adj. 极其丑陋的,可怕的➕

🔊 The try-works are the heart of the ship. Here the profit of the voyage is extracted from the whale. Without them, the voyage would be a failure. Yet they are a place of horror and danger. Many a man has been scalded to death by the boiling oil, or suffocated by the smoke, or burned by the flames.

炼油灶乃是这艘船的心脏。航行的利润自此从鲸鱼身上熬炼而出。若无它们,航行必将失败。然而,此处却是恐怖与危险之地。多少人为沸油所烫死,或被浓烟窒息,抑或被烈焰吞噬。

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scalded /ˈskɔːldɪd/

adj. 被烫伤的➕

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suffocated /ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪd/

adj. 窒息的➕

🔊 I was so absorbed in watching the scene that I did not notice the approach of Starbuck. He stood beside me for a moment in silence, and then said, "Ishmael, have you ever considered the strange fate that makes us turn these gentle creatures into such a hellish broth?"

我全神贯注于眼前景象,以致未察觉斯达巴克的到来。他在我身旁默立片刻,而后说道:“以实玛利,你可曾思量这古怪的命运？它竟迫使我们将这些柔和的造物熬成一锅地狱浓汤。”

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absorbed /əbˈzɔːrbd/

adj. 全神贯注的,专注的➕

🔊 "I have thought of it," I replied, "and it seems to me that we are but instruments in the hands of a power that we do not understand."

“我思索过,”我答道,“于我看来,我们不过是某种不解之力手中的工具。”

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instruments /ˈɪnstrəmənts/

n. 工具；仪器；乐器；手段➕

🔊 "Yes," said Starbuck, "and that power seems to be indifferent to the suffering it causes. Look at that flame-how it leaps and dances as if in joy at the destruction it is accomplishing. It is a symbol of the evil in the world, which feeds upon innocence and beauty."

“正是,”斯达巴克道,“而那力量似对它所酿之苦痛漠不关心。且看那火焰--它跳跃舞动,恍若为所行毁灭而欢欣。此乃世间邪恶之象征,专以吞噬纯真与美好为生。”

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indifferent /ɪnˈdɪfrənt/

adj. 冷漠的,漠不关心的；中等的,一般的➕

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symbol /ˈsɪmbl/

n. 象征,标志,符号➕

🔊 He spoke with a sadness that I had never heard in his voice before. I knew that he was thinking of Ahab, and of the mad quest that was driving us all to destruction. The try-works seemed to him a fitting emblem of the captain's soul-a soul consumed by a fierce and destructive passion.

他语带悲凉,那是我从未闻于其声的。我知他正思及亚哈,以及那驱使我们所有人走向毁灭的疯狂追求。炼油灶于他而言,恰是船长灵魂的写照--一个为狂暴毁灭欲所吞噬的灵魂。

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emblem /ˈembləm/

n. 象征,徽章➕

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consumed /kənˈsuːmd/

adj. 被吞噬的；着迷的,全神贯注的➕

🔊 We stood there for some time, watching the flames and listening to the roar of the fires. Then Starbuck turned away with a sigh, and I was left alone with my thoughts. The night wore on; the fires burned lower; and at last the try-works were abandoned to the watch, and the crew sought their hammocks.

我们在彼处站立片刻,注视火焰,聆听炉火轰鸣。继而斯达巴克叹息转身离去,留我独处沉思。夜色渐深；炉火渐黯；最终,炼油灶交由守夜人看管,船员们则寻向各自的吊床。

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abandoned /əˈbændənd/

adj. 被遗弃的,废弃的；无约束的➕

🔊 But sleep did not come easily to me. The glare of the fires seemed to have burned itself into my eyes, and the smell of the oil clung to my nostrils. I lay awake for a long time, thinking of the whale we had killed, and of the strange and terrible uses to which we had put its body.

我却辗转难眠。炉火的强光似已灼入眼底,油脂的气味萦绕鼻端。我躺卧良久,思绪翻涌,想着我们所杀的鲸鱼,以及对其身躯所做的奇异而可怕的用途。

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clung /klʌŋ/

v. 粘着,附着；紧紧抓住（cling的过去式）➕

🔊 It seemed to me then, as it seems to me now, that there is something monstrous in the whole business of whaling. We go out into the peaceful ocean, and we bring back death and destruction. We take the largest and most magnificent of living creatures, and we reduce it to a few barrels of oil. And for what? To light the lamps of cities, or to grease the wheels of machinery.

无论彼时或此刻,我总觉这捕鲸营生透着骇人本质。我们驶入宁谧海洋,却带回死亡与毁灭。我们捕杀最宏大壮丽的生灵,却将其简化为数桶油脂。所为者何？不过为点亮都市华灯,或润滑机械齿轮。

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monstrous /ˈmɑːnstrəs/

adj. 极其丑陋可怕的；巨大的；极不公正的➕

🔊 Yet, I reflected, this is the way of the world. Man lives by destroying other forms of life. The whale destroys the smaller creatures of the sea; we destroy the whale. It is a chain of destruction that reaches from the lowest to the highest. And who can say where it will end?

然则,我反思道,此乃世道常情。人类以毁灭他类生命为生。鲸鱼毁灭海中较小生灵；我们毁灭鲸鱼。此乃一条从至低至高的毁灭之链。孰能言其终焉？

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reflected /rɪˈflektɪd/

v. 反思,深思；反射（reflect的过去式）➕

🔊 At last I fell into a troubled sleep, haunted by dreams of fire and smoke, and of great black whales that pursued me through endless seas. And when I awoke in the morning, the try-works were cold and silent, and the deck was clean; but the memory of that night remained with me, a dark spot in my mind.

最终,我坠入不安睡眠,为火与烟之梦境纠缠,为巨硕黑鲸在无尽海洋中追逐。晨起之时,炼油灶已冷却寂静,甲板洁净如初；然那一夜记忆却萦绕不去,成我心中一团驱不散的阴翳。

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haunted /ˈhɔːntɪd/

adj. 闹鬼的；萦绕心头的,烦扰的➕

Chapter ninety-six: The Try-Works (第九十六章:炼油灶)

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