英語聽書《白鯨記》 第318期

A day or two passed, and there was great activity aboard the Pequod. Not only were the old sails being mended, but new sails were coming on board, and bolts of canvas, and coils of rigging; in short, everything betokened that the ship's preparations were hurrying to a close. Captain Peleg seldom or never went ashore, but sat in his wigwam keeping a sharp look-out upon the hands: Bildad did all the purchasing and providing at the stores; and the men employed in the hold and on the rigging were working till long after night-fall.

過了一兩天,"裴廓德號"上真是大忙特忙起來了。不但舊篷帆都補(bǔ)好了,新篷帆,一匹匹的帆布,一捆捆的繩索也都陸續(xù)送上船來了;總之,一切都表示出這條船正在趕緊結(jié)束準(zhǔn)備工作。法勒船長很少。也可以說根本沒有上過岸,而是整天坐在他那個小屋子里,嚴(yán)密地監(jiān)視著那些水手;比勒達(dá)則到各種鋪?zhàn)幼霾赊k工作;那些雇來艙里和索具上工作的人,天黑后還要工作好久。

On the day following Queequeg's signing the articles, word was given at all the inns where the ship's company were stopping, that their chests must be on board before night, for there was no telling how soon the vessel might be sailing. So Queequeg and I got down our traps, resolving, however, to sleep ashore till the last. But it seems they always give very long notice in these cases, and the ship did not sail for several days. But no wonder; there was a good deal to be done, and there is no telling how many things to be thought of, before the Pequod was fully equipped.

在魁魁格簽了約的第二天,船員們住的各個客店都接到了通知,要他們必須把衣箱等物在天黑前運(yùn)上船去,因?yàn)榇枚嗑貌砰_航是說不定的。因此,我和魁魁格把行李送上船后,決定還是在岸上睡到正式開航才走。但是,他們好象總是老早就發(fā)出通知,卻要過了好幾天才開航。不過,這是不足為奇的;在"裴廓德號"完全裝備停妥之前,確是有一大堆事情要做,而且究竟要考慮多少事情,也難以逆料。

Every one knows what a multitude of things-beds, sauce-pans, knives and forks, shovels and tongs, napkins, nut-crackers, and what not, are indispensable to the business of housekeeping. Just so with whaling, which necessitates a three-years' housekeeping upon the wide ocean, far from all grocers, costermongers, doctors, bakers, and bankers. And though this also holds true of merchant vessels, yet not by any means to the same extent as with whalemen.

誰都知道有一大堆東西。床,鍋,刀,叉,勺子,火鉗,餐巾,胡桃鉗以及其它等等,都是必不可少的日常用具。捕鯨就是這樣,在遼闊的海洋上,遠(yuǎn)離一切雜貨店,叫賣小販,醫(yī)生,面包店和錢莊,所以必須裝備三年的用具。雖說一般商船也是這樣,然而,在程度上終究跟捕鯨船不盡相同。