英語聽書《白鯨記》第406期

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He called it the Sleet's crow's-nest, in honor of himself; he being the original inventor and patentee, and free from all ridiculous false delicacy, and holding that if we call our own children after our own names (we fathers being the original inventors and patentees),

他為了紀念自己的發(fā)明,管它叫斯立特守望處;因為他是原始的發(fā)明者和專利者,因此,他毫不荒謬可笑地宣稱,如果我們可以把我們自己的兒女都姓我們自己的名姓(我們做父親的本來就是原始前發(fā)明者和專利者),

so likewise should we denominate after ourselves any other apparatus we may beget.

那么同樣地,我們也可以拿我們的名姓來命名我們所發(fā)明的其它任何東西。

In shape, the Sleet's crow's-nest is something like a large tierce or pipe; it is open above, however, where it is furnished with a movable sidescreen to keep to windward of your head in a hard gale.

在形式上,斯立特守望處倒有點象大酒桶或者大管子;不過,它是朝上開的,那里還裝有一只活動的側(cè)屏,使得在猛烈的颶風(fēng)里,腦袋仍然可以頂著風(fēng)。

Being fixed on the summit of the mast, you ascend into it through a little trap-hatch in the bottom.

因為守望處是裝在桅頂上,你得從底里的一個小小的活動升降口爬進去。

On the after side, or side next the stern of the ship, is a comfortable seat, with a locker underneath for umbrellas, comforters, and coats.

在后邊,也就是在靠近船尾的一邊,有個舒服的座位,座位下面還有個可以置放雨傘。棉被和衣服的小櫥。

In front is a leather rack, in which to keep your speaking trumpet, pipe, telescope, and other nautical conveniences.

座位前面有只皮架子,可以把你的話筒,煙斗,望遠鏡,以及水手的其它一些小玩意都放在那上頭。

When Captain Sleet in person stood his mast-head in this crow's-nest of his, he tells us that he always had a rifle with him (also fixed in the rack), together with a powder flask and shot,

當(dāng)斯立特船長本人坐在他那守望處的桅頂上的時候,據(jù)他說,他始終隨身帶有一支來福槍(也是固定放在皮架子上的),還有一只火藥筒和子彈,

for the purpose of popping off the stray narwhales, or vagrant sea unicorns infesting those waters; for you cannot successfully shoot at them from the deck owing to the resistance of the water, but to shoot down upon them is a very different thing.

以備碰到一些離了群的獨角鯨,或者是在那一帶海里出沒無定的獨角獸時,可以一下子把它們打死;因為這些東西在甲板上打,由于水面的阻力,往往無法打得準(zhǔn),而居高臨下的發(fā)射,卻完全是另一回事。

Now, it was plainly a labor of love for Captain Sleet to desCRIbe, as he does, all the little detailed conveniences of his crow's-nest;

這里,象斯立特船長這樣把他那個守望處的細枝末節(jié)都描摹出來,顯然是他認為這是他喜愛的工作;

but though he so enlarges upon many of these, and though he treats us to a very scientific account of his experiments in this crow's-nest, with a small compass he kept there for the purpose of counteracting the errors resulting from what is called the local attraction of all binnacle magnets;

不過,雖然他把這許多東西都描述無遺,雖然他還把他在守望處里所作的非?？茖W(xué)的實驗情形都詳告我們,說他在守望處還裝有一只小小的羅盤,以便解決一切由于羅盤的磁石所謂局部引力而引起的誤差;

an error asCRIbable to the horizontal vicinity of the iron in the ship's planks, and in the Glacier's case, perhaps, to there having been so many broken-down blacksmiths among her crew;

而這種誤差,卻應(yīng)該說是由于船板附近裝有鐵器的緣故,但就格拉西爾號的情形看來,也許是在船上的水手中有太多累壞了的鐵匠的緣故;

I say, that though the Captain is very discreet and scientific here, yet, for all his learned binnacle deviations, azimuth compass observations, and approximate errors, he knows very well, Captain Sleet,

所以我認為,雖然這位船長在這方面考慮十分周詳和富有科學(xué)頭腦,然而,

that he was not so much immersed in those profound magnetic meditations, as to fail being attracted occasionally towards that well replenished little case-bottle, so nicely tucked in on one side of his crow's nest, within easy reach of his hand.

盡管他對于那些羅盤的偏差,船用羅盤的觀測法和近似的誤差都很有研究,但對于磁性,卻又好象不很貫注全神加以深思熟慮似的,以致時不常地沒有注意到那只很巧致地裝在守望處的一邊,伸手就拿得到的裝足了東西的小套瓶。