英語聽書《白鯨記》第520期

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For the long absent ship, the outward-bounder, perhaps, has letters on board; at any rate, she will be sure tolet her have some papers of a date a year or two later than the last one on her blurred and thumb-worn files. And in return for that courtesy, the outward-bound ship would receive the latest whaling intelligence from thecruising-ground to which she may be destined, a thing of the utmost importance to her. And in degree, all thiswill hold true concerning whaling vessels crossing each other's track on the cruising-ground itself, even though they are equally long absent from home. For one of them may have received a transfer of letters from some third, and now far remote vessel; and some of those letters may be for the people of the ship she now meets. Besides, they would exchange the whaling news, and have an agreeable chat. For not only would they meet with allthe sympathies of sailors, but likewise with all the peculiar congenialities arising from a common pursuit andmutually shared privations and perils.

而且，那艘外航船說不定還帶有一些信件，要交給一艘離家多年的船只，無論如何，它一定會給那艘船帶來幾份報紙，這些報紙總比那艘船那些夾在報夾里。讓手指頭翻得稀爛破碎的報紙新一兩年吧。于是，禮尚往來，這艘外航船就會得到一些也許它必須去的巡游場的最近的捕鯨消息，一些對它是極其重要的消息。這樣，慢慢地，這些禮節(jié)就在一般巡游場上彼此相值的捕鯨船間流傳下去了，哪怕這兩艘船的離家期間是相差無幾。因為說不定其中有一艘船還帶有現(xiàn)在遠在他處的第三艘船的一些轉(zhuǎn)遞信件，而其中有些信件說不定就是它現(xiàn)在所碰到的船上的人的。此外，他們還可以交換捕鯨消息，稱心快意地聊一聊。因為他們不僅會獲得水手們的一切同情，也會獲得由于職業(yè)相同，患難相共而來的種種特殊愉快。

Nor would difference of country make any very essential difference; that is, so long as both parties speak onelanguage, as is the case with Americans and English. Though, to be sure, from the small number of English whalers, such meetings do not very often occur, and when they do occur there, is too apt to be a sort of shyness between them; for your Englishman is rather reserved, and your Yankee, he does not fancy that sort of thing in anybody but himself.

國籍不同也不會有什么本質(zhì)上的不同，就是說，只要雙方都是操著同樣的語言就行，英美兩國的船員就是這樣。不過，英國的捕鯨船為數(shù)不多，當然就不常常會有這種相遇的機會，而且一旦相遇了，彼此之間也還不免稍有忸怩之感；因為那些英國人總是比較拘謹，而揚基(揚基——美國人的綽號，尤指新英格蘭人，因為一般捕鯨者大都是新英格蘭人。)呢，卻根本就沒有想到這一套。