英語聽書《白鯨記》第800期
第九十三章 被摒棄者
It was but some few days after encountering the Frenchman, that a most significant event befell the most insignificant of the Pequod's crew; an event most lamentable; and which ended in providing the sometimes madly merry and predestinated craft with a living and ever accompanying prophecy of whatever shattered sequel might prove her own.
大約是在遇到那艘法國船的幾天后，"裴廓德號(hào)"上有一件極其重大的事情落到一個(gè)最不足道的水手的頭上，這是一件最可悲的事情，到頭來，這件事情還給這艘始終是嘻嘻哈哈而命運(yùn)卻已注定的船，提供了一種生動(dòng)而始終擺脫不了的預(yù)言：它自己總要遭到任何一種粉身碎骨的結(jié)局。
Now, in the whale ship, it is not every one that goes in the boats. Some few hands are reserved called shipkeepers, whose province it is to work the vessel while the boats are pursuing the whale. As a general thing, these shipkeepers are as hardy fellows as the men comprising the boats' crews. But if there happen to be an unduly slender, clumsy, or timorous wight in the ship, that wight is certain to be made a ship-keeper. It was so in the Pequod with the little negro Pippin by nick-name, Pip by abbreviation. Poor Pip! ye have heard of him before; ye must remember his tambourine on that dramatic midnight, so gloomy-jolly.
且說在捕鯨船上，并不是人人都要下小艇的。它總要留幾個(gè)叫做看船人的人，他們的職份就是在小艇追擊大鯨時(shí)，由他們航駛大船。這些看船人的身體通常都是跟艇上的水手一樣壯健。不過，如果船上恰巧有個(gè)非常細(xì)弱。笨拙或者是膽小的家伙，那肯定要叫那個(gè)家伙來做看船人。"裴廓德號(hào)"上那個(gè)外號(hào)叫比平，簡稱比普的小黑人，就正是這等人物?？蓱z的比普！你們以前已經(jīng)聽到過他這個(gè)名字了；你們一定還記得在那個(gè)富有戲劇情調(diào)的午夜中，他那只敲得那么樂中透愁的小手鼓吧。
In outer aspect, Pip and Dough-Boy made a match, like a black pony and a white one, of equal developments, though of dissimilar color, driven in one eccentric span. But while hapless Dough-Boy was by nature dull and torpid in his intellects, Pip, though over tender-hearted, was at bottom very bright, with that pleasant, genial, jolly brightness peculiar to his tribe; a tribe, which ever enjoy all holidays and festivities with finer, freer relish than any other race.
在外表上，比普和湯團(tuán)倒是活寶一對，有如一匹黑馬和一匹白馬，種色雖然不同，大小卻很相稱，是一對志不同道不合的雙軛馬。那個(gè)倒霉的湯團(tuán)，生性愚笨，又兼智力魯鈍，至于比普呢，雖然心地過于溫厚，內(nèi)里卻十分聰明伶俐，有著他的種族那種可愛、親切、快活開朗的特點(diǎn)；這個(gè)種族，逢到大小節(jié)日，總是比任何其它民族過得更快活、更放縱。
