英語聽書《白鯨記》第386期

In shape, he differs in some degree from the Huzza Porpoise, being of a less rotund and jolly girth; indeed, he is of quite a neat and gentleman-like figure. He has no fins on his back (most other porpoises have), he has a lovely tail, and sentimental Indian eyes of a hazel hue. But his mealy-mouth spoils all. Though his entire back down to his side fins is of a deep sable, yet a boundary line, distinct as the mark in a ship's hull, called the "bright waist," that line streaks him from stem to stern, with two separate colors, black above and white below. The white comprises part of his head, and the whole of his mouth, which makes him look as if he had just escaped from a felonious visit to a meal-bag. A most mean and mealy aspect! His oil is much like that of the common porpoise.

在形狀上,它跟烏拉鯨稍有不同,身體不象它那么滾圓,腹部也不那么飽滿;事實(shí)上,它倒很有一個整潔的紳士型的身段。它背上無鰭(其它小鯨大多是有鰭的),卻有一條可愛的尾巴,和一對淡褐色的多愁善感的印第安人的眼睛。但是,它那張粉嘴卻是美中不足。雖然它從整個背脊直到兩邊的鰭部都是深黑色的,然而,從頭到尾都有一條界線,象標(biāo)志在船腰上那種叫做"吃水線"的一樣鮮明,有著兩種不同的顏色,上黑下白。白的部分包括它的頭部的一部分和整個嘴巴,使得它那樣子直象是剛從兇險的麥粉袋里逃出來似的。真是一副最卑鄙又最粉氣的相貌!它的油量跟一般小鯨不相上下。

Beyond the DUODECIMO, this system does not proceed, inasmuch as the Porpoise is the smallest of the whales. Above, you have all the Leviathans of note. But there are a rabble of uncertain, fugitive, half-fabulous whales, which, as an American whaleman, I know by reputation, but not personally. I shall enumerate them by their fore-castle appellations; for possibly such a list may be valuable to future investigators, who may complete what I have here but begun. If any of the following whales, shall hereafter be caught and marked, then he can readily be incorporated into this System, according to his Folio, Octavo, or Duodecimo magnitude.

除了十二開型以外,因為其余的小鯨都是鯨類中最小的,所以這個分類也就不再繼續(xù)弄下去了。上面你們已經(jīng)可以獲得各種大海獸的概略了。但是,還有一大群難以確定的。不易捉到的。半神話式的鯨,這些,象我這個美國捕鯨人,也只是耳聞而不是親眼目睹的。我將把船頭樓上對它們的叫法給列舉出來;因為這樣一張單子對將來的調(diào)查者也許會有價值,他們可以把我只在這里開個頭的工作加以完成。如果以后人們能夠捉到或者看到下列的任何鯨魚,那么,就可以按照對開,八開,十二開的大小把它們分別并入這個分類法里,這些鯨便是。