英語聽書《白鯨記》第523期

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Hence, I conclude, that in boasting himself to be high lifted above a whaleman, in that assertion the pirate has no solid basis to stand on.

因此我敢斷定，海盜在自夸高出于捕鯨人一籌這一點上，是沒有任何立得住腳的牢靠的基礎(chǔ)的。

But what is a Gam? You might wear out your index-finger running up and down the columns of dictionaries,and never find the word, Dr. Johnson never attained to that erudition；Noah Webster's ark does not hold it.Nevertheless, this same expressive word has now for many years been in constant use among some fifteen thousand true born Yankees. Certainly, it needs a definition, and should be incorporated into the Lexicon. With that view, letme learnedly define it.

那么，“聯(lián)歡會”是什么呢？你也許弄酸了你的手指頭，經(jīng)復(fù)翻遍了各種辭典，也找不到這個詞兒。約翰遜博士（塞繆爾·約翰遜（1709—1784）——英國的辭典編撰者，他所編撰的辭典出版于一七五五年。）從來沒有做出過這個解釋；挪亞。韋柏斯特（挪亞。韋柏斯特（１７５８—１８４３）——美國的辭典編撰者，他的《韋柏斯特大辭典》出版于一八二八年。由于韋柏斯特的名字叫挪亞，因而作者把他的辭典戲稱為《圣經(jīng)》上挪亞的方舟。）的方舟也沒有裝上過這個詞。話雖如此，這個意味深長的詞兒，卻迄今已成為一萬五千個道地的揚基多年來所經(jīng)常應(yīng)用的字眼了。它當(dāng)然需要有個定義，而且還得給加進(jìn)辭典里去。因此，讓我來學(xué)究式地給它下個定義吧。

GAM. NOUN--A social meeting of two (or more) Whaleships, generally on a cruising-ground；when, after exchanging hails, they exchange visits by boats' crews, the two captains remaining, for the time, on board of one ship,and the two chief mates on the other.

聯(lián)歡會（名詞）——兩艘（或兩艘以上）捕鯨船在巡游場上相遇時通常舉行的聯(lián)誼會。兩艘船在彼此打過招呼后，各船的水手們便互作訪問；兩位船長也暫時都呆在一艘船上，兩個大副則在另一艘船上。

There is another little item about Gamming which must not be forgotten here. All professions have their own little peculiarities of detail；so has the whale fishery. In a pirate, man-of-war, or slave ship, when the captain is rowed anywhere in his boat,

關(guān)于聯(lián)歡會，還有另外一個小項目，必須在這里提一提。各行各業(yè)都各有它們自己的一些小特點；捕鯨業(yè)當(dāng)然也不例外。在海盜船上、兵艦上或者是在販賣奴隸船上，船長坐小艇給劃到任何地方去時，