英語聽書《白鯨記》第897期

所屬教程:英語聽書《白鯨記》

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2019年08月30日

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Chapter 109 Ahab and Starbuck in the Cabin

第一百零九章亞哈和斯達巴克在船長室里

According to usage they were pumping the ship next morning; and lo! no inconsiderable oil came up with the water; the casks below must have sprung a bad leak. Much concern was shown; and Starbuck went down into the cabin to report this unfavorable affair. In Sperm-whalemen with any considerable quantity of oil on board, it is a regular semiweekly duty to conduct a hose into the hold, and drench the casks with sea-water; which afterwards, at varying intervals, is removed by the ship's pumps. Hereby the casks are sought to be kept damply tight; while by the changed character of the withdrawn water, the mariners readily detect any serious leakage in the precious cargo.

隔天早晨，按照習慣，他們正在抽干船里的水；噯喲！跟水一起抽出來的，可有不少的油呀；艙里那些油桶一定豁裂得很厲害了。大家都很關(guān)心，于是，斯達巴克跑到下邊船長室里，向亞哈報告這件不吉利的事（原注：裝載有大量鯨油的捕抹香鯨船，每半個星期就得用水龍帶引水灌進艙里，讓海水浸濕那些油桶；之后，又在不同的時間里，再用幫浦給抽出來，使油桶始終保持潮濕。然而，由于水一抽掉，不免又要發(fā)生變化，因此，水手們得隨時檢查這些貴重貨物，以防嚴重漏損。）。

Now, from the South and West the Pequod was drawing nigh to Formosa and the Bashee Isles, between which lies one of the tropical outlets from the China waters into the Pacific. And so Starbuck found Ahab with a general chart of the oriental archipelagoes spread before him; and another separate one representing the long eastern coasts of the Japanese islands—Niphon, Matsmai, and Sikoke. With his snow-white new ivory leg braced against the screwed leg of his table, and with a long pruning-hook of a jack-knife in his hand, the wondrous old man, with his back to the gangway door, was wrinkling his brow, and tracing his old courses again.

這時，"裴廓德號"正由西南方逐漸駛近臺灣和巴士群島，在這兩個群島之間，橫著從中國海通向太平洋的熱帶的出口。因此，斯達巴克看到亞哈的時候，亞哈的面前正攤著一張東方群島全圖；旁邊還另外擺著一張有一串日本群島——日本本土，松前，四國的東方沿海圖。他那條雪白的新牙腿抵著他那只用螺絲旋牢了的桌腿，手里拿著一把張開修甲刃的小刀子，這個古怪的老頭，背著門口，皺起眉頭，又在探索他從前的航程了。