英語聽書《白鯨記》第623期

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We all know how they live upon whales, and have rare old vintages of prime old train oil. Zogranda, one of their most famous doctors, recommends strips of blubber for infants, as being exceedingly juicy and nourishing. And this reminds me that certain Englishmen, who long ago were accidentally left in Greenland by a whaling vessel— that these men actually lived for several months on the mouldy scraps of whales which had been left ashore after trying out the blubber. Among the Dutch whalemen these scraps are called "fritters"; which, indeed, they greatly resemble, being brown and CRIsp, and smelling something like old Amsterdam housewives' dough-nuts or oly-cooks, when fresh. They have such an eatable look that the most self-denying stranger can hardly keep his hands off.

我們都知道，他們不但靠大鯨為生，還有象罕見的陳年葡萄酒一般的陳年上好鯨油。有一位最著名的愛斯基摩醫(yī)生叫左格蘭達（據(jù)百周年紀念版注：是諷指斯哥斯比。）的，他就推薦過嬰孩們要吃鯨脂，認為它是最有液汁和最富有營養(yǎng)的東西。說到這里，教我想起一群英國人來，他們在很久之前，偶然被一艘捕鯨船留置在格陵蘭，——這些人，實際上，有好幾個月就是靠那些榨過油后。拋在海邊的、發(fā)霉的鯨肉碎片過活的。在荷蘭的捕鯨人中，管這種碎肉片叫做"鯨油渣"；事實上，這倒很是相象，因為它們顏色棕黃，又有點脆，味道也有點象古代阿姆斯特丹的主婦們所做的新鮮油炸餅或者油煎餅。它們具有那么可口的外表，連最有克制功夫的客人，也不免要食指大動。

But what further depreciates the whale as a civilized dish, is his exceeding richness. He is the great prize ox of the sea, too fat to be delicately good. Look at his hump, which would be as fine eating as the buffalo's (which is esteemed a rare dish), were it not such a solid pyramid of fat. But the spermaceti itself, how bland and creamy that is; like the transparent, half jellied, white meat of a cocoanut in the third month of its growth, yet far too rich to supply a substitute for butter. Nevertheless, many whalemen have a method of absorbing it into some other substance, and then partaking of it.

但是，人們所以更進一步地輕視大鯨，不把它當成文明人的食品，乃是因為它過分肥膩。它本身就是海里的大公牛，十分肥膩，不很可口。瞧它那隆起的背峰，要不是那里邊盡是那樣一片結實得象金字塔般的脂肪，那可就象水牛魚（水牛魚——產于密西西比河一帶的鯽科大魚，背上隆起。）（這是公認的一種珍饈）背那樣的可口了。不過，就抹香鯨油本身說來，盡管它是多么柔滑、濃膩，象一只長了三個月的椰子肉一般透明。雪白而有點膠粘粘的，然而，要用它來代替黃油，卻仍太嫌油膩。話雖如此，有許多捕鯨人都有一種吃法，那就是把它摻和其它的東西一起吃。