英語聽書《白鯨記》第718期

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But a few strokes, full of sparks, were given, when the exceeding strain effected the rest. With a terrific snap, every fastening went adrift; the ship righted, the carcase sank.

有幾下子，由于用力過猛，火星迸發(fā)。可怕的啪嗒一聲，緊縛著的繩索都散開了；船身也平正過來了，尸體就沉了下去。

Now, this occasional inevitable sinking of the recently killed Sperm Whale is a very curious thing; nor has any fisherman yet adequately accounted for it. Usually the dead Sperm Whale floats with great buoyancy, with its side or belly considerably elevated above the surface. If the only whales that thus sank were old, meagre, and broken-hearted creatures, their pads of lard diminished and all their bones heavy and rheumatic; then you might with some reason assert that this sinking is caused by an uncommon specific gravity in the fish so sinking, consequent upon this absence of buoyant matter in him. But it is not so. For young whales, in the highest health, and swelling with noble aspirations, prematurely cut off in the warm flush and May of life, with all their panting lard about them! even these brawny, buoyant heroes do sometimes sink.

這種不得不把剛殺死的抹香鯨拿來沉掉的意外事件，倒真十分希奇；而且直到現(xiàn)在也是任何一個捕魚人都說不明白的。一只死了的抹香鯨，通?？偸呛苡懈×?，它們的側(cè)腹，或者肚皮會脹鼓鼓地浮在水面上。只有那種上了年紀，身體瘦弱，傷心透頂，全身無油，骨頭很重，又患風(fēng)濕癥的鯨才會這樣沉下去；這樣，你就可以有若干理由強調(diào)說，它之所以下沉是因為有一種不同凡響的比重，是由于它缺乏這種浮力的緣故。然而，卻又不然。因為年青的鯨，在其年富力強、趾高氣揚的時候，如遇盛年夭折，卻是渾身是油的！可是，哪怕這種結(jié)結(jié)實實、富有浮力的英雄，有時也不免要沉下去。

Be it said, however, that the Sperm Whale is far less liable to this accident than any other species. Where one of that sort go down, twenty Right Whales do. This difference in the species is no doubt imputable in no small degree to the greater quantity of bone in the Right Whale; his Venetian blinds alone sometimes weighing more than a ton; from this incumbrance the Sperm Whale is wholly free.

不過，實際上，抹香鯨遠不象任何其它鯨類那樣會經(jīng)常發(fā)生這種意外。有一條抹香鯨沉下去，就有二十條露脊鯨沉下去。這種差別毫無疑問，大都得歸之于露脊鯨有更大量的骨頭；因為光是它那些細長窗簾，有時稱起來就不止一噸重；抹香鯨可就完全沒有這種拖累。