英語聽書《白鯨記》第804期

We can't afford to lose whales by the likes of you; a whale would sell for thirty times what you would, Pip, in Alabama. Bear that in mind, and don't jump any more." Hereby perhaps Stubb indirectly hinted, that though man loved his fellow, yet man is a money-making animal, which propensity too often interferes with his benevolence.

我們不能為了你這樣的人而白白犧牲一條大鯨，一條大鯨，在阿拉巴馬地方，賣起來可比你的身價高出三十倍呢，比普。要牢牢記住這點，別再跳了。"這樣，斯塔布也許就間接地暗示出，人類雖然愛他的伙伴，然而，人類畢竟是種孳孳為利的動物，這種癖好往往要跟他的仁愛心發(fā)生沖突。

But we are all in the hands of the Gods; and Pip jumped again. It was under very similar circumstances to the first performance; but this time he did not breast out the line; and hence, when the whale started to run, Pip was left behind on the sea, like a hurried traveller's trunk. Alas! Stubb was but too true to his word. It was a beautiful, bounteous, blue day! the spangled sea calm and cool, and flatly stretching away, all round, to the horizon, like gold-beater's skin hammered out to the extremest. Bobbing up and down in that sea, Pip's ebon head showed like a head of cloves. No boat-knife was lifted when he fell so rapidly astern. Stubb's inexorable back was turned upon him; and the whale was winged. In three minutes, a whole mile of shoreless ocean was between Pip and Stubb. Out from the centre of the sea, poor Pip turned his crisp, curling, black head to the sun, another lonely castaway, though the loftiest and the brightest.

但是，我們大家都掌握在上帝的手里；比普又跳出去了。情形跟第一次極相仿佛；不過，這回，他胸口并沒有抵著捕鯨索；因此，當(dāng)那條鯨要狂奔出去的時候，比普就象被慌忙的旅客丟下的一只箱子那樣，給撇在后邊的海上了。唉！斯塔布也太信守他的言語了。這一天，真是太陽普施仁愛，天空蔚藍(lán)而綺麗，閃耀的海洋平靜無波，平坦地向四面的水平線伸展開去，象金箔匠的金箔讓?頭擊得非常勻稱那樣。比普在海里忽上忽下地漂，他那黑檀木的頭頂好象一簇丁香樹冠。當(dāng)他這樣迅速地翻到艇尾去的時候，誰都沒有舉起艇刀。斯塔布無情地背對著他；那條大鯨已被戳傷了。在三分鐘內(nèi)，在無邊的海洋上，比普跟斯塔布已隔開整整一英里。在海洋的中心里，可憐的比普那只一頭鬈曲黑發(fā)的腦袋，對著太陽，雖然是這么天高氣爽，燦爛輝煌，可是，又有一個孤寂的被擯棄者了。

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