英語聽書《白鯨記》第1024期
But at last in his untraceable evolutions, the White Whale so crossed and recrossed, and in a thousand ways entangled the slack of the three lines now fast to him, that they foreshortened, and, of themselves, warped the devoted boats towards the planted irons in him; though now for a moment the whale drew aside a little, as if to rally for a more tremendous charge. Seizing that opportunity, Ahab first paid out more line; and then was rapidly hauling and jerking in upon it again — hoping that way to disencumber it of some snarls — when lo! — a sight more savage than the embattled teeth of sharks!
但是，最后，這條白鯨在它那難以使人追蹤的翻來復去中，這么旋過來又轉過去，跟那三根這會兒把它拴住了的繩索的松散一頭糾纏得十分亂，以致這些繩索一下子自己收縮了，把那幾只專心一志的小艇曳向那些插在它身上的標槍那兒去；不過，這會兒，這條鯨又暫時地曳開了一點，仿佛要集中全力作一次更厲害的沖擊。亞哈抓住這個時機，先放出一些繩索，然后又迅速地把放出去的繩索用力拖拖搖搖——希望這樣一來，好把糾纏在一起的繩索抖散開來——可是嗨呀！——卻出現(xiàn)了一個比城垛似的鯊魚齒還要嚇人的場面了！
Caught and twisted — corkscrewed in the mazes of the line, loose harpoons and lances, with all their bristling barbs and points, came flashing and dripping up to the chocks in the bows of Ahab's boat. Only one thing could be done. Seizing the boat-knife, he critically reached within — through — and then, without — the rays of steel; dragged in the line beyond, passed it, inboard, to the bowsman, and then, twice sundering the rope near the chocks — dropped the intercepted fagot of steel into the sea; and was all fast again. That instant, the White Whale made a sudden rush among the remaining tangles of the other lines; by so doing, irresistibly dragged the more involved boats of Stubb and Flask towards his flukes; dashed them together like two rolling husks on a surf-beaten beach, and then, diving down into the sea, disappeared in a boiling maelstrom, in which, for a space, the odorous cedar chips of the wrecks danced round and round, like the grated nutmeg in a swiftly stirred bowl of punch.
松脫了的標槍和捕鯨槍，都絆呀。扭呀，糾纏在迷魂陣似的繩索中，那些豎起的標槍鉤和槍尖，光輝閃爍。水珠滴滴嗒嗒地都一起堆在亞哈那只小艇的艇頭那些導纜器上。唯一的辦法就是：亞哈抓起一柄艇刀，有條不素地先把刀子割掉艙內的——割得很地道——然后又割艇外的繩索——刀光閃爍；于是，把外邊的繩索拉進來，朝里遞給那個頭槳手，接著，又把靠近導纜器的繩子割了兩下——把割斷了的一捆槍尖槍鉤都丟進了海里，這樣，一切又正常了。此時，白鯨突然在其它那些還沒有割掉的繩索里一沖；這樣一來，斯塔布和弗拉斯克那兩只繩索更其錯綜復雜的小艇就給乖乖地拖到它的尾巴那兒去了；這兩只小艇象是兩只滾來撞去的玉蜀黍包皮撞在碎浪沖擊的海灘上，撲通一撞后，它就直潛進了海里，消失在一陣沸騰的大渦流里。那些香氣撲鼻的杉木殘板斷片都在那大渦流里盤來旋去地跳動了一會兒，好象浮泛在一碗迅速攪動的五味酒上的豆蔻末。
