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Literature (文学)

Moby-Dick: Ahab’s Revenge 茫茫大洋的巨兽：《白鲸记》

详细资料: 创建于 2011年5月25日; 最后更新于 2024年5月25日; 发布于 2013年9月19日; 作者：Mike Lee; 点击数：265

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

When we talk about the great American classics, it’s not long before someone mentions Moby-Dick; or, the Whale. And it is worth good reason, for this epic tale offers its readers all that they could desire. Sailing on the wild and unforgiving oceans, the crew of the Pequod seeks the planet’s greatest beast, a whale that inspires awe in even the most courageous of seamen. Captain Ahab’s vengeful determination to find and kill Moby Dick can lead to nothing but catastrophe for the ill-fated men under his command.

当我们讨论着美国的经典著作时，马上会有人提起《白鲸记》。《白鲸记》可是有充分理由做为美国的经典作品：这本史诗巨作满足了读者所有的冀望之情。裴圭特号的船员在汹涌无情的海上航行，寻找一只地球上最大的野兽，一只让最勇敢的船员也敬畏的白鲸。亚哈船长找到并杀死这头白鲸的复仇决心，却使旗下不幸的船员步上灾难之途。

Moby-Dick was written by Herman Melville, and much of the novel was inspired by the author’s own adventures at sea. Born in 1819 in New York City, Melville was a privileged child. However, when Melville was 12, his fortunes were reversed as his recently bankrupt father died, leaving his family penniless. Melville’s mother raised him then, and her influence on her son’s writing was to become evident – she often told him stories from the Bible, and Moby-Dick alone is filled with too many biblical allusions to mention.

《白鲸记》由赫曼．梅尔维尔所著，此书大部分情节启发自作者个人海上经历。梅尔维尔于1891年出生于纽约，他是一个富裕家庭的孩子。然而，当梅尔维尔12岁时，因破产的父亲去世，使家中一贫如洗，也让梅尔维尔的命运就此改变。梅尔维尔的母亲继续养育他，而她对儿子的写作影响处处可见。她常教导梅尔维尔圣经故事，故《白鲸记》中充满了许多圣经上的隐喻。

In his lifetime, Melville made many voyages. Yet it is his 18 months aboard the whaler Acushnet that are most pertinent to Moby-Dick. Melville would later say that the day he boarded the Acushnet at New Bedford, Massachusetts – January 3rd, 1841 – as the day his life began.

梅尔维尔在世时步上多趟航程，而在捕鲸船艾曲奈特号上18个月的经历与《白鲸记》尤有关连。梅尔维尔之后提到，在麻萨诸赛州的新贝德福踏上艾曲奈特号的那一天──1841年1月3日──是他生命转变的一天。

On his return to America, Melville was impelled to write his whaling masterpiece. Working all day, every day, he said he would need enough ink to fill a volcano’s crater to pen this book. Sadly, his enthusiasm and dedication were not appreciated when Moby-Dick was published in 1851. Melville died in 1891, and many more years would pass before his finest work received the recognition it deserved.

梅尔维尔回到美国后，他的航行经验促使他挥笔写出捕鲸大作。他每天执笔一整天，并说他需要能填满一个火山口那么多的墨水来写出这本书。但令人哀伤的是，他对于《白鲸记》的热情和奉献并没有在该书1851年出版时得到重视。梅尔维尔在1891年去世，而这本他最好的作品在多年后才获得应得之肯定。

Vocabulary

单词发音

revenge [rɪˋvɛndʒ] n. 报仇；报复

unforgiving [͵ʌnfɚˋgɪvɪŋ] adj.〔人〕不原谅人的; 无情的

awe [ɔ] n. 敬畏；畏怯

courageous [kəˋredʒəs] adj. 英勇的，勇敢的

seaman [ˋsimən] n. 海员，水手

vengeful [ˋvɛndʒfəl] adj. 报复的；复仇的

catastrophe [kəˋtæstrəfɪ] n. 大灾，大祸，大灾难

ill-fated [ˋɪlˋfetɪd] adj. 不幸的﹐倒霉的〔导致严重问题甚至死亡的〕

privileged [ˋprɪvɪlɪdʒd] adj. 有特权的; 荣幸的﹐幸运的

fortune [ˋfɔrtʃən] n. 好运，幸运

bankrupt [ˋbæŋkrʌpt] adj. 破产的

penniless [ˋpɛnɪlɪs] adj. 身无分文的；极度贫穷的

allusion [əˋluʒən] n. 暗示；间接提到；提及

whaler [ˋhwelɚ] n. 捕鲸船

pertinent [ˋpɝtnənt] adj. 有关的，相干的

impel [ɪmˋpɛl] v. 驱使；迫使

whaling [ˋhwelɪŋ] n. 捕鲸；捕鲸业

crater [ˋkretɚ] n. 火山口

pen [pɛn] v. 写；写作

enthusiasm [ɪnˋθjuzɪ͵æzəm] n. 热情，热忱

recognition [͵rɛkəgˋnɪʃən] n. 赏识；表彰; 认可

课文朗读

课文讲解

“Call me Ishmael,” the narrator says in the first line of Moby-Dick, and it is he who takes us on our journey across the world’s seas and to the Pacific Ocean. It is the powerful draw of water that brings Ishmael to the seaport of New Bedford, where he befriends the cannibal Queequeg. They head to Nantucket and sign up with the whaling vessel Pequod.

《白鲸记》的第一行写着「你们就管我叫以实玛利吧」。就是以实玛利带领我们横越大洋并抵达太平洋。大海强烈地吸引着以实玛利来到新贝德福的海港，在那儿他与食人族魁魁格成为朋友。之后他俩一同前往南塔开特，与捕鲸船裴圭特号签订工作契约。

No sooner have the pair agreed to sail aboard this ship than they are confronted by a man – a prophet – named Elijah. When Ishmael says they have signed the contract with Captain Ahab’s Pequod, Elijah asks, “Anything down there about your souls?” The prophet implies the seamen’s fates are sealed: they’ve signed their lives away.

这一对伙伴在搭上这艘船不久后，遇到一位名为伊莱贾的先知。当以实玛利表明自己已与亚哈船长签了裴圭特号的契约时，伊莱贾问道，「你们签约时，可把灵魂也签上去了？」。先知暗示水手们的命运已被决定；水手已签了他们的卖身契。

Still, the Pequod sets sail. Many days pass before the enigmatic Ahab appears, informing the crew that the real reason for the voyage is to harpoon and kill Moby Dick. To that great whale, Ahab lost his leg, and he is after only one thing: revenge. Of all on board, it is the first mate, Starbuck, who has misgivings about Ahab’s intentions. He believes it is dangerous, mad, and unholy to seek “vengeance on a dumb brute.” Others believe, though, that the “wondrous whale” is but a “magnified mouse.”

裴圭特号仍照旧启航。谜样的亚哈在多天后现身，告诉船员此行真正的目地是要去追捕并猎杀莫比敌。亚哈因为那条白鲸而失掉一条腿，而他追捕那只白鲸只有一个目的：复仇。在所有船员之中，只有大副斯达巴克对亚哈的意图感到不安。斯达巴克觉得报复一只呆蠢动物的行为是很危险、疯狂而且极为不妥的。然而其他人则认为，这只谜样的动物只是只「放大版的老鼠」。

Months pass in search of the huge white whale, and each day, the captain grows madder. Other whales are harpooned, and the Pequod meets other ships along the way. All Ahab cares about, though, is whether or not they have sighted Moby Dick. The sense of foreboding builds until the Pequod reaches the Pacific. The captain is confident that the mysterious Moby Dick will be in these waters.

找了这只大白鲸好几个月后，随着日子的增加，船长也越加地疯狂。裴圭特号一路上也猎杀了几只鲸鱼并遇到其他船只。然而亚哈所关心的是其他船的船员是否发现了莫比敌。当裴圭特号抵达太平洋时，不祥之感也剧增。船长相信神秘的莫比敌将现身于附近水域。

Vocabulary

单词发音

narrator [nəˋretɚ] n. 叙述者，讲述者

seaport [ˋsi͵port] n. 海港

cannibal [ˋkænəb!] n. 食人生番，食人族

confront [kənˋfrʌnt] v. 迎面遇到；面临

prophet [ˋprɑfɪt] n. 先知，预言家

imply [ɪmˋplaɪ] v. 暗指；暗示；意味着

seal [sil] v. 确定；决定 determined irrevocably

enigmatic [͵ɛnɪgˋmætɪk] adj. 如谜的；难以理解的

harpoon [hɑrˋpun] v. 用鱼叉叉

after [ˋæftɚ] prep. 搜寻，寻找 coming afterwards; in pursuit

misgiving [mɪsˋgɪvɪŋ] n. 担忧，不安，疑虑

unholy [ʌnˋholɪ] adj. 不神圣的; 【口】不适宜的，不合理的 not holy; not sacred or hallowed

vengeance [ˋvɛndʒəns] n. 报复；报仇，复仇

dumb [dʌm] adj. 愚笨的

brute [brut] n. 兽；畜生

wondrous [ˋwʌndrəs] adj. 令人惊奇的；不可思议的；奇妙的

magnified [ˋmægnə͵faɪd] adj. 放大了的

foreboding [forˋbodɪŋ] n.（不祥的）预感

Idiom

片语发音

sign up 报名登记; 签约雇用 to agree to be a participant or recipient by signing one's name; enlist

no sooner do something than do something else 一...就... immediately after one thing happens another thing happens

课文朗读

课文讲解

On the serene waters of the Pacific, the Pequod encounters the Rachel. The Rachel’s captain implores Ahab to help him find members of his missing crew, including his young son, who have not been seen since they chased Moby Dick. Though the Pequod’s men think it inhuman, Ahab refuses to aid the Rachel’s search. He is consumed by revenge and knows that the whale is near.

在平静的太平洋水面上，裴圭特号遇到瑞秋号。瑞秋号的船长央求亚哈帮忙协寻其失踪船员，包括因追杀莫比敌而失踪的儿子。纵使裴圭特号的船员觉得亚哈之举不太人道，亚哈仍拒绝协助瑞秋号的搜寻行动。亚哈知道鲸鱼就在附近。他的心充满复仇之情。

Finally, Moby Dick is spotted. But attempts to kill the whale are useless: “never, never wilt thou capture him,” cries Starbuck. But Ahab leads his men into an unwinnable battle, and Moby Dick destroys him. The Pequod, and all aboard, just as Elijah predicted. Only Ishmael survives, as he is rescued by the Rachel.

最后，裴圭特号发现莫比敌。尝试捕杀却徒劳无功。斯达巴克这么呼喊着：「你是永远、永远也捉不到这只白鲸的。」亚哈带领他的船员前去打一场不会得胜的战争。诚如伊莱贾所预言般，莫比敌将摧毁亚哈、裴圭特号与船上的所有人；生还者只有被瑞秋号救起的以实玛利。

Moby-Dick is a vast and profound literary work, and one which teems with biblical references, especially in the names of the characters and in what they represent. Moby Dick is perceived by many to stand for religion itself, or, at least, for the unknowable powers that govern us. In his pursuit of the whale, Ahab demonstrates that man’s attempts to fully comprehend such forces can only ever be fruitless. Furthermore, Melville writes about the futility of revenge and, through Ishmael and Queequeg’s relationship, the benefits of tolerance.

《白鲸记》是一个浩繁且具深度之文本，且此书充满了圣经引用，特别是人物名字与人物所代表的意义。多数人认为莫比敌为宗教的化身，或至少代表统治人类的一股不知名力量。在亚哈船长追捕白鲸的过程中，亚哈显示了人类试着完全理解此种力量只是徒劳无功。更甚者，梅尔维尔写出报复之无益、与以实玛利与魁魁格之间忍让之益处。

More than a century and a half later, Moby-Dick continues to resonate. In the book is a lesson about how our actions, like Ahab’s, have consequences for those around us, and about how the way we treat our planet has consequences too. Ishmael says, reflecting the attitudes of the time, that there is no “argument in favor of the gradual extinction” of the whale. Today, the whaling industry lives on while the ocean’s whales die out. Maybe Moby-Dick’s most important lesson is that to learn from the mistakes of the past is the only way to successfully move forward.

《白鲸记》在超过一个半世纪后，其书中意涵仍持续造成回响。如亚哈般的人类行为如何影响其周遭的人事物，和人类对待地球的方式会有何种后果，都是这本书要传达的启示。以实玛利说，回溯过去，没有任何足以证明鲸鱼渐趋灭亡的论证。但今日在海中的鲸鱼却已绝迹，捕鲸业却仍存在。也许《白鲸记》里最重要的一堂课，乃是从过去错误中记取教训，是唯一能够迈向成功之途。

－by Alice Davis

Vocabulary

单词发音