英語聽書《白鯨記》第626期

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Chapter 66 The Shark Massacre

第六十六章 屠殺鯊魚事件

When in the Southern Fishery a captured Sperm Whale, after long and weary toil, is brought alongside late at night, it is not, as a general thing at least, customary to proceed at once to the business of cutting him in. For that business is an exceedingly laborious one; is not very soon completed; and requires all hands to set about it. Therefore, the common usage is to take in all sail; lash the helm a'lee; and then send every one below to his hammock till daylight, with the reservation that, until that time, anchor-watches shall be kept; that is, two and two for an hour, each couple, the crew in rotation shall mount the deck to see that all goes well.

在南海的捕鯨業(yè)中，經(jīng)過了好久的疲累的拖曳后，在深更半夜里，把一條打倒的抹香鯨拖到船邊來的時候，一般說來，至少是不會立刻就對它進行割油的。因為割油真是樁非常繁重的活兒；并不是一下子就完得了工，而是需要大家一齊來動手的。因此，習慣上總是減帆落篷，在避風處縛起舵來；然后叫大家到艙里去睡覺，不過，在到天亮前這段期間里，總是派人在船尾值夜；就是說，每一個鐘頭由四個人值班，兩人一雙地輪流跑到甲板上，留心一下情況。

But sometimes, especially upon the Line in the Pacific, this plan will not answer at all; because such incalculable hosts of sharks gather round the moored carcase, that were he left so for six hours, say, on a stretch, little more than the skeleton would be visible by morning. In most other parts of the ocean, however, where these fish do not so largely abound, their wondrous voracity can be at times considerably diminished, by vigorously stirring them up with sharp whaling-spades, a procedure notwithstanding, which, in some instances, only seems to tickle them into still greater activity.

但是，有的時候，尤其是在太平洋的赤道上，這種打算就不很反完全適用了；因為圍在這條拴在船邊的死鯨四周的鯊魚，多得無可計數(shù)，如果聽它這樣一氣擱上六個小時，那么，到了天亮一看，就只剩下一架骷髏了。不過，在其它大部分海洋上，因為鯊魚并不是這么多，它們那種貪得無厭的狂欲，只消用一些銳利的捕鯨鏟，對它們狠狠地攪拌一頓，是能夠隨時使它們大大地減小的，雖說這種做法有時似乎只會把它們逗弄得更活躍起來。