They left a great, wide wake, as though continually unrolling a great wide parchment upon the sea.
它們撇下一條又闊又粗的水痕,直象一張闊大的羊皮紙,在海上不斷地攤開來。
Full in this rapid wake, and many fathoms in the rear, swam a huge, humped old bull, which by his comparatively slow progress, as well as by the unusual yellowish incrustations over-growing him, seemed afflicted with the jaundice, or some other infirmity. Whether this whale belonged to the pod in advance, seemed questionable; for it is not customary for such venerable leviathans to be at all social. Nevertheless, he stuck to their wake, though indeed their back water must have retarded him, because the white-bone or swell at his broad muzzle was a dashed one, like the swell formed when two hostile currents meet. His spout was short, slow, and laborious; coming forth with a choking sort of gush, and spending itself in torn shreds, followed by strange subterranean commotions in him, which seemed to have egress at his other buried extremity, causing the waters behind him to upbubble.
在這條急激的水痕中,靠后邊幾十英尺的地方,臃臃腫腫地游著一條碩大的、背峰隆起的老鯨,從它那進展相當遲緩的游速,渾身是一種罕見的淡黃色看來,它似乎是害著黃疸病,或者其它什么病癥。究竟這條鯨是否跟前邊的同群,似乎也成問題,因為象這樣年高德劭的大鯨,按例總是落落寡合的。但是,它卻緊跟在它們后面,雖然事實上,前邊的鯨群撇下的水浪一定很妨礙它的前進,因為它那張大嘴噴出來的就是一股浪沫飛濺的急流,好象是兩支敵對的激流相遇時所形成的浪濤。它的噴水很短很慢,很費力氣;它不住地涌出一大陣閉氣似的噴水,四散紛飛,好象它體內(nèi)有種奇特的騷動,它那深掩在水里的另一端也有排泄物,使得它身后的水浪咕嚕咕嚕地冒著泡。
Who's got some paregoric? said Stubb, "he has the stomach-ache, I'm afraid. Lord, think of having half an acre of stomach-ache! Adverse winds are holding mad Christmas in him, boys. It's the first foul wind I ever knew to blow from astern; but look, did ever whale yaw so before? it must be, he's lost his tiller."
哪一個有鴉片酊?斯塔布說,"我怕它鬧肚子痛。天呀,看它那半英畝大的身體,竟鬧起肚子來!逆風正在它肚皮里舉行圣誕節(jié)狂歡呢,伙伴們。這種從后面吹過來的逆風,我倒是生平第一遭看到的;從來可有過這樣亂駛的鯨么?它一定是丟了舵柄了。"