英語(yǔ)聽(tīng)書(shū)《白鯨記》第798期

Because those whalemen did not then, and do not now, try out their oil at sea as the Southern ships have always done; but cutting up the fresh blubber in small bits, thrust it through the bung holes of large casks, and carry it home in that manner; the shortness of the season in those Icy Seas, and the sudden and violent storms to which they are exposed, forbidding any other course. The consequence is, that upon breaking into the hold, and unloading one of these whale cemeteries, in the Greenland dock, a savor is given forth somewhat similar to that arising from excavating an old city graveyard, for the foundations of a Lying-in Hospital.

因?yàn)槟切┎饿L人，不論在當(dāng)時(shí)和現(xiàn)在，都不象南海漁船所經(jīng)常做的那樣，先在海上把油熬好；而是把那些生鯨脂砍成一小塊一小塊，朝大桶口擲下去后，就那樣把它裝回家來(lái)；由于在那種冰天雪地的海洋中，獵季短促，經(jīng)常遭到突然而來(lái)的猛烈的風(fēng)暴的打擊，沒(méi)能采取任何其它辦法，結(jié)果是，一打開(kāi)船艙，把這些一塊塊的尸肉卸上格陵蘭碼頭時(shí)，就發(fā)散出一種類似于為了構(gòu)筑產(chǎn)科醫(yī)院的地基，把城里的古墳挖掉后所發(fā)出來(lái)的味道（據(jù)百周年紀(jì)念版注：匹茨堡的古墓地于1850—1851年間遷移至另一新址。原址造了一個(gè)中學(xué)，并未建造產(chǎn)科醫(yī)院，作者在這里只是為了強(qiáng)調(diào)以死人的墓地為活人派用場(chǎng)而故意扯上的。）。

I partly surmise also, that this wicked charge against whalers may be likewise imputed to the existence on the coast of Greenland, in former times, of a Dutch village called Schmerenburgh or Smeerenberg, which latter name is the one used by the learned Fogo Von Slack, in his great work on Smells, a text-book on that subject. As its name imports (smeer, fat; berg, to put up), this village was founded in order to afford a place for the blubber of the Dutch whale fleet to be tried out, without being taken home to Holland for that purpose. It was a collection of furnaces, fat-kettles, and oil sheds; and when the works were in full operation certainly gave forth no very pleasant savor.

我還不免要這樣推測(cè)，這種對(duì)捕鯨船的惡意攻擊，還可以同樣地歸之于昔時(shí)的格陵蘭海岸上，有一個(gè)叫做斯麥楞堡或者斯邁楞堡的荷蘭村莊的緣故，斯邁楞堡這名稱也就是曾經(jīng)被那個(gè)博學(xué)的福戈、馮、斯拉克（據(jù)百周年紀(jì)念版注：這里又是作者對(duì)斯哥斯比開(kāi)的玩笑，斯拉克即斯哥斯比。）用在他那論嗅覺(jué)的巨著上（論嗅覺(jué)的一本教科書(shū)）的一個(gè)名稱。就那名稱的含義上說(shuō)來(lái)（斯邁就是油脂；堡就是腌藏），因?yàn)檫@個(gè)村莊，乃是為了使荷蘭捕鯨隊(duì)有個(gè)煉油處所而設(shè)置的，讓他們可以不必把鯨脂拿回荷蘭去煉制。在這個(gè)莊子上，有許多大灶。油鍋和油庫(kù)，當(dāng)這種工作全面進(jìn)行時(shí)，當(dāng)然就發(fā)出一種不很好聞的味道了。

查看有聲讀物更多精彩內(nèi)容