英语听书《白鲸记》第136期

Moreover, in the infancy of the first Australiansettlement,

这样说不仅仅是因为捕鲸者是较早登上那块大陆的人，

the emigrants were several times saved fromstarvation by the benevolent biscuit of the whale-ship luckily dropping an anchor in their waters.

在以后的数十年中，澳洲的早期开发者常常因为饥荒而面临绝境，几乎每次他们都是从路过那里的捕鲸船上获得硬面包，而幸免于难的。

The uncounted isles of all Polynesia confess the same truth, and do commercial homage tothe whale-ship,

玻利尼亚尼岛屿上的人们便十分坦诚地承认这一事实，并且明白地向捕鲸船致以诚挚的敬意。

that cleared the way for the missionary and the merchant, and in many cases carried theprimitive missionaries to their first destinations.

捕鲸船还为牧师、商人开了路，事先就为那些蛮荒之地灌输了一定的宗教与买卖的观念。

If that double-bolted land, Japan, is ever to become hospitable, it is the whale-ship alone towhom the credit will be due; for already she is on the threshold.

就说那一向闭关锁国的日本吧，它的开放可以说应该完全归功于捕鲸船，是捕鲸船开到了它的大门口，把外面世界的文明带给了它。

But if, in the face of all this, you still declare that whaling has no aesthetically nobleassociations connected with it,

你也许会说，从审美的角度讲，捕鲸者与他们自身的业绩是不相配的;你还会说，

then am I ready to shiver fifty lances with you there, and unhorse you with a split helmetevery time.

好吧，你如果这样说的话，我可要和你斗上几十个回合了。不把你打得人仰马翻我是不会善罢甘休的。

The whale has no famous author, and whaling no famous chronicler, you will say.

以鲸鱼为体裁的作品没有什么名着，捕鲸者中也没出过什么有名的作家。