英语听书《白鲸记》第678期
As every one knows, these same "hogs' bristles," "fins," "whiskers," "blinds," or whatever you please, furnish to the ladies their busks and other stiffening contrivances. But in this particular, the demand has long been on the decline. It was in Queen Anne's time that the bone was in its glory, the farthingale being then all the fashion. And as those ancient dames moved about gaily, though in the jaws of the whale, as you may say; even so, in a shower, with the like thoughtlessness, do we nowadays fly under the same jaws for protection; the umbrella being a tent spread over the same bone.
如所周知，这种叫做"猪鬃"，"鳍状物"，"胡须"，"细长帘子"或者随你高兴怎样称呼的东西，就正是供太太们做勒腰带和其它硬衬的小玩儿的材料。不过，在这方面说来，需求早已日趋消退。这种须骨的黄金时代，还是在安恩女王的时代，当时盛行着用鲸骨箍来张大女人的裙子。虽然当那些古代美人在快活自如地走来走去的时候，也许你会说，好象是在鲸嘴里走动那样，正如我们在今天，遇上一场阵头雨，会同样毫不思索地飞快跑到那嘴里去躲躲雨一样，雨伞本来就是蒙在这种须骨上的一个帐幕。
But now forget all about blinds and whiskers for a moment, and, standing in the Right Whale's mouth, look around you afresh. Seeing all these colonnades of bone so methodically ranged about, would you not think you were inside of the great Haarlem organ, and gazing upon its thousand pipes? For a carpet to the organ we have a rug of the softest Turkey—the tongue, which is glued, as it were, to the floor of the mouth. It is very fat and tender, and apt to tear in pieces in hoisting it on deck. This particular tongue now before us; at a passing glance I should say it was a six-barreler; that is, it will yield you about that amount of oil.
现在我们暂且把有关细长帘子和胡须这些东西搁在一边，站到露脊鲸的嘴里去，重新来看一看四周的景致吧。看到所有这些非常有条不紊地排列着的廊柱似的须骨头，难道你不会以为置身在那种哈尔雷姆（哈尔雷姆——荷兰的一个城市。据说在1735—1738年间，那里造出一种风琴，有五千个声管，是世界上最大的一种风琴。）的大风琴里面，正在瞅着它那无数的声管么？说到要有一条通向风琴的地毯，我们就有一条最柔软的土耳其地毯——舌头，它仿佛是粘着在嘴巴的地板上。这条舌头，又肥又嫩，如果把它拉上甲板，很容易把它撕成片片。现在摆在我们面前的这条舌头，我眼睛一掠，就会说它是只六大桶（一种有六大桶（每桶三十六加仑）容量的桶子。）的东西；就是说，它大约可以为你出产如此数量的油来。
