英語聽書《白鯨記》第816期

Removing the fire-board from the front of the try-works, the bare masonry of that side is exposed, penetrated by the two iron mouths of the furnaces, directly underneath the pots. These mouths are fitted with heavy doors of iron. The intense heat of the fire is prevented from communicating itself to the deck, by means of a shallow reservoir extending under the entire inclosed surface of the works. By a tunnel inserted at the rear, this reservoir is kept replenished with water as fast as it evaporates. There are no external chimneys; they open direct from the rear wall. And here let us go back for a moment.

拿開煉油間前面那塊遮爐板，就可以看到泥水作物的那一面，它裝有兩扇鐵灶門，鍋?zhàn)泳桶苍谶@只鐵爐上。兩扇爐門都用最結(jié)實(shí)的鐵板打成。為了不讓爐里的猛火跟甲板相通，整個(gè)煉油間的密封的下層還裝有一個(gè)淺淺的儲(chǔ)水器。儲(chǔ)水器后面，裝有一根管子，這樣，水一蒸發(fā)就可以不斷加進(jìn)冷水。它外面并沒有煙囪；煙囪直通后邊的墻上伸出去。這里，讓我們打回頭說一下吧。

It was about nine o'clock at night that the Pequod's try-works were first started on this present voyage. It belonged to Stubb to oversee the business.

裴廓德號(hào)在這次航行上，第一次使用煉油間的時(shí)間是夜間九點(diǎn)鐘左右。監(jiān)督這個(gè)工作的是斯塔布。

All ready there? Off hatch, then, and start her. You cook, fire the works. This was an easy thing, for the carpenter had been thrusting his shavings into the furnace throughout the passage. Here be it said that in a whaling voyage the first fire in the try-works has to be fed for a time with wood. After that no wood is used, except as a means of quick ignition to the staple fuel. In a word, after being tried out, the crisp, shrivelled blubber, now called scraps or fritters, still contains considerable of its unctuous properties. These fritters feed the flames. Like a plethoric burning martyr, or a self-consuming misanthrope, once ignited, the whale supplies his own fuel and burns by his own body.

都準(zhǔn)備好了么？那么，打開艙口，開始吧?；鸱颍銦?。燒火是件容易對(duì)付的差使，因?yàn)樵谡麄€(gè)航行期間，木匠一直把他那些刨花扔進(jìn)灶肚里。這里必須說明一下，在捕鯨航行中，煉油間初次發(fā)火，得先把木柴燒一陣，木柴燒過后，就用不著再加柴，除非是要使原來的燃料發(fā)火更快，才再加一些?？傊?，等到油煉出來后，那種卷縮的油渣（現(xiàn)在管它叫下腳或者油渣吧）里面，還含有不少油質(zhì)。這些油渣就可以用來燒火。正象一個(gè)遭火刑的熱血沸騰的殉道者，或者一個(gè)自暴自棄的厭世者那樣，火一燒上，這條大鯨就以自己的燃料來燒它自己的身體。

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