英語(yǔ)聽(tīng)書《白鯨記》第877期

Nor, considered aright, does it seem any argument in favor of the gradual extinction of the Sperm Whale, for example, that in former years (the latter part of the last century, say) these Leviathans, in small pods, were encountered much oftener than at present, and, in consequence, the voyages were not so prolonged, and were also much more remunerative. Because, as has been elsewhere noticed, those whales, influenced by some views to safety, now swim the seas in immense caravans, so that to a large degree the scattered solitaries, yokes, and pods, and schools of other days are now aggregated into vast but widely separated, unfrequent armies. That is all. And equally fallacious seems the conceit, that because the so-called whale-bone whales no longer haunt many grounds in former years abounding with them, hence that species also is declining. For they are only being driven from promontory to cape; and if one coast is no longer enlivened with their jets, then, be sure, some other and remoter strand has been very recently startled by the unfamiliar spectacle.

而且，正確地考慮一番，似乎也還提供不出任何論據(jù)，足以證明抹香鯨會(huì)逐漸趨于滅亡，比如說(shuō)，在早些年間（十八世紀(jì)后期），這些大海獸，三五成群的出現(xiàn)，比之現(xiàn)今所碰到的次數(shù)還要多，而且，到頭來(lái)航程并不需要這么長(zhǎng)，所得的酬勞也比現(xiàn)在多。因?yàn)?，一如在其它?chǎng)合已經(jīng)看到了的，這些鯨，也許受到一些安全觀點(diǎn)的影響，現(xiàn)在游在海里的都是成群結(jié)隊(duì)，所以，早日那些離群索居的、成對(duì)的、小隊(duì)小群的鯨只，今天都集結(jié)成聲勢(shì)浩大的、而且是分布很廣的罕見(jiàn)的隊(duì)伍了。這就足以說(shuō)明全般情況。不過(guò)，因?yàn)樗^須鯨已不再出現(xiàn)于早年群集的許多漁場(chǎng)上，因而這種鯨也已逐漸消失了的想法，似乎也同樣是錯(cuò)誤的。因?yàn)?，它們不過(guò)是被人們從這個(gè)岬趕到那一個(gè)角，而如果這個(gè)地方不再發(fā)現(xiàn)到它們的噴水，那么，在另外一些遙遠(yuǎn)的海磯岸邊，一定還有人因?yàn)閯倓偪吹竭@種不常有的光景而大吃一驚的。

Furthermore: concerning these last mentioned Leviathans, they have two firm fortresses, which, in all human probability, will for ever remain impregnable.

而且，關(guān)于上述這些大海獸，它們也有兩大堅(jiān)固堡壘，這兩大堡壘，就一切人類的能耐說(shuō)來(lái)，將是永遠(yuǎn)無(wú)法攻擊的。

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