1、【导读】白鲸(Moby Dick)是19世纪美国最著名的小说家之一赫尔曼梅尔维尔于1851年发表的一篇海洋题材的小说，小说描写了亚哈船长为了追逐并杀死白鲸莫比迪克，最终与白鲸同归于尽的故事。阅读下面选取的有关捕鲸的节选，对比中外文化中对鲸鱼态度的异同。Moby Dick (excerpt)PitchpolingTo make them run easily and swiftly，the axles of carriages are anointed；and for much the same purpose，some whalers perform a similar operation u
2、pon their boat；they grease the bottom.Nor is it to be doubted that as such a procedure can do no harm，it may possibly be of no contemptible advantage；considering that oil and water are hostile；that oil is a sliding thing，and that the object in view is to make the boat slide bravely.Queequeg believed
3、 strongly in anointing his boat，and one morning not long after the German ship Jungfrau disappeared，took more than customary pains in that occupation；crawling under its bottom，where it hung over the side，and rubbing as though diligently seeking to insure a crop of hair from the crafts bald keel.He s
4、eemed to be working in obedience to some particular presentiment.Nor did it remain unwarranted by the event.Towards noon whales were raised；but so soon as the ship sailed down to them，they turned and fled swiftly.Nevertheless，the boats pursued，and Stubbs was foremost.By great effort，Tashtego at last
5、 succeeded in planting one iron；but the stricken whale，without at all sounding，still continued his horizontal flight，with added speed.Such unintermitted strainings upon the planted iron must sooner or later inevitably extract it.It became imperative to lance the flying whale，or be content to lose hi
6、m.But to haul the boat up to his flank was impossible，he swam so fast and furious.What then remained?Of all the wondrous devices and dexterities，the sleights of hand and countless subtleties，to which the veteran whaleman is so often forced，none exceed that fine manoeuvre with the lance called pitchp
7、oling.Small sword，or broad sword，in all its exercises boasts nothing like it.It is only indispensable with an inveterate running whale；its grand fact and feature is the wonderful distance to which the long lance is accurately darted from a violently rocking，jerking boat，under extreme headway.Steel a
8、nd wood included，the entire spear is some ten or twelve feet in length；the staff is much slighter than that of the harpoon，and also of a lighter materialpine.It is furnished with a small rope called a warp，of considerable length，by which it can be hauled back to the hand after darting.But before goi
9、ng further，it is important to mention here，that though the harpoon may be pitchpoled in the same way with the lance，yet it is seldom done；and when done，is still less frequently successful，on account of the greater weight and inferior length of the harpoon as compared with the lance，which in effect b
10、ecome serious drawbacks.As a general thing，therefore，you must first get fast to a whale，before any pitchpoling comes into play.Look now at Stubb；a man who from his humorous，deliberate coolness and equanimity in the direst emergencies，was specially qualified to excel in pitchpoling.Look at him；he sta
11、nds upright in the tossed bow of the flying boat；wrapt in fleecy foam，the towing whale is forty feet ahead.Handling the long lance lightly，glancing twice or thrice along its length to see if it be exactly straight，Stubb whistlingly gathers up the coil of the warp in one hand，so as to secure its free
12、 end in his grasp，leaving the rest unobstructed.Then holding the lance full before his waistbands middle，he levels it at the whale；when，covering him with it，he steadily depresses the buttend in his hand，thereby elevating the point till the weapon stands fairly balanced upon his palm，fifteen feet in
13、the air.He minds you somewhat of a juggler，balancing a long staff on his chin.Next moment with a rapid，nameless impulse，in a superb lofty arch the bright steel spans the foaming distance，and quivers in the life spot of the whale.Instead of sparkling water，he now spouts red blood.That drove the spigo
14、t out of him！cried Stubb.“Its Julys immortal Fourth；all fountains must run wine today！Would now，it were old Orleans whiskey，or old Ohio！Then，Tashtego，lad，Id have ye hold a can to the jet，and wed drink round it！”Again and again to such gamesome talk，the dexterous dart is repeated，the spear returning
15、to its master like a greyhound held in skilful leash.The agonized whale goes into his flurry；the towline is slackened，and the pitchpoler dropping astern，folds his hands，and mutely watches the monster die.白鲸(节选)投杆为了使车轴转得又滑又快，就得给车厢的车轴加油；有些捕鲸人为了一样的目的，也对他们的小艇使用类似的办法；他们给艇底擦油。这种操作，毋庸置疑，是有益无损，而且还可以说是毫无害处的；
16、因为油与水本来就是不能相容的；油是滑溜溜的东西，这种做法的目的是要使得小艇航驶如飞。魁魁格就非常相信给他的小艇擦油这事情。那艘德国船“处女号”消失后不多久，有一天早晨，他比平常更为用劲地给小艇擦油，那只小艇吊在舷侧，他爬在艇底下，拼命擦呀擦的，仿佛在想方设法保证这只小艇的光秃秃的龙骨，长出一簇头发来。他好像是听凭一阵预感的支配在擦着，而且预感就是事实那样。将近午刻时分，又发现大鲸了。可是，船一驶过去，它们却又掉了头，迅速逃走了。然而，几只小艇还是继续追逐下去，由斯塔布的小艇打前锋。费了很大的劲，塔斯蒂哥终于击中了一枪，可是，那条被击中的鲸，却不完全沉下去，还继续横游过去，只是速度加快了一点。这
17、样连续不断的狂奔，那支插在它身上的枪头，一定迟早会给挤出来。于是，只好对这条如飞的大鲸再补上一枪，否则只好听它逃脱。可是，又无法把小艇划到它身边去，它游得那么快那么急。那么，该怎么办呢？在老捕鲸手往往不得不使用的一切奇计妙策、娴熟的手法与无数灵巧的办法中，莫过于巧妙地使用那种叫作投杆的捕鲸枪了。小剑或者大剑，使用起来总不及这种东西。对付一只使人又气又恨的拼命狂奔的鲸，非得仰仗它不可，它的主要特色，就是能够从一只高速前进的，急腾急跳的小艇上，在极远的距离内一枪中的。这东西是用钢和木头做成的，整支枪约有十英尺或者十二英尺长，捏柄比标枪的柄子轻一点，也是用较轻的木料松木做成的。它系有一根叫作纤的细绳
18、子，相当长，有了这样的绳子，枪投出去后，又能收得回来。在这里，得先说明一下后，再说下去，那就是，标枪虽然也可以像捕鲸枪一样投出去，然而，人们却不大使用它，即使偶尔使用了，也还是不大会一枪中的，因为跟捕鲸枪比起来，标枪很重，又不够长，实际上反而会成为严重的阻碍。因此，一般说来，一定要先拴住一条鲸，这才可以投出捕鲸枪。现在请瞧斯塔布吧，像他这样在最危急关头而能诙谐百出、胸有成竹、泰然镇定的人，是特别适宜于投杆而胜人一筹的。瞧他！他站在那只如飞的小艇的摇摆不定的船头上，腰板笔直，四下尽是毛绒似的泡沫，那条拖着绳索的鲸就在前面四十英尺的地方。他轻轻地抓起那支长长的捕鲸枪，眼睛瞥了枪身两三下，看它是否笔
19、直，飒飒地把一卷纤子收拢在手里，以便抓住纤头，不跟整条纤子缠在一起。于是，他把那支长长的捕鲸枪拎在他的腰际，瞄向大鲸，等到完全把它瞄准了，他便从容地压着他手里的长柄，使那枪头翘起，翘得那支武器简直是竖托在他掌心上有十五英尺高。他叫人想起一个变戏法的人，把一根长棒托在下巴上。不一会，快得无法形容地一推，那支灿亮的铁器就高高地弓成拱形，射到那泡沫四起的远方，刹地击中了大鲸的要害。它现在喷出来的已经不是闪亮起泡的水，而是鲜红的血了。把它身子的塞子拔开啦！斯塔布叫道。“这是不朽的七月四日；今天所有的喷泉一定都流出酒来了！现在如果这就是奥尔良的陈年威士忌，或者是陈年的俄亥俄酒！那么，塔斯蒂哥，老弟，我可
20、要你捧一只小罐凑到喷水孔那边去，让咱们在它旁边喝个痛快啦！”一面不断地大开这种玩笑，一面就这么反复而熟练地戳着，枪头像是一只被缚在巧妙的皮带里的狼狗一样，一下子就可拉回来，那条吓昏了的鲸越来越慌张了，纤绳一松，投杆人就跳到艇梢，叉起双手，不声不响地瞅着那只巨兽完蛋。知识积累1anoint v涂油，抹油2keel n. (船的)龙骨3presentiment n. (对不祥事物的)预感4unintermitted adj. 不间断的；连续的5imperative adj. 至关重要的，至关紧要的6dexterity n. 灵巧；熟练7equanimity n. 平和，镇静，泰然8dexterous adj. 敏捷的，灵巧的文化链接白鲸之角色解读白鲸莫比迪克充当着自然界的酋长，自命为自然的守护神，因而船长亚哈和白鲸的冲突不可避免。最终亚哈和莫比迪克同归于尽了。人类和自然谁也征服不了谁，他们就像是地球的两个极一样，互为依靠，互为补充，维持着世界的运转。人类如何面对自然，是人类所永久面临的一个话题，是人类能否保持自身的一个关键。