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LESSON 46 Whale hunting
第四十六課 捕殺鯨魚
Every year, ships sail to the northern seas to hunt the whale. The men want its fat to make oil, and the whalebone, which is found in the roof of its mouth.
每年都會有船只航行到北海捕殺鯨魚。這些人想要鯨魚的脂肪煉油，還有鯨魚嘴上的鯨須。
The ships carry with them a number of small boats. When the whaling ground is reached, men are sent to the top-mast to be on the look-out; and, at a signal from them, the boats are launched as soon as a whale is seen.
這些船上有很多小船，當航行到鯨魚所在地時，漁民就站在船的頂桅上觀察鯨魚的動向，一旦發現鯨魚這些小船就會下水。
Each boat has a man in it called a harpooner. He sits in the bow of the boat. The harpoon is a long spear with a barbed point, made of tough iron. To the shaft of the harpoon a rope is fixed. This rope, which is sometimes a quarter of a mile long, lies carefully coiled up in the bow of the boat.
每只小船上都有一位魚叉手坐在船頭上，魚叉是一種帶刺的長矛，由堅韌的鐵制成，魚叉柄上綁著一根繩子，這種繩子有時長0.25英里，精心盤繞在船頭上。
When the boat is near the whale, it is rowed up to it swiftly, but silently; the harpooner standing up, ready for his work. When the boat is within a few yards of the huge creature, the men rest for a moment on their oars. Up goes the arm of the harpooner, and in an instant he sends the harpoon with all his force into the body of the whale.
當鯨魚靠近時，繩子快而無聲的扔向它，這時候魚叉手就站起來準備工作，當船靠近這種巨大生物幾碼之內的時候，這些人就靠在船槳上休息一會兒，然后魚叉手就把手臂抬起來，用全力把魚叉插向鯨魚。
Smarting with the wound, the whale dives into the ocean, and swims away as far as he can. If the whale were a true fish, he could remain under water always, and never be caught. But he must come up to breathe. He is an animal like the cow or the horse, and cannot live without air.
帶著劇烈的疼痛，鯨魚就會潛入深海，盡全力游向遠處。如果鯨魚是魚類，它就可以一直呆在水里不會被抓到了，但是它必須要浮出水面呼吸。就像牛馬一樣，離不開空氣。
In the meantime, the men in the boat have rowed near the place where they expect him to rise. As soon as he comes up, another harpoon is driven into his body. Down dives the whale again; but he soon returns.
同時，船上的人把船劃到鯨魚可能出現的地方。一旦它出現，另一個魚叉就會插向它。鯨魚會再次游向海里，但它很快就會返回海面上的。
In his fury, he lashes the sea so violently with his huge tail, that the noise can sometimes be heard two or three miles off! At last, from pain and loss of blood, the poor whale is worn out. The boats are once more rowed up to him, and the men thrust long steel lances into his body.
帶著狂怒，用巨大的尾巴沖擊著海水，這個聲音兩三米遠都能聽到，最后因疼痛和失血，可憐的鯨魚就會精疲力盡，船只再次靠近它時，漁人向它身體里刺入長槍。
Soon his huge carcass floats lifeless on the water. Three cheers are given by the men in the boats, and the body of the whale is towed in triumph to the ship.
很快它巨大的死尸就會浮出水面，船上的人發出三聲歡呼，鯨魚的尸體被拖向大船，
There it is cut into pieces and boiled down into oil;
在大船上，鯨魚會被切片煮沸煉制成油，
and when the fishing season is over, the oil is taken home in casks.
當捕魚季結束時，魚油就會裝罐帶回家。
