It was a cloudy, sultry afternoon; the seamen¹ were lazily lounging about the decks, or vacantly gazing over into the lead-colored waters. Queequeg and I were mildly employed weaving what is called a sword-mat, for an additional lashing² to our boat. So still and subdued³ and yet somehow preluding was all the scene, and such an incantation of revelry lurked⁴ in the air, that each silent sailor seemed resolved into his own invisible self.

I was the attendant or page of Queequeg, while busy at the mat. As I kept passing and repassing the filling or woof of marline between the long yarns⁶ of the warp⁷, using my own hand for the shuttle, and as Queequeg, standing⁸ sideways, ever and anon slid his heavy oaken sword between the threads, and idly looking off upon the water, carelessly and unthinkingly drove home every yarn⁵; I say so strange a dreaminess did there then reign⁹ all over the ship and all over the sea, only broken by the intermitting dull sound of the sword, that it seemed as if this were the Loom¹⁰ of Time, and I myself were a shuttle mechanically weaving and weaving away at the Fates. There lay the fixed¹¹ threads of the warp subject to but one single, ever returning, unchanging vibration¹², and that vibration merely enough to admit of the crosswise interblending of other threads with its own. This warp seemed necessity; and here, thought I, with my own hand I

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1 seamen
n.海员
参考例句：
Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。 In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

2 lashing
n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥
参考例句：
The speaker was lashing the crowd. 演讲人正在煽动人群。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The rain was lashing the windows. 雨急打着窗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 subdued
adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。 I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

4 lurked
vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
The murderers lurked behind the trees. 谋杀者埋伏在树后。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Treachery lurked behind his smooth manners. 他圆滑姿态的后面潜伏着奸计。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 yarn
n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事
参考例句：
I stopped to have a yarn with him.我停下来跟他聊天。 The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。

6 yarns
n.纱( yarn的名词复数 )；纱线；奇闻漫谈；旅行轶事
参考例句：
...vegetable-dyed yarns. 用植物染料染过色的纱线 来自辞典例句 Fibers may be loosely or tightly twisted into yarns. 纤维可以是膨松地或紧密地捻成纱线。 来自辞典例句

7 warp
vt.弄歪，使翘曲，使不正常，歪曲，使有偏见
参考例句：
The damp wood began to warp.这块潮湿的木材有些翘曲了。 A steel girder may warp in a fire.钢梁遇火会变弯。

8 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 reign
n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势
参考例句：
The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。 The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

10 loom
n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近
参考例句：
The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。 The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

11 fixed
adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的
参考例句：
Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？ Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

12 vibration
n.颤动，振动；摆动
参考例句：
There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。 The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

13 ply
v.(搬运工等)等候顾客，弯曲
参考例句：
Taxis licensed to ply for hire at the railway station.许可计程车在火车站候客。 Ferryboats ply across the English Channel.渡船定期往返于英吉利海峡。

14 impulsive
adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的
参考例句：
She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。 He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。

15 crookedly
adv. 弯曲地，不诚实地
参考例句：
A crow flew crookedly like a shadow over the end of the salt lake. 一只乌鸦像个影子般地在盐湖的另一边鬼鬼祟祟地飞来飞去的。

16 fabric
n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织
参考例句：
The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。 I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

17 swerved
v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She swerved sharply to avoid a cyclist. 她猛地急转弯，以躲开一个骑自行车的人。 The driver has swerved on a sudden to avoid a file of geese. 为了躲避一队鹅，司机突然来个急转弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

19 intervals
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息
参考例句：
The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。 Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

20 derived
vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取
参考例句：
Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 cadence
n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫
参考例句：
He delivered his words in slow,measured cadences.他讲话缓慢而抑扬顿挫、把握有度。 He liked the relaxed cadence of his retired life.他喜欢退休生活的悠闲的节奏。

22 hovering
鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫
参考例句：
The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。 I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

23 beholding
v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟
参考例句：
Beholding, besides love, the end of love,/Hearing oblivion beyond memory! 我看见了爱，还看到了爱的结局，／听到了记忆外层的哪一片寂寥！ 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学 Hence people who began by beholding him ended by perusing him. 所以人们从随便看一看他开始的，都要以仔细捉摸他而终结。 来自辞典例句

24 commotion
n.骚动，动乱
参考例句：
They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。 Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

25 sperm
n.精子，精液
参考例句：
Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。 In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

26 thereby
adv.因此，从而
参考例句：
I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。 He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

27 steward
n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员
参考例句：
He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。 He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员，到过世界各地。

28 fore
adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部
参考例句：
Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。 I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

29 leeward
adj.背风的；下风的
参考例句：
The trees all listed to leeward.树木统统向下风方向倾。 We steered a course to leeward.我们向下风航驶。

30 concealed
a.隐藏的，隐蔽的
参考例句：
The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。 I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

31 bulwarks
n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙
参考例句：
The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty. 新闻自由是自由最大的保障之一。 来自辞典例句 Surgery and X-irradiation nevertheless remain the bulwarks of cancer treatment throughout the world. 外科手术和X射线疗法依然是全世界治疗癌症的主要方法。 来自辞典例句

32 poised
a.摆好姿势不动的
参考例句：
The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。 Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

33 exclamation
n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词
参考例句：
He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。 The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

34 phantoms
n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 )
参考例句：
They vanished down the stairs like two phantoms. 他们像两个幽灵似的消失在了楼下。 来自辞典例句 The horrible night that he had passed had left phantoms behind it. 他刚才度过的恐布之夜留下了种种错觉。 来自辞典例句