introduction
(1851) a novel by Herman Melville about a man called Captain Ahab who risks his life and the lives of the other people on his ship by hunting a large, powerful white whale called Moby Dick. The book is known for containing a lot of information about hunting whales and for being very long, and it is considered to be one of the greatest American novels.
Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving offthe spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand1 of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account2 it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship.
an exaggerated movement that you make when you want sb to notice you （为引起注意的）夸张动作
He opened the door for her with a flourish.
他做了一个夸张动作为她开了门。
With a final flourish she laid down her pen.
最后她做了一个夸张的动作，放下钢笔。
There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.
to keep an idea, a hope or a pleasant feeling in your mind for a long time 抱有（信念、希望）；怀有（好感）；怀念
Cherish the memory of those days in Paris.
怀念在巴黎的岁月。
“Of what moment now was my own father’s death, that I should be filled with gloom? And as for my old black coat and black pantaloons, which had not yet gone to the grave, I had not the slightest uneasiness about them. Pish! I have been burying fathers these thirty years.”
Footnotes
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control, power, or influence that someone has The President has strengthened the hand of the gun lobby. 总统给枪支游说团体撑了腰。This matter is too important to be left in the hands of (=in the control of) an inexperienced lawyer.这件事情关系重大，不能交给没有经验的律师来处理。a manager with a firm hand (=who controls things strictly) 一位管理严格的经理 ↩
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think: to have the opinion that sb/sth is a particular thing ↩