The Old Man And The Sea C6

　　Thesun rose thinly from the sea and the old man could see the other boats, low onthe water and well in toward the shore, spread out across the current. Then thesun was brighter and the glare came on the water and then, as it rose clear,the flat sea se nt it back at his eyes so that it hurt sharply and he rowedwithout looking into it. He looked down into the water and watched the linesthat went straight down into the dark of the water. He kept them straighterthan anyone did, so that at each level in the darkness of the stream therewould be a bait waiting exactly where he wished it to be for any fish that swamthere. Others let them drift with the current and sometimes they were at sixtyfathoms when the fishermen thought they were at a hundred.

　　淡淡的太阳从海上升起，老人看见其他的船只，低低地挨着水面，离海岸不远，和海流的方向垂直地展开着。跟着太阳越发明亮了，耀眼的阳光射在水面上，随后太阳从地平线上完全升起，平坦的海面把阳光反射到他眼睛里，使眼睛剧烈地刺痛，因此他不朝太阳看，顾自划着。他俯视水中，注视着那几根一直下垂到黑魆魆的深水里的钓索。他把钓索垂得比任何人更直，这样，在黑魆魆的湾流深处的几个不同的深度，都会有一个鱼饵刚好在他所指望的地方等待着在那儿游动的鱼来吃。别的渔夫让钓索随着海流漂去，有时候钓索在六十英寻的深处，他们却自以为在一百英寻的深处呢。

　　But,he thought, I keep them with precision. Only I have no luck any more. But whoknows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But Iwould rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.

　　不过，他想，我总是把它们精确地放在适当的地方的。问题只在于我的运气就此不好了。可是谁说得准呢？说不定今天就转运。每一天都是一个新的日子。走运当然是好。不过我情愿做到分毫不差。这样，运气来的时候，你就有所准备了。

　　Thesun was two hours higher now and it did not hurt his eyes so much to look intothe east. There were only three boats in sight now and they showed very low andfar inshore.

　　两小时过去了，太阳如今相应地升得更高了，他朝东望时不再感到那么刺眼了。眼前只看得见三条船，它们显得特别低矮，远在近岸的海面上。

　　Allmy life the early sun has hurt my eyes, he thought. Yet they are still good. Inthe evening I can look straight into it without getting the blackness. It hasmore force in the evening too. But in the morning it is painful.

　　我这一辈子，初升的太阳老是刺痛我的眼睛，他想。然而眼睛还是好好的。傍晚时分，我可以直望着太阳，不会有眼前发黑的感觉。阳光的力量在傍晚也要强一些。不过在早上它叫人感到眼痛。

　　Justthen he saw a man-of-war bird with his long black wings circling in the skyahead of him. He made a quick drop, slanting down on his back-swept wings, andthen circled again.

　　就在这时，他看见一只长翅膀的黑色军舰鸟在他前方的天空中盘旋飞翔。它倏地斜着后掠的双翅俯冲，然后又盘旋起来。

　　"He‘s got something," the old man said aloud. "He‘s not just looking."

　　“它逮住了什么东西啦，”老人说出声来。“它不光是找找罢了。”

　　Herowed slowly and steadily toward where the bird was circling. He did not hurryand he kept his lines straight up and down. But he crowded the current a littleso that he was still fishing correctly though faster than he would have fishedif he was not trying to use the bird.

　　他慢慢划着，直朝鸟儿盘旋的地方划去。他并不匆忙，让那些钓索保持着上下笔直的位置。不过他还是挨近了一点儿海流，这样，他依然在用正确的方式捕鱼，尽管他的速度要比他不打算利用鸟儿来指路时来得快。

　　Thebird went higher in the air and circled again, his wings motionless. Then hedove suddenly and the old man saw flying fish spurt out of the water and saildesperately over the surface.

　　军舰鸟在空中飞得高些了，又盘旋起来，双翅纹丝不动。它随即猛然俯冲下来，老人看见飞鱼从海里跃出，在海面上拚命地掠去。

　　"Dolphin,"the old man said aloud. "Big dolphin."

　　“鲯鳅，”老人说出声来。“大鲯鳅。”

　　Heshipped his oars and brought a small line from under the bow. It had a wire leaderand a medium- sized hook and he baited it with one of the sardines. He let itgo over the side and then made it fast to a ring bolt in the stern. Then hebaited another line and left it coiled in the shade of the bow. He went back torowing and to watching the long-winged black bird who was working, now, lowover the water.

　　他把双桨从桨架上取下，从船头下面拿出一根细钓丝。钓丝上系着一段铁丝导线和一只中号钓钩，他拿一条沙丁鱼挂在上面。他把钓丝从船舷放下水去，将上端紧系在船梢一只拳头螺栓上。跟着他在另一根钓丝上安上了鱼饵，把它盘绕着搁在船头的阴影里。他又划起船来，注视着那只此刻正在水面上低低地飞掠的长翅膀黑鸟。

　　Ashe watched the bird dipped again slanting his wings for the dive and thenswinging them wildly and ineffectually as he followed the flying fish. The oldman could see the slight bulge in the water that the big dolphin raised as theyfollowed the escaping fish. The dolphin were cutting through the water belowthe flight of the fish and would be in the water, driving at speed, when thefish dropped. It is a big school of dolphin, he thought. They are widespreadand the flying fish have little chance. The bird has no chance. The flying fishare too big for him and they go too fast.

　　他看着看着，那鸟儿又朝下冲，为了俯冲，把翅膀朝后掠，然后猛地展开，追踪着飞鱼，可是没有成效。老人看见那些大鲯鳅跟在那脱逃的鱼后面，把海面弄得微微隆起。鲯鳅在飞掠的鱼下面破水而行，只等飞鱼一掉下，就飞快地钻进水里。这群鲯鳅真大啊，他想。它们分布得很广，飞鱼很少脱逃的机会。那只鸟可没有成功的机会。飞鱼对它来说个头太大了，而且又飞得太快。

　　Hewatched the flying fish burst out again and again and the ineffectual movementsof the bird. That school has gotten away from me, he thought. They are movingout too fast and too far. But perhaps I will pick up a stray and perhaps my bigfish is around them. My big fish must be somewhere.

　　他看着飞鱼一再地从海里冒出来，看着那只鸟儿的一无效果的行动。那群鱼从我附近逃走啦，他想。它们逃得太快，游得太远啦。不过说不定我能逮住一条掉队的，说不定我想望的大鱼就在它们周围转游着。我的大鱼总该在某处地方啊。

　　Theclouds over the land now rose like mountains and the coast was only a longgreen line with the gray blue hills behind it. The water was a dark blue now,so dark that it was almost purple. As he looked down into it he saw the redsifting of the plankton in the dark water and the strange light the sun madenow. He watched his lines to see them go straight down out of sight into thewater and he was happy to see so much plankton because it meant fish. Thestrange light the sun made in the water, now that the sun was higher, meantgood weather and so did the shape of the clouds over the land. But the bird wasalmost out of sight now and nothing showed on the surface of the water but somepatches of yellow, sun-bleached Sargasso weed and the purple, formalized,iridescent, gelatinous bladder of a Portuguese man-of-war floating close besidethe boat. It turned on its side and then righted itself. It floated cheerfullyas a bubble with its long deadly purple filaments trailing a yard behind it inthe water.

　　陆地上空的云块这时象山岗般耸立着，海岸只剩下一长条绿色的线，背后是些灰青色的小山。海水此刻呈深蓝色，深得简直发紫了。他仔细俯视着海水，只见深蓝色的水中穿梭地闪出点点红色的浮游生物，阳光这时在水中变幻出奇异的光彩。他注视着那几根钓索，看见它们一直朝下没入水中看不见的地方，他很高兴看到这么多浮游生物，因为这说明有鱼。太阳此刻升得更高了，阳光在水中变幻出奇异的光彩，说明天气晴朗，陆地上空的云块的形状也说明了这一点。可是那只鸟儿这时几乎看不见了，水面上没什么东西，只有几摊被太阳晒得发白的黄色马尾藻和一只紧靠着船舷浮动的僧帽水母，它那胶质的浮囊呈紫色，具有一定的外形，闪现出彩虹般的颜色。它倒向一边，然后又竖直了身子。它象个大气泡般高高兴兴地浮动着，那些厉害的紫色长触须在水中拖在身后，长达一码。

　　"Aguamala," the man said. "You whore."

　　“Ａｇｕａｍａｌａ，”老人说。“你这婊子养的。”