The Old Man and The Sea 老人与海-Part 7

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Part 7

From where he swung lightly against his oars he looked down into the water and saw the tiny fish that were colored like the trailing filaments and swam between them and under the small shade the bubble made as it drifted. They were immune to its poison. But men were not and when some of the filaments would catch on a line and rest there slimy and purple while the old man was working a fish, he would have welts and sores on his arms and hands of the sort that poison ivy or poison oak ran give.

他轻轻摇着桨,顺着桨往水中望去,看见 颜色如那飘浮细丝一般的小鱼,在细丝和气囊飘游时产生的气泡阴影下穿梭。这些小鱼对于 水母的毒素可以免疫。但人类就不能了,若紫色的黏稠细丝缠在鱼在线,而老人又在捕鱼时 用手碰到了毒丝,他的手臂和手掌上便会有红肿和痒痛的情形,就像碰到了有毒的长春藤和 有毒的橡树时一样。

But these poisonings from the agua mala came quickly and struck like a whiplash. The iridescent bubbles were beautiful. But they were the falsest thing in the sea and the old man loved to see the big sea turtles eating them. The turtles saw them, approached them from the front, then shut their eyes so they were completely carapaced and ate them filaments and all. The old man loved to see the turtles eat them and he loved to walk on them on the beach after a storm and hear them pop when he stepped on them with the horny soles of his feet.

但是这些「贱货」的毒性发作得很快,当它袭击人时很像一条鞭子抽到身上的感觉。那些红 色气泡非常美丽。但是它们是海里最虚假的东西。老人最爱看大海龟吃这些气泡的样子。海 龟看到这些气泡,会先从正面接近,然后闭着眼睛,完全地缩进壳里,把气泡连同细丝一起 吞下去。老人喜欢看海龟吃它们的样子,也很喜欢在暴风雨过后到海边践踏海龟,还有当他 把长满厚茧的双脚踏在海龟背上,听海龟所发出的声音。

He loved green turtles and hawk-bills with their elegance and speed and their great value and he had a friendly contempt for the huge, stupid loggerheads, yellow in their armor-plating, strange in their love-making, and happily eating the Portuguese men-of-war with their eyes shut. He had no mysticism about turtles although he had gone in turtle boats for many years. He was sorry for them all, even the great trunk backs that were as long as the skiff and weighed a ton.

他非常喜爱绿色海龟的玳瑁,它们优雅、敏捷,价值又高,可是他对于庞大而笨拙的红海龟,却有一点善意的轻蔑,它们总是懦弱地缩在装甲似的龟壳里,做爱的时候也怪里怪样的,甚 至还会陶醉地闭起眼睛吃水母。虽然他曾经在捕龟船上工作了许多年,他对海龟却没有任何 迷思。他对它们感到很同情,甚至对那些驱干和背脊像小船这么长、还重上一吨的大海龟也 一样。

Most people are heartless about turtles because a turtle's heart will beat for hours after he has been cut up and butchered. But the old man thought, I have such a heart too and my feet and hands are like theirs. He ate the white eggs to give himself strength. He ate them all through May to be strong in September and October for the truly big fish. He also drank a cup of shark liver oil each day from the big drum in the shack where many of the fishermen kept their gear. It was there for all fishermen who wanted it.

许多人对于海龟感到有点害怕。因为一只海龟的心脏在被挖出来之后,还可以跳动好几个小 时。可是老人想,我也有同样的一颗心,我的手和脚也和它们的一样。他总是吃白海龟蛋以 增进体力。为了准备捕捉大鱼,他从五月就开始吃,一直吃到九月、十月时,身体便会很健 壮了。另外,他每天会从渔夫们放渔具的小屋中的大桶子里,倒出一杯鲨鱼肝油喝。渔夫们 只要有需要,都可以到那儿任意取用。

Most fishermen hated the taste but it was no worse than getting up at the hours that they rose and it was very good against all colds and grippes and it was good for the eyes. Now the old man looked up and saw that the bird was circling again. "He's found fish," he said aloud. No flying fish broke the surface and there was no scattering of bait fish. But as the old man watched, a small tuna rose in the air, turned and dropped head first into the water.

但是大多数的渔夫都讨厌那个味道,不过再怎么说,这味道都不会比早起更难过。鲨鱼肝油 可以有效御寒、抵抗感冒,对眼睛也很有益处。此刻,老人仰头,望见鸟儿又在空中盘旋。 「它已经找到鱼了,」老人大声地说。没有飞鱼跳出水面,鱼饵鱼也都没有散开。但是,正 当老人仔细看着水面时,一条小鲔鱼跃入空中,翻了一圈之后,头朝下栽入水中。

The tuna shone silver in the sun and after he had dropped back into the water another and another rose and they were jumping in all directions, churning the water and leaping in long jumps after the bait. They were circling it and driving it. If they don't travel too fast I will get into them, the old man thought, and he watched the school working the water white and the bird now dropping and dipping into the bait fish that were forced to the surface in their panic.

鲔鱼在阳光中闪烁着银色光泽,当它栽入水中之后,另外几条也此起彼落地跳出水面,它们 从四面八方跳跃出来,翻腾着水面,并且跟着饵鱼作长距离的跳跃。它们围着饵鱼兜圈子地 追赶着。老人心想,如果它们不要游得太快的话,我就可以逮到它们。他看见这一群鲔鱼在 水中激起白色的浪花,这时鸟儿向鱼饵鱼直冲了下来,鱼饵鱼在惊慌之下被逼出了水面。

"The bird is a great help," the old man said.

「这只鸟真是个好帮手,」老人说。