The Old Man And The Sea C13

　　Otherwise everyone would have wanted it to go to a finish. But he had finished it anyway and before anyone had to go to work.

　　要不然人人都会要求比赛到底的。但是他反正把它结束了，而且赶在任何人上工之前。

　　For a long time after that everyone had called him The Champion and there had been a return match in the spring. But not much money was bet and he had won it quite easily since he had broken the confidence of the negro from Cienfuegos in the first match. After that he had a few matches and then no more. He decided that he could beat anyone if he wanted to badly enough and he decided that it was bad for his right hand for fishing. He had tried a few practice matches with his left hand. But his left hand had always been a traitor and would not do what he called on it to do and he did not trust it.

　　此后好一阵子，人人都管他叫“冠军”，第二年春天又举行了一场比赛。不过打赌的数目不大，他很容易就赢了，因为他在第一场比赛中打垮了那个西恩富戈斯来的黑人的自信心。此后，他又比赛过几次，以后就此不比赛了。他认为如果一心想要做到的话，他能够打败任何人，他还认为，这对他要用来钓鱼的右手有害。他曾尝试用左手作了几次练习赛。但是他的左手一向背叛他，不愿听他的吩咐行动，他不信任它。

　　The sun will bake it out well now, he thought. It should not cramp on me again unless it gets too cold in the night. I wonder what this night will bring.

　　这会儿太阳就会把手好好晒干的，他想。它不会再抽筋了，除非夜里太冷。不知道这一夜会发生什么事。

　　An airplane passed overhead on its course to Miami and he watched its shadow scaring up the schools of flying fish.

　　一架飞机在他头上飞过，正循着航线飞向迈阿密，他看着它的影子惊起成群成群的飞鱼。

　　"With so much flying fish there should be dolphin," he said, and leaned back on the line to see if it was possible to gain any of his fish. But he could not and it stayed at the hardness and water-drop shivering that preceded breaking. The boat moved ahead slowly and he watched the airplane until he could no longer see it.

　　“有这么多的飞鱼，这里该有鲯鳅，”他说，带着钓索倒身向后靠，看能不能把那鱼拉过来一点儿。但是不行，钓索照样紧绷着，上面抖动着水珠，都快迸断了。船缓缓地前进，他紧盯着飞机，直到看不见为止。

　　It must be very strange in an airplane, he thought. I wonder what the sea looks like from that height? They should be able to see the fish well if they do not fly too high. I would like to fly very slowly at two hundred fathoms high and see the fish from above. In the turtle boats I was in the cross-trees of the mast-head and even at that height I saw much. The dolphin look greener from there and you can see their stripes and their purple spots and you can see all of the school as they swim. Why is it that all the fast-moving fish of the dark current have purple backs and usually purple stripes or spots? The dolphin looks green of course because he is really golden. But when he comes to feed, truly hungry, purple strips show on his sides as on a marlin. Can it be anger, or the greater speed he makes that brings them out?

　　坐在飞机里一定感觉很怪，他想。不知道从那么高的地方朝下望，海是什么样子？要不是飞得太高，他们一定能清楚地看到这条鱼。我希望在两百英寻的高度飞得极慢极慢，从空中看鱼。在捕海龟的船上，我待在桅顶横桁上，即使从那样的高度也能看到不少东西。从那里朝下望，鲯鳅的颜色更绿，你能看清它们身上的条纹和紫色斑点，你可以看见它们整整一群在游水。怎么搞的，凡是在深暗的水流中游得很快的鱼都有紫色的背脊，一般还有紫色条纹或斑点？鲯鳅在水里当然看上去是绿色的，因为它们实在是金黄色的。但是当它们饿得慌，想吃东西的时候，身子两侧就会出现紫色条纹，象大马林鱼那样。是因为愤怒，还是游得太快，才使这些条纹显露出来的呢？

　　Just before it was dark, as they passed a great island of Sargasso weed that heaved and swung in the light sea as though the ocean were making love with something under a yellow blanket, his small line was taken by taken by a dolphin. He saw it first when it jumped in the air, true gold in the last of the sun and bending and flapping wildly in the air. It jumped again and again in the acrobatics of its fear and he worked his way back to the stern and crouching and holding the big line with his right hand and arm, he pulled the dolphin in with his left hand, stepping on the gained line each time with his bare left foot.

　　就在断黑之前，老人和船经过好大一起马尾藻，它在风浪很小的海面上动荡着，仿佛海洋正同什么东西在一条黄色的毯子下做爱，这时候，他那根细钓丝给一条鲯鳅咬住了。他第一次看见它是在它跃出水面的当儿，在最后一线阳光中确实象金子一般，在空中弯起身子，疯狂地扑打着。它惊慌得一次次跃出水面，象在做杂技表演，他呢，慢慢地挪动身子，回到船梢蹲下，用右手和右胳臂攥住那根粗钓索，用左手把鲯鳅往回拉，每收回一段钓丝，就用光着的左脚踩住。

　　When the fish was at the stern, plunging and cutting from side to side in desperation, the old man leaned over the stern and lifted the burnished gold fish with its purple spots over the stern. Its jaws were working convulsively in quick bites against the hook and it pounded the bottom of the skiff with its long flat body, its tail and its head until he clubbed it across the shining golden head until it shivered and was still.

　　等到这条带紫色斑点的金光灿烂的鱼给拉到了船梢边，绝望地左右乱窜乱跳时，老人探出身去，把它拎到船梢上。它的嘴被钓钩挂住了，抽搐地动着，急促地连连咬着钓钩，还用它那长而扁的身体、尾巴和脑袋拍打着船底，直到他用木棍打了一下它的金光闪亮的脑袋，它才抖了一下，不动了。

　　The old man unhooked the fish, re-baited the line with another sardine and tossed it over. Then he worked his way slowly back to the bow. He washed his left hand and wiped it on his trousers. Then he shifted the heavy line from his right hand to his left and washed his right hand in the sea while he watched the sun go into the ocean and the slant of the big cord.

　　老人把钓钩从鱼嘴里拔出来，重新安上一条沙丁鱼作饵，把它甩进海里。然后他挪动身子慢慢地回到船头。他洗了左手，在裤腿上擦干。然后他把那根粗钓索从右手挪到左手，在海里洗着右手，同时望着太阳沉到海里，还望着那根斜入水中的粗钓索。

　　"He hasn‘t changed at all," he said. But watching the movement of the water against his hand he noted that it was perceptibly slower.

　　“那鱼还是老样子，一点儿也没变，”他说。但是他注视着海水如何拍打在他手上，发觉船走得显然慢些了。

　　"I‘ll lash the two oars together across the stern and that will slow him in the night," he said. "He‘s good for the night and so am I."

　　“我来把这两支桨交叉绑在船梢，这样在夜里能使它慢下来，”他说。“它能熬夜，我也能。”

　　It would be better to gut the dolphin a little later to save the blood in the meat, he thought. I can do that a little later and lash the oars to make a drag at the same time. I had better keep the fish quiet now and not disturb him too much at sunset. The setting of the sun is a difficult time for all fish.

　　最好稍等一会儿再把这鲯鳅开肠剖肚，这样可以让鲜血留在鱼肉里，他想。我可以迟一会儿再干，眼下且把桨扎起来，在水里拖着，增加阻力。眼下还是让鱼安静些的好，在日落时分别去过分惊动它。对所有的鱼来说，太阳落下去的时分都是难熬的。

　　He let his hand dry in the air then grasped the line with it and eased himself as much as he could and allowed himself to be pulled forward against the wood so that the boat took the strain as much, or more, than he did.

　　他把手举起来晾干了，然后攥住钓索，尽量放松身子，听任自己被拖向前去，身子贴在木船舷上，这样船承担的拉力和他自己承担的一样大，或者更大些。