登陆注册
724800000016

第16章 英文版 (6)

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.

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 armour-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. 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. 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. 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.

“The bird is a great help,” the old man said. Just then the stern line came taut under his foot, where he had kept a loop of the line, and he dropped his oars and felt tile weight of the small tuna’s shivering pull as he held the line firm and commenced to haul it in. The shivering increased as he pulled in and he could see the blue back of the fish in the water and the gold of his sides before he swung him over the side and into the boat. He lay in the stern in the sun, compact and bullet shaped, his big, unintelligent eyes staring as he thumped his life out against the planking of the boat with the quick shivering strokes of his neat, fast-moving tail. The old man hit him on the head for kindness and kicked him, his body still shuddering, under the shade of the stern.

“Albacore,” he said aloud. “He’ll make a beautiful bait. He’ll weigh ten pounds.”

He did not remember when he had first started to talk aloud when he was by himself. He had sung when he was by himself in the old days and he had sung at night sometimes when he was alone steering on his watch in the smacks or in the turtle boats. He had probably started to talk aloud, when alone, when the boy had left. But he did not remember. When he and the boy fished together they usually spoke only when it was necessary. They talked at night or when they were storm-bound by bad weather. It was considered a virtue not to talk unnecessarily at sea and the old man had always considered it so and respected it. But now he said his thoughts aloud many times since there was no one that they could annoy.

“If the others heard me talking out loud they would think that I am crazy,” he said aloud. “But since I am not crazy, I do not care. And the rich have radios to talk to them in their boats and to bring them the baseball.”

Now is no time to think of baseball, he thought. Now is the time to think of only one thing. That which I was born for. There might be a big one around that school, he thought. I picked up only a straggler from the albacore that were feeding. But they are working far out and fast. Everything that shows on the surface today travels very fast and to the north-east. Can that be the time of day? Or is it some sign of weather that I do not know?

He could not see the green of the shore now but only the tops of the blue hills that showed white as though they were snow-capped and the clouds that looked like high snow mountains above them. The sea was very dark and the light made prisms in the water. The myriad flecks of the plankton were annulled now by the high sun and it was only the great deep prisms in the blue water that the old man saw now with his lines going straight down into the water that was a mile deep.

The tuna, the fishermen called all the fish of that species tuna and only distinguished among them by their proper names when they came to sell them or to trade them for baits, were down again. The sun was hot now and the old man felt it on the back of his neck and felt the sweat trickle down his back as he rowed.

I could just drift, he thought, and sleep and put a bight of line around my toe to wake me. But today is eighty-five days and I should fish the day well.

Just then, watching his lines, he saw one of the projecting green sticks dip sharply.

同类推荐
  • 亲爱的陌生人

    亲爱的陌生人

    脱口秀女王奥普拉力荐,风靡全球,被译为50多种文字,在英国再版75次,讲述一个西方大龄剩女的故事。故事的主人公华兰茜?斯特灵是一个二十九岁仍孤独一人的老姑娘。她受压制于家族枯燥的礼教和传统,现实中活得唯唯诺诺、逆来顺受。一封阴错阳差的来信,使她得知自己患上了严重的心绞痛。面对只剩下一年时间的生命,她绝望了。这种绝望并不是源于她对死亡的恐惧,而是源于她在临死之前才感到自己从来没有真正活过的苦痛。于是,她开始反抗,拼命地爱,放肆地恨……站在人生的路口,我们也曾迷失,是否还记得年少的自己?如果一切都能回到旧时光,生命价值的天平又会向哪边倾斜?
  • 刺杀李鸿章

    刺杀李鸿章

    人生的一切变化,一切魅力,一切美都是由光明与阴影构成的。1896年,李鸿章应邀参加沙皇尼古拉二世的加冕仪式。此行实为商谈《中俄密约》,达成中俄联盟,以遏制日本在远东势力的过分膨胀。临行前夕,李鸿章做了一个恶梦,梦见自己深陷狼群,四面楚歌。大清外交官陆云起受命先行前往俄阔,为恩师李鸿章扫除危险与障碍,却不幸遭人嫁祸,陷入绝境,受到狼群与俄国警方的双重追击。在他逃亡与追逐的途中,各方势力交错对抗,一个隐藏在西伯利亚深处的狼人帝国,一个刺杀李鸿章的阴谋赫然浮现。
  • 王晋康科幻小说精选2:替天行道

    王晋康科幻小说精选2:替天行道

    与刘慈欣齐名的当代科幻名家。12次斩获中国科幻最高奖——银河奖。1997年国际科幻大会银河奖得主。2010年世界华人科幻星云奖长篇小说奖得主。迄今为止最全版本——王晋康最经典科幻小说精选集!
  • 黑白道终结篇:沉默

    黑白道终结篇:沉默

    李斌良调任奉春市公安局春城分局局长不久的一天夜里,他孤身前往一条小巷赴约,突遭袭击,陷入昏迷中。他被救醒后发现,他的身边还躺着一具尸体。他带伤亲自指挥破案,很快查到,这一蹊跷血案是本市一个杀害警察的在逃犯所为。然而,随着工作的深入,各种人物和事件围绕着此案一一呈现出来,奉春的种种社会矛盾也摆在李斌良面前。
  • 喜丧

    喜丧

    尹守国,2006年开始小说创作,发表中短篇小说70多万字,作品多次被《新华文摘》、《小说选刊》、《北京文学中篇小说月报》等选载,中国作家协会会员,辽宁省作协签约作家。
热门推荐
  • 明治天皇:孝明帝驾崩卷(下册)

    明治天皇:孝明帝驾崩卷(下册)

    《明治天皇》再现了日本从幕末走向明治维新的历史变革,以优美的文笔,宏大的场景,详细描绘了日本近代决定国运的倒幕运动的整个过程。本书塑造了一个个鲜活的日本近代史人物形象,以及他们的坚定信念,对“安政大狱”、“樱田门之变”等重大历史事件的描述详实生动,是一部了解近代日本不可多得的佳作。
  • 我们三个都是穿越来的

    我们三个都是穿越来的

    我是因为看了很多的穿越小说,也很想穿越。谁想我想想就能穿越,穿越就穿越吧,居然穿成怀孕九月的待产产妇,开玩笑嘛!人家在二十一世纪还是黄花一枚呢。这也可以接受,可是明明是丞相之女,堂堂四皇子的正牌王妃怎么会居住在这么一个几十平米得破落小院子里,她怎么混的,亏她还一身绝世武功,再是医毒双绝。哎。没关系,既然让我继承了这么多优越条件,一个王爷算得了什么?生下一对龙凤胎,居然都是穿过来的,神啊,你对我太好了吧?且看我们母子三人在古代风生水起笑料百出的古代生活吧。片段一在我走出大门时,突然转身对着轩辕心安说道:“王爷,若是哪天不幸你爱上了我,我定会让你生不如死的。”然后魅惑地一笑,潇洒地走了出去。片段二当我对着铜镜里的美人自恋地哼出不着调地歌时。“别哼了,难听死了。”一个清脆的声音响起。~~~接着一声尖叫紧跟着另一声尖叫。我用上轻功躲进了被子里.~~~"我和你一样是二十一世纪来的。”“你好,娘亲,哥哥,以后要多多指教。”来自两个婴儿的嘴里,我摸摸额头,没高烧啊。片段三“小鱼儿,我可是你孩子的爹,况且我没有写休书,你还是我的王妃。我会对你好的。”安王爷霸道地说道。“你们认识他吗?他说是你们的爹?”我问着脚边的两个孩子。“不认识,”女孩说道。“我们的爹不是埋在土里了吗?怎么他一点也不脏?”男孩问道。那个男人满头黑线。“对不起,我们不认识你。”说完拉着孩子转身就走。片段四“爹爹,这是我娘,你看漂亮吧?”南宫心乐拉着一个白衣帅哥进来问道。我无语中。“爹爹,你看我娘亲厉害吧?“南宫心馨拉着另外一个妖精似地男人走了进来。我想晕。“这才是我们的爹。”“才不是呢,这个才是”两人开始吵起来了。“我才是你们的爹。”安王爷气急地吼道。“滚一边去。”两个小孩同时说道。屋里顿时混乱之中。转头,回屋睡觉去了。推荐完结文《别哭黛玉》完结文《穿越之无泪潇湘》新文,《极品花痴》
  • 穷人穷什么

    穷人穷什么

    打开《穷人穷什么》,改变就已经开始!审视你的现状,改变你的观念,增强的你品位,摒弃你的弱点,就能找到你自己的出路。你知道穷人与富人间的区别吗?《穷人穷什么》从心态的角度,给予说明。看看《穷人穷什么》,你就可以知道你与富人间到底差距在哪。然后从中吸取教训,说不定,下一个富人就是你。《穷人穷什么》立足于让穷人认识自我,尤其是认识自己的弱点,知耻而后勇,它不想让穷人沉溺于一种假想的贫穷快乐中,而是以直面人生的笔触唤起穷人改变自我的勇气。
  • 恶魔宝宝:无良爹地纯情妈

    恶魔宝宝:无良爹地纯情妈

    五年前的表白被拒;五年后却莫名其妙成了男人的“妹妹”?可是,为什么态度还要这么暧昧、对她伤害还要这么深呢?从此多了个宝宝,但……宝宝会认这个无良的爹地吗?
  • 总裁的外遇

    总裁的外遇

    结婚一年多,她以为他对自己不冷不热,但多少有些感情的。可是,当她检查出自己有了身孕,正想要跟他坦言的时候,他忽然将离婚协议书推到了她面前。她握着黑色签字笔,手微微颤抖,咬紧牙关,一笔一划勾勒好自己的名字,可惜不够端正,歪歪斜斜的,像毛毛虫一般,真够丑的。签完字在街上晃荡,她发现原来他也是可以这般地温柔,他也会等人,但对象却不是自己,而是另外的女人。一年多的婚姻,最终还是抵不过他过往青梅竹马恋人的归来。曾经的开始,如今的结束,都由着他一手掌控。三年后,在他的订婚宴上,他发现她牵着一个小女孩,挺着一个大腹便便的肚子,巧笑倩兮地被拥在他同母异父的弟弟的怀中。他哭了,虽然没有一滴眼泪,可是他是真的哭了。“三年前,你为他流产,三年后你又有了身孕,而我,到现在还不知道那个天杀的男人是谁?”他怒吼,喊得撕心裂肺。人生如戏,戏如人生,恍然若梦,梦里不知身是客。镜中月水中花,万丈红尘皆勘破。
  • 凯特·格林纳威的游戏之书

    凯特·格林纳威的游戏之书

    假扮猫咪的孩子站在中间,其他孩子围绕着他站在一个固定位置上。一个人召唤另一个人说道:“猫咪,猫咪,给我一滴水。”然后所有孩子跑着更换位置。
  • 把我们挂在单杠上

    把我们挂在单杠上

    弋舟,1972年生,青年新锐作家。有长中短篇小说200余万字,见于《作家》《花城》《人民文学》《天涯》《青年文学》《上海文学》《大家》《中国作家》《山花》等文学刊物。著有长篇小说若干。
  • 深红色童话书

    深红色童话书

    本书是一本32篇童话组成的小集子,由著名学者、童话创作人安德鲁·兰编著。收录了著名童话《可爱的伊隆卡》《七个西蒙的故事》《小小野蔷薇》《强壮的王子》……那些美丽动人的想像伴随多少人走过他们的童年?那些扬善避恶、催人进取的情节是多少人认识世界的第一步?在这个集子中安德鲁·兰先生将为我们展现他的彩色神奇世界。
  • 嫡女棣王妃

    嫡女棣王妃

    “姨娘,夫人似乎断气了~”“哼!这么一碗药都下去了,难道她还能活着不成?”“那这······”一个年纪稍长的人朝着这位称作姨娘的人示意了一下自己手中的婴儿,似乎有些犹豫,“这好歹是个男孩,现在夫人已经死了,如果姨娘把他占为己有,然后得了这府中的中馈······”“嬷嬷?!”女子也不等她的话说完,就打断了她,“你记住了,我恨死了这个女人,她的儿子,只能随着她去,我就是以后自己生不出儿子,抱养别人的,也不会要她的。把他给我扔马桶里面溺了,对外就说一出生就死了!”猩红的嘴唇,吐出来的话却是格外的渗人。嬷嬷还想说什么,动了动嘴,却是一句话也没有说,转身朝着后面放着马桶的地方走去。却是没有发现旁边地上一个穿着有些破旧的衣服的小女孩此刻正瞪大了眼睛看着她们两。这是什么情况?自己不是被炸死了吗?怎么会······于此同时,脑中不断有记忆闪现出来,她们是自己的母亲和刚出生的弟弟啊?!不行,先救人。转头看见旁边谁绣花留下的针线跟剪刀,想到自己前世的身手,拿起一根绣花针就朝着那个嬷嬷飞了过去,却在半路上掉落下来,暗骂一声,这人是什么破身体。却引得那两个人听见动静看了过来。女人阴狠的盯着她,“你居然没有死?”微微眯起眼睛,自己的前身也是被她们弄死的了,看样子她们谁也不会放过,抓起旁边的剪刀就冲了过去。随着几声惨叫声,从此以后,府中府外都传遍了她的“美名”——凤家大小姐心肠歹毒,刺伤了府中无数的人,宛如一个疯子。
  • 你的口才价值百万

    你的口才价值百万

    本书在充分展示口才的巨大威力和价值的基础上,以丰富的事例深入浅出地阐述了练就卓越口才的基本途径、必须知道的各种说话技巧,以及口才在面试、推销、谈判、与同事和上司相处、恋爱、交友中的实际运用,帮助读者掌握各个领域的说话艺术,练就高超的沟通技巧,提前进入成功之途。