The old man and the sea(16)
The sack cushioned the line and he had found a way of leaning forward against the bow so that he was almost comfortable. The position actually was only somewhat less intolerable; but he thought of it as almost comfortable. I can do nothing with him and he can do nothing with me, he thought. Not as long as he keeps this up. Once he stood up and urinated over the side of the skiff and looked at the stars and checked his course. The line showed like a photographer streak in the water straight out from his shoulders.
有了袋子垫在鱼线下，再加上他找到了可以依靠着船头的方法，他几乎可说还过得蛮舒服的。而事实上，他现在的姿势只不过是没那么难受而已，但在那时候，他认为这样几乎可说是非常舒服了。他心想，我和这条鱼都拿彼此没办法。就看谁能撑得比较久了。他站起来在船边撒了一泡尿，顺便看了看星辰，分析一下现在的航道。水中的鱼线，像是一条从他肩上一直延伸下去的发光线条。
They were moving more slowly now and the glow of Havana was not so strong, so that he knew the current must be carrying them to the eastward. If I lose the glare of Havana we must be going more to the eastward, he thought. For if the fish's course held true I must see it for many more hours. I wonder how the baseball came out in the grand leagues today, he thought. It would be wonderful to do this with a radio. Then he thought, think of it always. Think of what you are doing. You must do nothing stupid. Then he said aloud, "I wish I had the boy. To help me and to see this."
现在他们移动的速度比较缓慢了，而哈瓦那上面的光也显得更渺茫了。他判断水流正把他们往东边送去。如果我看不见哈瓦那的光了，那就证明我们一定正朝着偏东的方向行走，他心想。如果原先的航向一直没变的话，我应该还有很多的时间是看得到哈瓦那的才对。不知道今天职业棒球大联盟比赛的结果如何？他心想。捕鱼时能有一台收音机多好，但是他心想，总是这么想想而已。还是想想你现在正在做的事，你千万不能做傻事啊。他大声地说：「真希望那男孩在身边啊，好帮帮我的忙，并且可以亲眼看看现在的情形。」
No one should be alone in their old age, he thought. But it is unavoidable. I must remember to eat the tuna before he spoils in order to keep strong. Remember, no matter how little you want to, that you must eat him in the morning. Remember, he said to himself. During the night two porpoises came around the boat and he could hear them rolling and blowing. He could tell the difference between the blowing noise the male made and the sighing blow of the female. "They are good," he said. "They play and make jokes and love one another. They are our brothers like the flying fish."
他想，任何人上了年纪之后，都不应该独处。可是，那是无法避免的。为了保持体力，我一定要记得在鲔鱼没有坏掉之前把它吃了。切记，不管你多么不想吃，早上你一定要吃。切记，他对自己这么叮咛着。晚间，船边来了两只海豚，他可以听见它们在那里翻滚和喷水。他还能分辨出是公海豚所发出的喷水声，或是母海豚所发出的叹息声。「它们真是很好的一对，」他说。「一起玩、一起嬉闹，又彼此相爱。它们和飞鱼一样，是我们跑船人的兄弟。」
Then he began to pity the great fish that he had hooked. He is wonderful and strange and who knows how old he is, he thought. Never have I had such a strong fish nor one who acted so strangely. Perhaps he is too wise to jump. He could ruin me by jumping or by a wild rush. But perhaps he has been hooked many times before and he knows that this is how he should make his fight. He cannot know that it is only one man against him, nor that it is an old man. But what great fish he is and what will he bring in the markets if the flesh is good.
然后，他开始可怜那条已经上钩的大鱼。他想它如此神勇、特别，谁晓得它到底有多大年纪了呢？我从来就没有遇见过一条这么强壮、但又表现得如此反常的鱼。也许是他太聪明了，所以不跳出来。它只要那么一跳，或者猛撞一下就可以把我搞垮的。也许它曾经上钩很多次，所以知道这就是应战之道。但是它绝对不会知道，现在和它对抗的只是一个人，更不会晓得，他只不过是一个老头子。话说回来，这条鱼还真大啊！如果它的肉够鲜的话，市场上不知可以值多少价钱呢。
He took the bait like a male and he pulls like a male and his fight has no panic in it. I wonder if he has any plans or if he is just as desperate as I am? He remembered the time he had hooked one of a pair of marlin. The male fish always let the female fish feed first and the hooked fish, the female, made a wild, panic-stricken, despairing fight that soon exhausted her, and all the time the male had stayed with her, crossing the line and circling with her on the surface.
看它吃鱼饵和拉扯鱼线的方式，都像一条公鱼，而它面对这场战斗也毫不惊慌。我怀疑它是否有了什么样的计划，或者它只是像我一样地绝望呢？他还记得他从前钓到一对马林鱼其中一只时的情形。由于公鱼总是让母鱼先捕食，因而他钩上的是条母鱼；那条母鱼惊慌疯狂又绝望地挣扎着，很快地就把体力消耗殆尽了。在整个过程中，公鱼都守在她旁边，公鱼游过鱼线，同母鱼在水面上绕转。