The old man and the sea(20)
Holding the line with his left shoulder again, and bracing on his left hand and arm, he took the tuna off the gaff hook and put the gaff back in place. He put one knee on the fish and cut strips of dark red meat longitudinally from the back of the head to the tail. They were wedge-shaped strips and he cut them from next to the backbone down to the edge of the belly. When he had cut six strips he spread them out on the wood of the bow, wiped his knife on his trousers, and lifted the carcass of the bonito by the tail and dropped it overboard.
他又把鱼线移到左肩上，用整只左手臂和手掌的力量撑着自己，然后把鲔鱼从鱼叉上取下，再把鱼叉放回原处。他将膝盖压在鱼身上，从鱼头一直到尾巴，沿着背脊往鱼肚的边缘切下一条条深红色的鱼肉。他总共切成六条，并且把它们摊开来放在船头的木板上，然后在裤子上擦擦他的刀子，从尾巴将那条鱼的残骸提起来，丢到船外去。
"I don't think I can eat an entire one," he said and drew his knife across one of the strips. He could feel the steady hard pull of the line and his left hand was cramped. It drew up tight on the heavy cord and he looked at it in disgust. "What kind of a hand is that," he said. "Cramp ten if you want. Make yourself into a claw. It will do you no good." Come on, he thought and looked down into the dark water at the slant of the line. Eat it now and it will strengthen the hand.
「我想我大概没办法吃下一整条，」他说着，顺手又在那一条条的鱼肉上横划过一刀。他可以感觉到鱼线依然稳定而沉重的拉力。突然，他的左手抽筋了。他充满厌恶地瞪着那只在粗重的鱼在线绷紧的手。「这到底是什么样的一只手啊！」他说。「你要抽筋就去抽好了。把自己绷成像只爪子似的，对你也不会有什么好处的。」他顺着倾斜的鱼线望向黝黑的海水中，心里想着，现在来吧，吃吧，吃了好让你的手有力量。
It is not the hand's fault and you have been many hours with the fish. But you can stay with him forever. Eat the bonito now. He picked up a piece and put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly. it was not unpleasant. Chew it well, he thought, and get all the juices. It would not be bad to eat with a little lime or with lemon or with salt. "How do you feel, hand?" he asked the cramped hand that was almost as still as rigor mortis. "I'll eat some more for you." He ate the other part of the piece that he had cut in two. He chewed it carefully and then spat out the skin.
虽然这并不是手的过错，你跟这条鱼已经缠斗了好几个小时了。你是很有可能永远跟它这么缠斗下去的，快把这条鱼吃了吧！他拿起一片放在嘴里慢慢地嚼，并不怎么难吃嘛！他想，嚼碎一点，把汁都吞下去，如果能加一点莱姆汁、柠檬或盐巴，倒也不错。「手啊！你感觉怎么样？」他问那只抽筋的手，它僵硬得有如死尸一般。「我要为你再多吃一点。」他把刚才切好的另外半条也吃了。他慢慢地嚼，然后把鱼皮吐掉。
"How does it go, hand? Or is it too early to know?" He took another full piece and chewed it. "It is a strong full-blooded fish," he thought. "I was lucky to get him instead of dolphin. Dolphin is too sweet. This is hardly sweet at all and all the strength is still in it." There is no sense in being anything but practical though, he thought. I wish I had some salt. And I do not know whether the sun will rot or dry what is left, so I had better eat it all although I am not hungry. The fish is calm and steady. I will eat it all and then I will be ready.
「手啊！你现在觉得怎么样啊？可能效果还没那么快吧？」他又拿了另外一整条放进嘴里嚼。这真是条多血又强健的鱼呀。」他想。我运气真好，钓到的是这条鱼而不是海豚。海豚的肉太甜了，这条鱼一点都不甜，吃起来非常强韧。东西如果不实用就没有任何意义了，他想。真希望有盐。不知道太阳会不会把残余的鱼肉晒烂或晒干，所以虽然不怎么饿，我想我最好把它吃掉。趁那鱼还很平静，游得也算稳定。我把鱼吃完了以后一切就准备就绪了。
"Be patient, hand," he said. "I do this for you." I wish I could feed the fish, he thought. He is my brother. But I must kill him and keep strong to do it. Slowly and conscientiously he ate all of the wedge-shaped strips of fish. He straightened up, wiping his hand on his trousers. "Now," he said. "You can let the cord go, hand, and I will handle him with the right arm alone until you stop that nonsense." He put his left foot on the heavy line that the left hand had held and lay back against the pull against his back.
「手啊！你要有耐性，」他说。「我现在吃的都是为了你。」我希望也能好好喂点东西给那条鱼，他想。他是我兄弟。然而我一定要保持体力，等着把它给宰了。他慢条斯理地把这些楔形的鱼肉条全吃光了。他挺一挺腰，在裤子上擦擦手。他说，「手啊！现在你可以把鱼线放开了。在你停止作怪之前，我都将只用右手臂来对付它了。」他把左脚踩在原先握在左手里沉重的粗在线，将身体往后一靠，平衡住线从背上往前拉的力量。
"God help me to have the cramp go," he said. "Because I do not know what the fish is going to do." But he seems calm, he thought, and following his plan. But what is his plan, he thought. And what is mine? Mine I must improvise to his because of his great size. If he will jump I can kill him. But he stays down forever. Then I will stay down with him forever. He rubbed the cramped hand against his trousers and tried to gentle the fingers. But it would not open. Maybe it will open with the sun, he thought.
「上帝保佑我，赶快停止抽筋吧。」他说。「因为我实在不知道这条鱼接下来底又要耍什么花样了？」他想，此刻它是如此冷静地，进行着它的计划。他又想，但是，它的计划到底什么呢？而我的计划又是什么呢？它的躯体是那样庞大，因而我的计划一定得依照它的计划随时修订。它如果跳起来。我便可以杀死它。可是，他却执意潜在水底，而我也只得在这茫茫大海中无休无止地陪着它。他在裤子上磨擦着那被抽筋的手，想让僵硬的手指松弛，可是，是打不开。他心想，也许晒一晒太阳就会开了。
Maybe it will open when the strong raw tuna is digested. If I have to have it, I will open it, cost whatever it costs. But I do not want to open it now by force. Let it open by itself and come back of its own accord. After all I abused it much in the night when it was necessary to free and untie the various lines. He looked across the sea and knew how alone he was now. But he could see the prisms in the deep dark water and the line stretching ahead and the strange undulation of the calm.
也许，当那些生鲔鱼消化以后，它就有力量张开了。只要我执意要，不管付出什么代价，我一定会让它打开的。可是我现在不愿意硬把它扳开，我要让它自己张开，要它自然而然地恢复到原来的样子，毕竟我在昨晚为了解开一根根的线绳，而过度使用它了。他放眼向海面望去，发现此刻自己是多么地孤独。但是他可以看见深暗的海水中阳光逝射如棱镜一般，以及鱼线往前深入水中，还有平静的水面上那奇异的起浮波动。