少年派的奇幻漂流 Chapter 51

Chapter 51,But that first time I had a good look at the lifeboat I did not see the detail I wanted. The surface of the stern and side benches was continuous and unbroken, as were the sides of the buoyancy tanks. The floor lay flat against the hull ¹; there could be no cache beneath it. It was certain: there was no locker ² or box or any other sort of container anywhere. Only smooth, uninterrupted orange surfaces.,My estimation of captains and ship chandlers wavered. My hopes for survival flickered ³. My thirst remained.,And what if the supplies were at the bow, beneath the tarpaulin ⁴? I turned and crawled back. I felt like a dried-out lizard ⁵. I pushed down on the tarpaulin. It was tautly ⁶ stretched. If I unrolled it, I would give myself access to what supplies might be stored below. But that meant creating an opening onto Richard Parker's den ⁷.,There was no question. Thirst pushed me on. I eased the oar ⁸ from under the tarpaulin. I placed the lifebuoy around my waist. I laid the oar across the bow. I leaned over the gunnel and with my thumbs pushed from under one of the hooks the rope that held down the tarpaulin. I had a difficult time of it. But after the first hook, it was easier with the second and the third. I did the same on the other side of the stem. The tarpaulin became slack beneath my elbows. I was lying flat on it, my legs pointed ⁹ towards the stern.,I unrolled it a little. Immediately I was rewarded. The bow was like the stern; it had an end bench. And upon it, just a few inches from the stem, a hasp glittered like a diamond. There was the outline of a lid. My heart began to pound. I unrolled the tarpaulin further. I peeked ¹⁰ under. The lid was shaped like a rounded-out triangle, three feet wide and two feet deep. At that moment I perceived an orange mass. I jerked my head back. But the orange wasn't moving and didn't look right. I looked again. It wasn't a tiger. It was a life jacket. There were a number of life jackets at the back of Richard Parker's den.,"God preserve me!" No supplication ¹³ was ever more passionate ¹⁴ yet more gently carried by the breath. I lay absolutely motionless.,I had to have water. I brought my hand down and quietly undid ¹⁵ the hasp. I pulled on the lid. It opened onto a locker.,I have just mentioned the notion of details that become lifesavers. Here was one: the lid was hinged an inch or so from the edge of the bow bench-which meant that as the lid opened, it became a barrier that closed off the twelve inches of open space between tarpaulin and bench through which Richard Parker could get to me after pushing aside the life jackets. I opened the lid till it fell against the crosswise oar and the edge of the tarpaulin. I moved onto the stem, facing the boat, one foot on the edge of the open locker, the other against the lid. If Richard Parker decided ¹⁶ to attack me from below, he would have to push on the lid. Such a push would both warn me and help me fall backwards ¹⁷ into the water with the lifebuoy. If he came the other way, climbing atop the tarpaulin from astern, I was in the best position to see him early and, again, take to the water. I looked about the lifeboat. I couldn't see any sharks.,I looked down between my legs. I thought I would faint for joy. The open locker glistened ¹⁸ with shiny new things. Oh, the delight of the manufactured good, the man-made device, the created thing! That moment of material revelation brought an intensity ¹⁹ of pleasure-a heady mix of hope, surprise, disbelief, thrill, gratitude ²⁰, all crushed into one-unequalled in my life by any Christmas, birthday, wedding, Diwali or other gift-giving occasion. I was positively ²¹ giddy with happiness.,My eyes immediately fell upon what I was looking for. Whether in a bottle, a tin can or a carton, water is unmistakably packaged. On this lifeboat, the wine of life was served in pale golden cans that fit nicely in the hand. Drinking Water said the vintage label in black letters. HP Foods Ltd. were the vintners. 500 ml were the contents. There were stacks of these cans, too many to count at a glance.,The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。,At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里 。