少年派的奇幻漂流 Chapter 53

Chapter 53,I slept all morning. I was roused by anxiety. That tide of food, water and rest that flowed through my weakened system, bringing me a new lease on life, also brought me the strength to see how desperate my situation was. I awoke to the reality of Richard Parker. There was a tiger in the lifeboat. I could hardly believe it, yet I knew I had to. And I had to save myself.,I considered jumping overboard and swimming away, but my body refused to move. I was hundreds of miles from landfall, if not over a thousand miles. I couldn't swim such a distance, even with a lifebuoy. What would I eat? What would I drink? How would I keep the sharks away? How would I keep warm? How would I know which way to go? There was not a shadow of doubt about the matter: to leave the lifeboat meant certain death. But what was staying aboard? He would come at me like a typical cat, without a sound. Before I knew it he would seize the back of my neck or my throat and I would be pierced by fang-holes. I wouldn't be able to speak. The lifeblood would flow out of me unmarked by a final utterance ². Or he would kill me by clubbing me with one of his great paws, breaking my neck.,"I'm going to die," I blubbered through quivering lips.,Oncoming death is terrible enough, but worse still is oncoming death with time to spare, time in which all the happiness that was yours and all the happiness that might have been yours becomes clear to you. You see with utter lucidity ³ all that you are losing. The sight brings on an oppressive sadness that no car about to hit you or water about to drown you can match. The feeling is truly unbearable ⁴. The words Father, Mother, Ravi, India, Winnipeg struck me with searing poignancy ⁵.,I was giving up. I would have given up-if a voice hadn't made itself heard in my heart. The voice said, "I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds ⁶, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously ⁷. Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen every day. I will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen.",Richard Parker started growling ¹¹ that very instant, as if he had been waiting for me to become a worthy ¹³ opponent. My chest became tight with fear.,"Quick, man, quick," I wheezed ¹⁴. I had to organize my survival. Not a second to waste. I needed shelter and right away. I thought of the prow ¹⁵ I had made with an oar ¹. But now the tarpaulin ¹⁶ was unrolled at the bow; there was nothing to hold the oar in place. And I had no proof that hanging at the end of an oar provided real safety from Richard Parker. He might easily reach and nab me. I had to find something else. My mind worked fast.,I built a raft. The oars ¹⁷, if you remember, floated. And I had life jackets and a sturdy lifebuoy.,With bated breath I closed the locker ¹⁸ and reached beneath the tarpaulin for the extra oars on the side benches. Richard Parker noticed. I could see him through the life jackets. As I dragged each oar out-you can imagine how carefully-he stirred in reaction. But he did not turn. I pulled out three oars. A fourth was already resting crosswise on the tarpaulin. I raised the locker lid to close the opening onto Richard Parker's den ¹⁰.,I had four buoyant oars. I set them on the tarpaulin around the lifebuoy. The lifebuoy was now squared by the oars. My raft looked like a game of tic-tac-toe with an O in the centre as the first move.,The blade of the oar was bitten off by a shark.浆叶被一条鲨鱼咬掉了。,This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑 。