Part 1 On The Icy Sea Chapter 2

Their smack¹ was named /La Marie/, and her master was Captain Guermeur.

　　Every year she set sail for the big dangerous fisheries, in the frigidregions where the summers have no night. She was a very old ship, asold as the statuette of her patron saint itself. Her heavy, oakenplanks were rough and worn, impregnated with ooze³ and brine, but stillstrong and stout⁴, and smelling strongly of tar⁵. At anchor she lookedan old unwieldy tub from her so massive build, but when blew themighty western gales⁶, her lightness returned, like a sea-gull awakenedby the wind. Then she had her own style of tumbling over the rollers,and rebounding⁷ more lightly than many newer ones, launched with allyour new fangles.

　　As for the crew of six men and the boy, they were "Icelanders," thevaliant race of seafarers whose homes are at Paimpol and Treguier, andwho from father to son are destined⁸ for the cod⁹ fisheries.

　　They hardly ever had seen a summer in France. At the end of eachwinter they, with other fishers, received the parting blessing¹⁰ in theharbour of Paimpol. And for that fete-day an altar, always the same,and imitating a rocky grotto¹¹, was erected¹² on the quay¹³; and over it, inthe midst of anchors, oars¹⁴ and nets, was enthroned the Virgin¹⁵ Mary,calm, and beaming with affection, the patroness of sailors; she wouldbe brought from her chapel¹⁶ for the occasion, and had looked upongeneration after generation with her same lifeless eyes, blessing thehappy for whom the season would be lucky, and the others who nevermore would return.

　　The Host, followed by a slow procession of wives, mothers,sweethearts, and sisters, was borne round the harbour, where the boatsbound for Iceland, bedecked in all colours, saluted¹⁷ it on its way. Thepriest halted before each, giving them his holy blessing; and then thefleet started, leaving the country desolate¹⁸ of husbands, lovers, andsons; and as the shores faded from their view, the crews sang togetherin low, full voices, the hymns¹⁹ sacred to "the Star of the Ocean." Andevery year saw the same ceremonies, and heard the same good-byes.

　　Then began the life out upon the open sea, in the solitude²⁰ of three orfour rough companions, on the moving thin planks² in the midst of theseething waters of the northern seas.

　　Until now /La Marie/ followed the custom of many Icelanders, which ismerely to touch at Paimpol, and then to sail down to the Gulf²¹ ofGascony, where fish fetches high prices, or farther on to the SandyIsles, with their salty swamps, where they buy the salt for the nextexpedition. The crews of lusty fellows stay a few days in thesouthern, sun-kissed harbour-towns, intoxicated²² by the last rays ofsummer, by the sweetness of the balmy air, and by the downrightjollity of youth.

　　With the mists of autumn they return home to Paimpol, or to thescattered huts of the land of Goelo, to remain some time in theirfamilies, in the midst of love, marriages, and births. Very often theyfind unseen babies upon their return, waiting for godfathers ere theycan be baptized, for many children are needed to keep up this race offishermen, which the Icelandic Moloch devours²³.

1 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

2 planks   

（厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点

参考例句：

• The house was built solidly of rough wooden planks. 这房子是用粗木板牢固地建造的。
• We sawed the log into planks. 我们把木头锯成了木板。

3 ooze   

n.软泥，渗出物；vi.渗出，泄漏；vt.慢慢渗出，流露

参考例句：

• Soon layer of oceanic ooze began to accumulate above the old hard layer.不久后海洋软泥层开始在老的硬地层上堆积。
• Drip or ooze systems are common for pot watering.滴灌和渗灌系统一般也用于盆栽灌水。

5 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

6 gales   

龙猫

参考例句：

• I could hear gales of laughter coming from downstairs. 我能听到来自楼下的阵阵笑声。
• This was greeted with gales of laughter from the audience. 观众对此报以阵阵笑声。

7 rebounding   

蹦跳运动

参考例句：

• The strength of negative temperature concrete is tested with supersonic-rebounding method. 本文将超声回弹综合法用于负温混凝土强度检测。
• The fundamental of basketball includes shooting, passing and catching, rebounding, etc. 篮球运动中最基本的东西包括投篮，传接球，篮板球等。

8 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

9 cod   

n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗

参考例句：

• They salt down cod for winter use.他们腌鳕鱼留着冬天吃。
• Cod are found in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.北大西洋和北海有鳕鱼。

10 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

11 grotto   

n.洞穴

参考例句：

• We reached a beautiful grotto,whose entrance was almost hiden by the vine.我们到达了一个美丽的洞穴，洞的进口几乎被藤蔓遮掩著。
• Water trickles through an underground grotto.水沿着地下岩洞流淌。

12 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

13 quay   

n.码头，靠岸处

参考例句：

• There are all kinds of ships in a quay.码头停泊各式各样的船。
• The side of the boat hit the quay with a grinding jar.船舷撞到码头发出刺耳的声音。

14 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

16 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

17 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

19 hymns   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At first, they played the hymns and marches familiar to them. 起初他们只吹奏自己熟悉的赞美诗和进行曲。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821
• I like singing hymns. 我喜欢唱圣歌。 来自辞典例句

20 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

21 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

22 intoxicated   

喝醉的，极其兴奋的

参考例句：

• She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
• They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉，东南西北全然不辨。

23 devours   

吞没( devour的第三人称单数 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. 若有人想要害他们，就有火从他们口中出来，烧灭仇敌。
• It eats away parts of his skin; death's firstborn devours his limbs. 他本身的肢体要被吞吃，死亡的长子要吞吃他的肢体。