Part 2 In The Breton Land Chapter 12

The sea, the gray sea once more, where Yann was gently gliding¹ alongits broad, trackless road, that leads the fishermen every year to theLand of Ice.

　　The day before, when they all had set off to the music of the oldhymns, there blew a brisk breeze from the south, and all the shipswith their outspread sails had dispersed² like so many gulls³; but thatbreeze had suddenly subsided⁴, and speed had diminished; great fog-banks covered the watery⁵ surface.

　　Yann was perhaps quieter than usual. He said that the weather was toocalm, and appeared to excite himself, as if he would drive away somecare that weighed upon him. But he had nothing to do but be carriedserenely in the midst of serene⁶ things; only to breathe and lethimself live. On looking out, only the deep gray masses around couldbe seen; on listening, only silence.

　　Suddenly there was an almost imperceptible rumbling⁷, which came frombelow, accompanied by a grinding sensation, as when a brake comes harddown on carriage wheels. The /Marie/ ceased all movement. They hadstruck. Where, and on what? Some bank off the English coast probably.

　　For since overnight they had been able to see nothing, with thosecurtains of mist.

　　The men ran and rushed about, their bustle⁸ contrasting strongly withthe sudden rigidity⁹ of their ship. How had the /Marie/ come to a stopin that spot? In the midst of that immensity of fluid in this dullweather, seeming to be almost without consistence, she had been seizedby some resistless immovable power hidden beneath the waves; she wastight in its grasp, and might perish there.

　　Who has not seen poor birds caught by their feet in the lime? At firstthey can scarcely believe they are caught; it changes nothing in theiraspect; but they soon are sure that they are held fast, and in dangerof never getting free again. And when they struggle to get free, andthe sticky stuff soils their wings and heads, they gradually assumethat pitiful look of a dumb creature in distress¹⁰, about to die. Suchwas the case with the /Marie/. At first it did not seem much to beconcerned about; she certainly was careened a little on one side, butit was broad morning, and the weather was fair and calm; one had toknow such things by experience to become uneasy, and understand thatit was a serious matter.

　　The captain was to be pitied. It was his fault, as he had notunderstood exactly where they were. He wrung¹¹ his hands, saying: "Godhelp us! God help us!" in a voice of despair.

　　Close to them, during a lifting of the fog, they could distinguish aheadland, but not recognize it. But the mists covered it anew, andthey saw it no longer.

　　There was no sail or smoke in sight. They all jostled about, hurryingand knocking the deck lumber¹² over. Their dog Turc, who did not usuallymind the movement of the sea, was greatly affected¹³ too by thisincident, these sounds from down below, these heavy wallowings whenthe low swell¹⁴ passed under, and the sudden calm that afterwardsfollowed; he understood that all this was unusual, and hid himselfaway in corners, with his tail between his legs. They got out theboats to carry the kedges and set them firm, and tried to row her outof it by uniting all their forces together upon the tow-lines--a heavypiece of work this, which lasted ten successive hours. So, whenevening came, the poor bark, which had only that morning been so freshand light, looked almost swamped, fouled¹⁵, and good for nothing. Shehad fought hard, floundered about on all sides, but still remainedthere, fixed¹⁶ as in a dock.

　　Night was overtaking them; the wind and the waves were rising; thingswere growing worse, when, all of a sudden, towards six o'clock, theywere let go clear, and could be off again, tearing asunder¹⁷ the tow-lines, which they had left to keep her head steady. The men wept,rushing about like madmen, cheering from stem to stern--"We're afloat,boys!"They were afloat, with a joy that cannot be described; what it was tofeel themselves going forwards on a buoyant craft again, instead of onthe semi-wreck it was before, none but a seaman¹⁸ feels, and few of themcan tell.

　　Yann's sadness had disappeared too. Like his ship, he became livelyonce more, cured by the healthy manual labour; he had found hisreckless look again, and had thrown off his glum¹⁹ thoughts.

　　Next morning, when the kedges were fished up, the /Marie/ went on herway to Iceland, and Yann's heart, to all appearance, was as free as inhis early years.

1 gliding   

v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的

参考例句：

• Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
• The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

2 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

3 gulls   

n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A flock of sea gulls are hovering over the deck. 一群海鸥在甲板上空飞翔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The gulls which haunted the outlying rocks in a prodigious number. 数不清的海鸥在遥远的岩石上栖息。 来自辞典例句

4 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。

6 serene   

adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的

参考例句：

• He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
• He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多，只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。

7 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

8 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

9 rigidity   

adj.钢性，坚硬

参考例句：

• The rigidity of the metal caused it to crack.这金属因刚度强而产生裂纹。
• He deplored the rigidity of her views.他痛感她的观点僵化。

10 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

11 wrung   

绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水）

参考例句：

• He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。
• He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。

12 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

15 fouled   

v.使污秽( foul的过去式和过去分词 )；弄脏；击球出界；（通常用废物）弄脏

参考例句：

• Blue suit and reddish-brown socks!He had fouled up again. 蓝衣服和红褐色短袜！他又搞错了。
• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories. 整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。

16 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

17 asunder   

adj.分离的，化为碎片

参考例句：

• The curtains had been drawn asunder.窗帘被拉向两边。
• Your conscience,conviction,integrity,and loyalties were torn asunder.你的良心、信念、正直和忠诚都被扯得粉碎了。

18 seaman   

n.海员，水手，水兵

参考例句：

• That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。
• The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。

19 glum   

adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的

参考例句：

• He was a charming mixture of glum and glee.他是一个很有魅力的人，时而忧伤时而欢笑。
• She laughed at his glum face.她嘲笑他闷闷不乐的脸。