PART TWOThe Pacific Ocean Chapter 37

The ship sank. It made a sound like a monstrous¹ metallicburp. Things bubbled at the surface and then vanished.
Everything was screaming: the sea, the wind, my heart. Fromthe lifeboat I saw something in the water.
I cried, "Richard Parker, is that you? It's so hard to see.
Oh, that this rain would stop! Richard Parker? Richard Parker?
Yes, it is you!"I could see his head. He was struggling to stay at thesurface of the water.
"Jesus, Mary, Muhammad and Vishnu, how good to seeyou, Richard Parker! Don't give up, please. Come to thelifeboat. Do you hear this whistle? TREEEEEE! TREEEEEE!
TREEEEEE! You heard right. Swim, swim! You're a strongswimmer. It's not a hundred feet."He had seen me. He looked panic-stricken. He startedswimming my way. The water about him was shifting wildly. Helooked small and helpless.
"Richard Parker, can you believe what has happened to us?
Tell me it's a bad dream. Tell me it's not real. Tell me I'm stillin my bunk² on the Tsimtsumand I'm tossing and turning and soon I'll wake up from thisnightmare. Tell me I'm still happy. Mother, my tender guardianangel of wisdom, where are you? And you, Father, my lovingworrywart? And you, Ravi, dazzling hero of my childhood?
Vishnu preserve me, Allah protect me, Christ save me, I can'tbear it! TREEEEEE! TREEEEEE! TREEEEEE!"I was not wounded in any part of my body, but I hadnever experienced such intense pain, such a ripping of thenerves, such an ache of the heart.
He would not make it. He would drown. He was hardlymoving forward and his movements were weak. His nose andmouth kept dipping underwater. Only his eyes were steadily³ onme.
"What are you doing, Richard Parker? Don't you love life?
Keep swimming then! TREEEEEE! TREEEEEE! TREEEEEE!
Kick with your legs. Kick! Kick! Kick!"He stirred in the water and made to swim.
"And what of my extended family – birds, beasts andreptiles? They too have drowned. Every single thing I value inlife has been destroyed. And I am allowed no explanation? Iam to suffer hell without any account from heaven? In thatcase, what is the purpose of reason, Richard Parker? Is it nomore than to shine at practicalities – the getting of food,clothing and shelter? Why can't reason give greater answers?
Why can we throw a question further than we can pull in ananswer? Why such a vast net if there's so little fish to catch?"His head was barely above water. He was looking up, takingin the sky one last time. There was a lifebuoy in the boat witha rope tied to it. I took hold of it and waved it in the air.
"Do you see this lifebuoy, Richard Parker? Do you see it?
Catch hold of it! HUMPF! I'll try again. HUMPF!"He was too far. But the sight of the lifebuoy flying his waygave him hope. He revived and started beating the water withvigorous, desperate strokes.
"That's right! One, two. One, two. One, two. Breathe whenyou can. Watch for the waves. TREEEEEE! TREEEEEE!
TREEEEEE!"My heart was chilled to ice. I felt ill with grief. But therewas no time for frozen shock. It was shock in activity.
Something in me did not want to give up on life, was unwillingto let go, wanted to fight to the very end. Where that part ofme got the heart, I don't know.
"Isn't it ironic⁴, Richard Parker? We're in hell yet still we'reafraid of immortality⁵. Look how close you are! TREEEEEE.‘TREEEEEE! TREEEEEE.' Hurrah⁶, hurrah! You've made it,Richard Parker, you've made it. Catch! HUMPF!"I threw the lifebuoy mightily⁷. It fell in the water right in frontof him. With his last energies he stretched forward and tookhold of it.
"Hold on tight, I'll pull you in. Don't let go. Pull with youreyes while I pull with my hands. In a few seconds you'll beaboard and we'll be together. Wait a second. Together? We'llbe together? Have I gone mad?"I woke up to what I was doing. I yanked on the rope.
"Let go of that lifebuoy, Richard Parker! Let go, I said. Idon't want you here, do you understand? Go somewhere else.
Leave me alone. Get lost. Drown! Drown!"He was kicking vigorously with his legs. I grabbed an oar⁸. Ithrust it at him, meaning to push him away. I missed and losthold of the oar.
I grabbed another oar. I dropped it in an oarlock and pulledas hard as I could, meaning to move the lifeboat away. All Iaccomplished was to turn the lifeboat a little, bringing one endcloser to Richard Parker.
I would hit him on the head! I lifted the oar in the air.
He was too fast. He reached up and pulled himself aboard.
"Oh my God!"Ravi was right. Truly I was to be the next goat. I had awet, trembling, half-drowned, heaving and coughingthree-year-old adult Bengal tiger in my lifeboat. Richard Parkerrose unsteadily to his feet on the tarpaulin⁹, eyes blazing as theymet mine, ears laid tight to his head, all weapons drawn¹⁰. Hishead was the size and colour of the lifebuoy, with teeth.
I turned around, stepped over the zebra and threw myselfoverboard.

1 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

2 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

3 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

4 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

5 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

6 hurrah   

int.好哇，万岁，乌拉

参考例句：

• We hurrah when we see the soldiers go by.我们看到士兵经过时向他们欢呼。
• The assistants raised a formidable hurrah.助手们发出了一片震天的欢呼声。

7 mightily   

ad.强烈地；非常地

参考例句：

• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet. 他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
• This seemed mightily to relieve him. 干完这件事后，他似乎轻松了许多。

8 oar   

n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行

参考例句：

• The sailors oar slowly across the river.水手们慢慢地划过河去。
• The blade of the oar was bitten off by a shark.浆叶被一条鲨鱼咬掉了。

9 tarpaulin   

n.涂油防水布，防水衣，防水帽

参考例句：

• The pool furniture was folded,stacked,and covered with a tarpaulin.游泳池的设备都已经折叠起来，堆在那里，还盖上了防水布。
• The pool furniture was folded,stacked,and covered with a tarpaulin.游泳池的设备都已经折叠起来，堆在那里，还盖上了防水布。

10 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。