Chapter 45

I was cold. It was a distracted observation, as if it didn'tconcern me. Daybreak came. It happened quickly, yet byimperceptible degrees. A corner of the sky changed colours.
The air began filling with light. The calm sea opened uparound me like a great book. Still it felt like night. Suddenly itwas day.
Warmth came only when the sun, looking like an electricallylit orange, broke across the horizon, but I didn't need to waitthat long to feel it. With the very first rays of light it camealive in me: hope. As things emerged in outline and filled withcolour, hope increased until it was like a song in my heart. Oh,what it was to bask¹ in it! Things would work out yet. Theworst was over. I had survived the night. Today I would berescued. To think that, to string those words together in mymind, was itself a source of hope. Hope fed on hope. As thehorizon became a neat, sharp line, I scanned it eagerly. Theday was clear again and visibility was perfect. I imagined Raviwould greet me first and with a tease. "What's this?" he wouldsay. "You find yourself a great big lifeboat and you fill it withanimals? You think you're Noah or something?" Father wouldbe unshaven and dishevelled. Mother would look to the skyand take me in her arms. I went through a dozen versions ofwhat it was going to be like on the rescue ship, variations onthe theme of sweet reunion. That morning the horizon mightcurve one way, my lips resolutely² curved the other, in a smile.
Strange as it might sound, it was only after a long time thatI looked to see what was happening in the lifeboat. The hyenahad attacked the zebra. Its mouth was bright red and it waschewing on a piece of hide. My eyes automatically searched forthe wound, for the area under attack. I gasped⁴ with horror.
The zebra's broken leg was missing. The hyena³ had bitten itoff and dragged it to the stern, behind the zebra. A flap ofskin hung limply over the raw stump⁵. Blood was still dripping.
The victim bore its suffering patiently, without showyremonstrations. A slow and constant grinding of its teeth wasthe only visible sign of distress⁶. Shock, revulsion and angersurged through me. I felt intense hatred⁷ for the hyena. Ithought of doing something to, kill it. But I did nothing. Andmy outrage⁸ was short-lived. I must be honest about that. Ididn't have pity to spare for long for the zebra. When yourown life is threatened, your sense of empathy is blunted by aterrible, selfish hunger for survival. It was sad that it wassuffering so much – and being such a big, strapping⁹ creatureit wasn't at the end of its ordeal¹⁰ – but there was nothing Icould do about it. I felt pity and then I moved on. This is notsomething I am proud of. I am sorry I was so callous¹¹ aboutthe matter. I have not forgotten that poor zebra and what itwent through. Not a prayer goes by that I don't think of it.
There was still no sign of Orange Juice. I turned my eyes tothe horizon again.
That afternoon the wind picked up a little and I noticedsomething about the lifeboat: despite its weight, it floated lightlyon the water, no doubt because it was carrying less than itscapacity. We had plenty of freeboard, the distance between thewater and the gunnel; it would take a mean sea to swamp us.
But it also meant that whatever end of the boat was facing thewind tended to fall away, bringing us broadside to the waves.
With small waves the result was a ceaseless, fist-like beatingagainst the hull¹³, while larger waves made for a tiresome¹⁴ rollingof the boat as it leaned from side to side. This jerky andincessant motion was making me feel queasy¹⁵.
Perhaps I would feel better in a new position. I slid downthe oar¹² and shifted back onto the bow. I sat facing the waves,with the rest of the boat to my left. I was closer to the hyena,but it wasn't stirring.
It was as I was breathing deeply and concentrating onmaking my nausea¹⁶ go away that I saw Orange Juice. I hadimagined her completely out of sight, near the bow beneath thetarpaulin, as far from the hyena as she could get. Not so. Shewas on the side bench, just beyond the edge of the hyena'sindoor track and barely hidden from me by the bulge¹⁸ ofrolled-up tarpaulin¹⁷. She lifted her head only an inch or so andright away I saw her.
Curiosity got the best of me. I had to see her better. Despitethe rolling of the boat I brought myself to a kneeling position.
The hyena looked at me, but did not move. Orange Juicecame into sight. She was deeply slouched and holding on tothe gunnel with both her hands, her head sunk very lowbetween her arms. Her mouth was open and her tongue waslolling about. She was visibly panting. Despite the tragedyafflicting me, despite not feeling well, I let out a laugh.
Everything about Orange Juice at that moment spelled oneword: seasickness¹⁹. The image of a new species popped intomy head: the rare seafaring green orang-utan. I returned tomy sitting position. The poor dear looked so humanly sick! Itis a particularly funny thing to read human traits in animals,especially in apes and monkeys, where it is so easy. Simiansare the clearest mirrors we have in the animal world. That iswhy they are so popular in zoos. I laughed again. I broughtmy hands to my chest, surprised at how I felt. Oh my. Thislaughter was like a volcano of happiness erupting in me. AndOrange Juice had not only cheered me up; she had also takenon both our feelings of seasickness. I was feeling fine now.
I returned to scrutinizing²¹ the horizon, my hopes high.
Besides being deathly seasick²⁰, there was something else aboutOrange Juice that was remarkable²²: she was uninjured. And shehad her back turned to the hyena, as if she felt she couldsafely ignore it. The ecosystem²³ on this lifeboat was decidedlybaffling. Since there are no natural conditions in which aspotted hyena and an orang-utan can meet, there being noneof the first in Borneo and none of the second in Africa, thereis no way of knowing how they would relate. But it seemed tome highly improbable, if not totally incredible, that whenbrought together these frugiv-orous tree-dwellers andcarnivorous savannah-dwellers would so radically²⁵ carve out theirniches as to pay no attention to each other. Surely anorangutan would smell of prey²⁶ to a hyena, albeit²⁷ a strange one,one to be remembered afterwards for producing stupendoushairballs, nonetheless better-tasting than an exhaust pipe andwell worth looking out for when near trees. And surely ahyena would smell of a predator²⁸ to an orang-utan, a reasonfor being vigilant²⁹ when a piece of durian has been dropped tothe ground accidentally. But nature forever holds surprises.
Perhaps it was not so. If goats could be brought to liveamicably with rhinoceros³⁰, why not orang-utans with hyenas³¹?
That would be a big winner at a zoo. A sign would have to beput up. I could see it already: "Dear Public, Do not be afraidfor the orang-utans! They are in the trees because that iswhere they live, not because they are afraid of the spottedhyenas. Come back at mealtime, or at sunset when they getthirsty, and you will see them climbing down from their treesand moving about the grounds, absolutely unmolested by thehyenas." Father would be fascinated.
Sometime that afternoon I saw the first specimen³² of whatwould become a dear, reliable friend of mine. There was abumping and scraping sound against the hull of the lifeboat. Afew seconds later, so close to the boat I could have leaneddown and grabbed it, a large sea turtle appeared, a hawksbill,flippers lazily turning, head sticking out of the water. It wasstriking-looking in an ugly sort of way, with a rugged³³, yellowishbrown shell about three feet long and spotted²⁴ with patches ofalgae, and a dark green face with a sharp beak³⁴, no lips, twosolid holes for nostrils³⁵, and black eyes that stared at meintently. The expression was haughty³⁶ and severe, like that of anill-tempered old man who has complaining on his mind. Thequeerest thing about the reptile³⁷ was simply that it was. Itlooked incongruous, floating there in the water, so odd in itsshape compared to the sleek³⁸, slippery design of fish. Yet it wasplainly in its element and it was I who was the odd one out.
It hovered³⁹ by the boat for several minutes.
I said to it, "Go tell a ship I'm here. Go, go." It turned andsank out of sight, back flippers pushing water in alternatestrokes.

1 bask   

vt.取暖，晒太阳，沐浴于

参考例句：

• Turtles like to bask in the sun.海龟喜欢曝于阳光中。
• In winter afternoons,he likes to bask in the sun in his courtyard.冬日的午后，他喜欢坐在院子晒太阳。

2 resolutely   

adj.坚决地，果断地

参考例句：

• He resolutely adhered to what he had said at the meeting. 他坚持他在会上所说的话。
• He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。

3 hyena   

n.土狼，鬣狗

参考例句：

• African hyena noted for its distinctive howl.非洲鬣狗，以其特别的嚎叫而闻名。
• The hyena's public image is not aided by its ridiculous appearance.鬣狗滑稽的外表无助于改善它在公众心中的形象。

4 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

6 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。

7 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

8 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

9 strapping   

adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• He's a strapping lad—already bigger than his father. 他是一个魁梧的小伙子——已经比他父亲高了。
• He was a tall strapping boy. 他是一个高大健壮的小伙子。

10 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

11 callous   

adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的

参考例句：

• He is callous about the safety of his workers.他对他工人的安全毫不关心。
• She was selfish,arrogant and often callous.她自私傲慢，而且往往冷酷无情。

12 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。

13 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

14 tiresome   

adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的

参考例句：

• His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。

15 queasy   

adj.易呕的

参考例句：

• I felt a little queasy on the ship.我在船上觉得有点晕眩想呕吐。
• He was very prone to seasickness and already felt queasy.他快晕船了，已经感到恶心了。

16 nausea   

n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶)

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕期常有恶心的现象。
• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。

17 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。

18 bulge   

n.突出，膨胀，激增；vt.突出，膨胀

参考例句：

• The apple made a bulge in his pocket.苹果把他口袋塞得鼓了起来。
• What's that awkward bulge in your pocket?你口袋里那块鼓鼓囊囊的东西是什么？

19 seasickness   

n.晕船

参考例句：

• Europeans take melons for a preventive against seasickness. 欧洲人吃瓜作为预防晕船的方法。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was very prone to seasickness and already felt queasy. 他快晕船了，已经感到恶心了。 来自辞典例句

20 seasick   

adj.晕船的

参考例句：

• When I get seasick,I throw up my food.我一晕船就呕吐。
• He got seasick during the voyage.在航行中他晕船。

21 scrutinizing   

v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His grandfather's stern eyes were scrutinizing him, and Chueh-hui felt his face reddening. 祖父的严厉的眼光射在他的脸上。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• The machine hushed, extraction and injection nozzles poised, scrutinizing its targets. 机器“嘘”地一声静了下来，输入输出管道各就各位，检查着它的目标。 来自互联网

22 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

23 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

24 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

25 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

26 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

27 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

28 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

29 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

30 rhinoceros   

n.犀牛

参考例句：

• The rhinoceros has one horn on its nose.犀牛鼻子上有一个角。
• The body of the rhinoceros likes a cattle and the head likes a triangle.犀牛的形体像牛，头呈三角形。

31 hyenas   

n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These animals were the prey of hyenas. 这些动物是鬣狗的猎物。 来自辞典例句
• We detest with horror the duplicity and villainy of the murderous hyenas of Bukharinite wreckers. 我们非常憎恨布哈林那帮两面三刀、杀人破坏，干尽坏事的豺狼。 来自辞典例句

32 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

33 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

34 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

35 nostrils   

鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。
• The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。

36 haughty   

adj.傲慢的，高傲的

参考例句：

• He gave me a haughty look and walked away.他向我摆出傲慢的表情后走开。
• They were displeased with her haughty airs.他们讨厌她高傲的派头。

37 reptile   

n.爬行动物；两栖动物

参考例句：

• The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。
• So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。

38 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

39 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。