Chapter 58

I pulled out the survival manual. Its pages were still wet. Iturned them carefully. The manual was written by a BritishRoyal Navy commander. It contained a wealth of practicalinformation on surviving at sea after a shipwreck¹. It includedsurvival tips such as:
? Always read instructions carefully.
? Do not drink urine. Or sea water. Or bird blood.
? Do not eat jellyfish. Or fish that are armed with spikes². Orthat have parrot-like beaks⁴. Or that puff⁵ up like balloons.
? Pressing the eyes of fish will paralyze them.
? The body can be a hero in battle. If a castaway is injured,beware of well-meaning but ill-founded medical treatment.
Ignorance is the worst doctor, while rest and sleep are the bestnurses.
? Put up your feet at least five minutes every hour.
? Unnecessary exertion⁶ should be avoided. But an idle mindtends to sink, so the mind should be kept occupied withwhatever light distraction⁷ may suggest itself. Playing card games,Twenty Questions and I Spy With My Little Eye are excellentforms of simple recreation. Community singing is anothersure-fire way to lift the spirits. Yarn⁸ spinning is also highlyrecommended.
? Green water is shallower than blue water.
? Beware of far-off clouds that look like mountains. Look forgreen. Ultimately, a foot is the only good judge of land.
? Do not go swimming. It wastes energy. Besides, a survivalcraft may drift faster than you can swim. Not to mention thedanger of sea life. If you are hot, wet your clothes instead.
? Do not urinate in your clothes. The momentary⁹ warmth isnot worth the nappy rash.
? Shelter yourself. Exposure can kill faster than thirst orhunger.
? So long as no excessive water is lost through perspiration,the body can survive up to fourteen days without water. If youfeel thirsty, suck a button.
? Turtles are an easy catch and make for excellent meals.
Their blood is a good, nutritious¹⁰, salt-free drink; their flesh istasty and filling; their fat has many uses; and the castaway willfind turtle eggs a real treat. Mind the beak³ and the claws.
? Don't let your morale¹¹ flag. Be daunted¹², but not defeated.
Remember: the spirit, above all else, counts. If you have thewill to live, you will. Good luck!
There were also a few highly cryptic¹³ lines distilling¹⁴ the artand science of navigation. I learned that the horizon, as seenfrom a height of five feet on a calm day, was two and a halfmiles away.
The injunction not to drink urine was quite unnecessary. Noone called "Pissing" in his childhood would be caught dead witha cup of pee at his lips, even alone in a lifeboat in the middleof the Pacific. And the gastronomic¹⁵ suggestions only confirmedto my mind that the English didn't know the meaning of theword food. Otherwise, the manual was a fascinating pamphleton how to avoid being pickled in brine. Only one importanttopic was not addressed: the establishing of alpha-omegarelationships with major lifeboat pests.
I had to devise a training program for Richard Parker. Ihad to make him understand that I was the top tiger and thathis territory was limited to the floor of the boat, the sternbench and the side benches as far as the middle cross bench.
I had to fix in his mind that the top of the tarpaulin¹⁶ and thebow of the boat, bordered by the neutral territory of themiddle bench, was my territory and utterly¹⁷ forbidden to him.
I had to start fishing very soon. It would not take long forRichard Parker to finish the animal carcasses. At the zoo theadult lions and tigers ate on average ten pounds of meat aday.
There were many other things I had to do. I had to find ameans of sheltering myself. If Richard Parker stayed under thetarpaulin all the time, it was for a good reason. To becontinuously outside, exposed to sun, wind, rain and sea, wasexhausting, and not only to the body but also to the mind.
Hadn't I just read that exposure could inflict¹⁸ a quick death? Ihad to devise some sort of canopy¹⁹.
I had to tie the raft to the lifeboat with a second rope, incase the first should break or become loose.
I had to improve the raft. At present it was seaworthy, buthardly habitable. I would have to make it fit for living in until Icould move to my permanent quarters on the lifeboat. Forexample, I had to find a way to stay dry on it. My skin waswrinkled and swollen²⁰ all over from being constantly wet. Thathad to change. And I had to find a way to store things onthe raft.
I had to stop hoping so much that a ship would rescue me.
I should not count on outside help. Survival had to start withme. In my experience, a castaway's worst mistake is to hopetoo much and do too little. Survival starts by paying attentionto what is close at hand and immediate²¹. To look out with idlehope is tantamount to dreaming one's life away.
There was much I had to do.
I looked out at the empty horizon. There was so muchwater. And I was all alone. All alone.
I burst into hot tears. I buried my face in my crossed armsand sobbed²². My situation was patently hopeless.

1 shipwreck   

n.船舶失事，海难

参考例句：

• He walked away from the shipwreck.他船难中平安地脱险了。
• The shipwreck was a harrowing experience.那次船难是一个惨痛的经历。

2 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 beaks   

n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者

参考例句：

• Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的，嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
• Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网

5 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

6 exertion   

n.尽力，努力

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture.我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• She was hot and breathless from the exertion of cycling uphill.由于用力骑车爬坡，她浑身发热。

7 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

8 yarn   

n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事

参考例句：

• I stopped to have a yarn with him.我停下来跟他聊天。
• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。

9 momentary   

adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的

参考例句：

• We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
• I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

10 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

11 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

12 daunted   

使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was a brave woman but she felt daunted by the task ahead. 她是一个勇敢的女人，但对面前的任务却感到信心不足。
• He was daunted by the high quality of work they expected. 他被他们对工作的高品质的要求吓倒了。

13 cryptic   

adj.秘密的，神秘的，含义模糊的

参考例句：

• She made a cryptic comment about how the film mirrored her life.她隐晦地表示说这部电影是她人生的写照。
• The new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms.新的保险单在编写时没有隐秘条款或秘密条款。

14 distilling   

n.蒸馏（作用）v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )( distilled的过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• Water can be made pure by distilling it. 水经蒸馏可变得纯净。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• More ammonium sulphate solution is being recovered in the process of distilling oil shale. 在提炼油页岩的过程中回收的硫酸铵液比过去多了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 gastronomic   

adj.美食（烹饪）法的，烹任学的

参考例句：

• The gastronomic restaurant is a feature of the hotel. 美食餐厅是这家饭店的一个特色。 来自互联网
• The restaurant offers a special gastronomic menu. 这家餐馆备有一份特别的美食菜单。 来自互联网

16 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。

17 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

18 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

19 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

20 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

21 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

22 sobbed   

哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说

参考例句：

• She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
• She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。