Chapter 62

I slept in fits that night. Shortly before sunrise I gave uptrying to fall asleep again and lifted myself on an elbow. I spiedwith my little eye a tiger. Richard Parker was restless. He wasmoaning and growling¹ and pacing about the lifeboat. It wasimpressive. I assessed the situation. He couldn't be hungry. Orat least not dangerously hungry. Was he thirsty? His tonguehung from his mouth, but only on occasion, and he was notpanting. And his stomach and paws were still wet. But theywere not dripping wet. There probably wasn't much water leftin the boat. Soon he would be thirsty.
I looked up at the sky. The cloud cover had vanished. Butfor a few wisps on the horizon, the sky was clear. It would beanother hot, rainless day. The sea moved in a lethargic² way, asif already exhausted³ by the oncoming heat.
I sat against the mast and thought over our problem. Thebiscuits and the fishing gear assured us of the solid part ofour diet. It was the liquid part that was the rub. It all camedown to what was so abundant around us but marred⁴ by salt.
I could perhaps mix some sea water with his fresh water, but Ihad to procure⁵ more fresh water to start with. The cans wouldnot last long between the two of us – in fact, I was loath⁶ toshare even one with Richard Parker – and it would be foolishto rely on rainwater.
The solar stills were the only other possible source ofdrinkable water. I looked at them doubtfully. They had beenout two days now. I noticed that one of them had lost a littleair. I pulled on the rope to tend to it. I topped off its conewith air. Without any real expectation I reached underwater forthe distillate pouch⁸ that was clipped to the round buoyancychamber. My fingers took hold of a bag that was unexpectedlyfat. A shiver of thrill went through me. I controlled myself. Aslikely as not, salt water had leaked in. I unhooked the pouchand, following the instructions, lowered it and tilted⁹ the still sothat any more water from beneath the cone⁷ might flow into it.
I closed the two small taps that led to the pouch, detached itand pulled it out of the water. It was rectangular in shape andmade of thick, soft, yellow plastic, with calibration marks on oneside. I tasted the water. I tasted it again. It was salt-free.
"My sweet sea cow!" I exclaimed to the solar still. "You'veproduced, and how! What a delicious milk. Mind you, a littlerubbery, but I'm not complaining. Why, look at me drink!"I finished the bag. It had a capacity of one litre and wasnearly full. After a moment of sigh-producing, shut-eyedsatisfaction, I reattached the pouch. I checked the other stills.
Each one had an udder similarly heavy. I collected the freshmilk, over eight litres of it, in the fish bucket. Instantly thesetechnological contraptions became as precious to me as cattleare to a farmer. Indeed, as they floated placidly¹⁰ in an arc, theylooked almost like cows grazing in a field. I ministered to theirneeds, making sure that there was enough sea water insideeach and that the cones¹¹ and chambers¹² were inflated¹³ to justthe right pressure.
After adding a little sea water to the bucket's contents, Iplaced it on the side bench just beyond the tarpaulin¹⁴. With theend of the morning coolness, Richard Parker seemed safelysettled below. I tied the bucket in place using rope and thetarpaulin hooks on the side of the boat. I carefully peeked¹⁵ overthe gunnel. He was lying on his side. His den¹⁶ was a foul¹⁷ sight.
The dead mammals were heaped together, a grotesque¹⁸ pile ofdecayed animal parts. I recognized a leg or two, variouspatches of hide, parts of a head, a great number of bones.
Flying-fish wings were scattered¹⁹ about.
I cut up a flying fish and tossed a piece onto the sidebench. After I had gathered what I needed for the day fromthe locker²⁰ and was ready to go, I tossed another piece overthe tarpaulin in front of Richard Parker. It had the intendedeffect. As I drifted away I saw him come out into the open tofetch the morsel²¹ of fish. His head turned and he noticed theother morsel and the new object next to it. He lifted himself.
He hung his huge head over the bucket. I was afraid hewould tip it over. He didn't. His face disappeared into it, barelyfitting, and he started to lap up the water. In very little timethe bucket started shaking and rattling²² emptily with each strikeof his tongue. When he looked up, I stared him aggressively inthe eyes and I blew on the whistle a few times. Hedisappeared under the tarpaulin.
It occurred to me that with every passing day the lifeboatwas resembling a zoo enclosure more and more: RichardParker had his sheltered area for sleeping and resting, his foodstash, his lookout²³ and now his water hole.
The temperature climbed. The heat became stifling²⁴. I spentthe rest of the day in the shade of the canopy²⁵, fishing. Itseems I had had beginner's luck with that first dorado. Icaught nothing the whole day, not even in the late afternoon,when marine²⁶ life appeared in abundance. A turtle turned up, adifferent kind this time, a green sea turtle, bulkier andsmoother-shelled, but curious in the same fixed²⁷ way as ahawksbill. I did nothing about it, but I started thinking that Ishould.
The only good thing about the day being so hot was thesight the solar stills presented. Every cone was covered on theinside with drops and rivulets²⁸ of condensation²⁹.
The day ended. I calculated that the next morning wouldmake it a week since the Tsimtsum had sunk.

1 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。

2 lethargic   

adj.昏睡的，懒洋洋的

参考例句：

• He felt too miserable and lethargic to get dressed.他心情低落无精打采，完全没有心思穿衣整装。
• The hot weather made me feel lethargic.炎热的天气使我昏昏欲睡。

3 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

4 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

5 procure   

vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条

参考例句：

• Can you procure some specimens for me?你能替我弄到一些标本吗？
• I'll try my best to procure you that original French novel.我将尽全力给你搞到那本原版法国小说。

6 loath   

adj.不愿意的；勉强的

参考例句：

• The little girl was loath to leave her mother.那小女孩不愿离开她的母亲。
• They react on this one problem very slow and very loath.他们在这一问题上反应很慢，很不情愿。

7 cone   

n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果

参考例句：

• Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。
• The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。

8 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

9 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

10 placidly   

adv.平稳地，平静地

参考例句：

• Hurstwood stood placidly by, while the car rolled back into the yard. 当车子开回场地时，赫斯渥沉着地站在一边。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• The water chestnut floated placidly there, where it would grow. 那棵菱角就又安安稳稳浮在水面上生长去了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

11 cones   

n.（人眼）圆锥细胞；圆锥体( cone的名词复数 )；球果；圆锥形东西；（盛冰淇淋的）锥形蛋卷筒

参考例句：

• In the pines squirrels commonly chew off and drop entire cones. 松树上的松鼠通常咬掉和弄落整个球果。 来自辞典例句
• Many children would rather eat ice cream from cones than from dishes. 许多小孩喜欢吃蛋卷冰淇淋胜过盘装冰淇淋。 来自辞典例句

12 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

13 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 peeked   

v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出

参考例句：

• She peeked over the top of her menu. 她从菜单上往外偷看。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• On two occasions she had peeked at him through a crack in the wall. 她曾两次透过墙缝窥视他。 来自辞典例句

16 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

17 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

18 grotesque   

adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物）

参考例句：

• His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。
• Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。

19 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

20 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

21 morsel   

n.一口，一点点

参考例句：

• He refused to touch a morsel of the food they had brought.他们拿来的东西他一口也不吃。
• The patient has not had a morsel of food since the morning.从早上起病人一直没有进食。

22 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

23 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

24 stifling   

a.令人窒息的

参考例句：

• The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热，光景是要下雨。
• We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里，简直透不过气来。

25 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。

26 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

27 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。

28 rivulets   

n.小河，小溪( rivulet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rivulets of water ran in through the leaks. 小股的水流通过漏洞流进来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rivulets of sweat streamed down his cheeks. 津津汗水顺着他的两颊流下。 来自辞典例句

29 condensation   

n.压缩，浓缩；凝结的水珠

参考例句：

• A cloud is a condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere.云是由大气中的水蒸气凝结成的。
• He used his sleeve to wipe the condensation off the glass.他用袖子擦掉玻璃上凝结的水珠。