Chapter 63

The Robertson family survived thirty-eight days at sea.
Captain Bligh of the celebrated¹ mutinous² Bounty³ and his fellowcastaways survived forty-seven days. Steven Callahan survivedseventy-six. Owen Chase, whose account of the sinking of thewhaling ship Essex by a whale inspired Herman Melville,survived eighty-three days at sea with two mates, interruptedby a one-week stay on an inhospitable island. The Bailey familysurvived 118 days. I have heard of a Korean merchant sailornamed Poon, I believe, who survived the Pacific for 173 days inthe 1950s.
I survived 227 days. That's how long my trial lasted, overseven months.
I kept myself busy. That was one key to my survival. On alifeboat, even on a raft, there's always something that needsdoing. An average day for me, if such a notion can be appliedto a castaway, went like this:
Sunrise to mid-morning:
wake up? prayers breakfast for Richard Parker? general inspection⁴ of raft and lifeboat, with particularattention paid to all knots and ropes? tending of solar stills (wiping, inflating⁵, topping off withwater)? breakfast and inspection of food stores? fishing and preparing of fish if any caught (gutting,cleaning, hanging of strips of flesh on lines to cure in the sun)Mid-morning to late afternoon:
? prayers? light lunch? rest and restful activities (writing in diary, examining ofscabs and sores, upkeeping of equipment, puttering aboutlocker, observation and study of Richard Parker, picking at ofturtle bones, etc.)Late afternoon to early evening:
? prayers? fishing and preparing of fish? tending of curing strips of flesh (turning over, cutting awayof putrid⁶ parts)? dinner preparations? dinner for self and Richard ParkerSunset:
? general inspection of raft and lifeboat (knots and ropesagain)? collecting and safekeeping of distillate from? solar stills? storing of all foods and equipment? arrangements for night (making of bed, safe storage onraft of flare⁷, in case of ship, and rain catcher, in case of rain)? prayersNight:
? fitful sleeping? prayersMornings were usually better than late afternoons, when theemptiness of time tended to make itself felt.
Any number of events affected⁸ this routine. Rainfall, at anytime of the day or night, stopped all other business; for aslong as it fell, I held up the rain catchers and was feverishlyoccupied storing their catch. A turtle's visit was another majordisruption. And Richard Parker, of course, was a regulardisturbance. Accommodating him was a priority I could notneglect for an instant. He didn't have much of a routinebeyond eating, drinking and sleeping, but there were timeswhen he stirred from his lethargy and rambled⁹ about histerritory, making noises and being cranky. Thankfully, everytime, the sun and the sea quickly tired him and he returned tobeneath the tarpaulin¹⁰, to lying on his side again, or flat on hisstomach, his head on top of his crossed front legs.
But there was more to my dealings with him than strictnecessity. I also spent hours observing him because it was adistraction. A tiger is a fascinating animal at any time, and allthe more so when it is your sole companion.
At first, looking out for a ship was something I did all thetime, compulsively. But after a few weeks, five or six, I stoppeddoing it nearly entirely¹¹.
And I survived because I made a point of forgetting. Mystory started on a calendar day – July 2nd, 1977 – and endedon a calendar day – February 14th, 1978 – but in betweenthere was no calendar. I did not count the days or the weeksor the months. Time is an illusion that only makes us pant. Isurvived because I forgot even the very notion of time.
What I remember are events and encounters and routines,markers that emerged here and there from the ocean of timeand imprinted¹² themselves on my memory. The smell of spenthand-flare shells, and prayers at dawn, and the killing¹³ ofturtles, and the biology of algae¹⁴, for example. And many more.
But I don't know if I can put them in order for you. Mymemories come in a jumble¹⁵.

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 mutinous   

adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变

参考例句：

• The mutinous sailors took control of the ship.反叛的水手们接管了那艘船。
• His own army,stung by defeats,is mutinous.经历失败的痛楚后，他所率军队出现反叛情绪。

3 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

4 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

5 inflating   

v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的现在分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• I felt myself inflating slowly with rage, like a tyre. 我感到自己体内的怒气正慢慢膨胀，像一只轮胎那样。 来自互联网
• Many are already overheating, with prices rising and asset bubbles inflating. 随着物价日益上涨、资产泡沫膨胀，很多新兴国家经济已经过热。 来自互联网

6 putrid   

adj.腐臭的；有毒的；已腐烂的；卑劣的

参考例句：

• To eat putrid food is liable to get sick.吃了腐败的食物容易生病。
• A putrid smell drove us from the room.一股腐臭的气味迫使我们离开这房间。

7 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

8 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。

9 rambled   

（无目的地）漫游( ramble的过去式和过去分词 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论

参考例句：

• We rambled through the woods. 我们漫步走过树林。
• She rambled on at great length but she didn't get to the heart of the matter. 她夹七夹八地说了许多话也没说到点子上。

10 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。

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

12 imprinted   

v.盖印（imprint的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The terrible scenes were indelibly imprinted on his mind. 那些恐怖场面深深地铭刻在他的心中。
• The scene was imprinted on my mind. 那个场面铭刻在我的心中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

14 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

15 jumble   

vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆

参考例句：

• Even the furniture remained the same jumble that it had always been.甚至家具还是象过去一样杂乱无章。
• The things in the drawer were all in a jumble.抽屉里的东西很杂乱。