Chapter 65

I spent hours trying to decipher the lines in the survivalmanual on navigation. Plain and simple explanations on livingoff the sea were given in abundance, but a basic knowledge ofseafaring was assumed by the author of the manual. Thecastaway was to his mind an experienced sailor who, compass,chart and sextant in hand, knew how he found his way intotrouble, if not how he would get out of it. The result wasadvice such as "Remember, time is distance. Don't forget towind your watch," or "Latitude¹ can be measured with thefingers, if need be." I had a watch, but it was now at thebottom of the Pacific. I lost it when the Tsimtsum sank. As forlatitude and longitude², my marine³ knowledge was strictly⁴ limitedto what lived in the sea and did not extend to what cruisedon top of it. Winds and currents were a mystery to me. Thestars meant nothing to me. I couldn't name a singleconstellation. My family lived by one star alone: the sun. Wewere early to bed and early to rise. I had in my life looked ata number of beautiful starry⁵ nights, where with just twocolours and the simplest of styles nature draws the grandest ofpictures, and I felt the feelings of wonder and smallness thatwe all feel, and I got a clear sense of direction from thespectacle, most definitely, but I mean that in a spiritual sense,not in a geographic⁶ one. I hadn't the faintest idea how thenight sky might serve as a road map. How could the stars,sparkle as they might, help me find my way if they keptmoving?
I gave up trying to find out. Any knowledge I might gainwas useless. I had no means of controlling where I was going– no rudder, no sails, no motor, some oars⁷ but insufficientbrawn. What was the point of plotting a course if I could notact on it? And even if I could, how should I know where togo? West, back to where we came from? East, to America?
North, to Asia? South, to where the shipping⁸ lanes were? Eachseemed a good and bad course in equal measure.
So I drifted. Winds and currents decided⁹ where I went. Timebecame distance for me in the way it is for all mortals – Itravelled down the road of life – and I did other things withmy fingers than try to measure latitude. I found out later thatI travelled a narrow road, the Pacific equatorial counter-current.

1 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

2 longitude   

n.经线，经度

参考例句：

• The city is at longitude 21°east.这个城市位于东经21度。
• He noted the latitude and longitude,then made a mark on the admiralty chart.他记下纬度和经度，然后在航海图上做了个标记。

3 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。

4 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

5 starry   

adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的

参考例句：

• He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
• I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。

6 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。