Chapter 69

On many nights I was convinced I saw a light in thedistance. Each time I set off a flare¹. When I had used up therocket flares², I expended³ the hand flares. Were they ships thatfailed to see me? The light of rising or setting stars bouncingoff the ocean? Breaking waves that moonlight and forlorn hopefashioned into illusion? Whatever the case, every time it was fornothing. Never a result. Always the bitter emotion of hoperaised and dashed. In time I gave up entirely⁴ on being savedby a ship. If the horizon was two and a half miles away at analtitude of five feet, how far away was it when I was sittingagainst the mast of my raft, my eyes not even three feetabove the water? What chance was there that a ship crossingthe whole great big Pacific would cut into such a tiny circle?
Not only that: that it would cut into such a tiny circle and seeme – what chance was there of that? No, humanity and itsunreliable ways could not be counted upon. It was land I hadto reach, hard, firm, certain land.
I remember the smell of the spent hand-flare shells. Bysome freak of chemistry they smelled exactly like cumin. It wasintoxicating. I sniffed⁵ the plastic shells and immediatelyPondicherry came to life in my mind, a marvellous relief fromthe disappointment of calling for help and not being heard. Theexperience was very strong, nearly a hallucination. From asingle smell a whole town arose. (Now, when I smell cumin, Isee the Pacific Ocean.)Richard Parker always froze when a hand flare hissed⁶ to life.
His eyes, round pupils the size of pinpricks, fixed⁷ on the lightsteadily. It was too bright for me, a blinding white centre witha pinkish red aureole. I had to turn away. I held the flare inthe air at arm's length and waved it slowly. For about aminute heat showered down upon my forearm and everythingwas weirdly⁸ lit. Water around the raft, until a moment beforeopaquely black, showed itself to be crowded with fish.

1 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。

2 flares   

n.喇叭裤v.（使）闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 )；（使）（船舷）外倾；（使）鼻孔张大；（使）（衣裙、酒杯等）呈喇叭形展开

参考例句：

• The side of a ship flares from the keel to the deck. 船舷从龙骨向甲板外倾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation. 他是火爆性子，一点就着。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 expended   

v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽

参考例句：

• She expended all her efforts on the care of home and children. 她把所有精力都花在料理家务和照顾孩子上。
• The enemy had expended all their ammunition. 敌人已耗尽所有的弹药。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 hissed   

发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对

参考例句：

• Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过？
• The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。

7 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。

8 weirdly   

古怪地

参考例句：

• Another special characteristic of Kweilin is its weirdly-shaped mountain grottoes. 桂林的另一特点是其形态怪异的岩洞。
• The country was weirdly transformed. 地势古怪地变了样。