Chapter 88

One day we came upon trash. First the water glistened¹ withpatches of oil. Coming up soon after was the domestic andindustrial waste: mainly plastic refuse in a variety of forms andcolours, but also pieces of lumber², beer cans, wine bottles,tatters of cloth, bits of rope and, surrounding it all, yellowfoam. We advanced into it. I looked to see if there wasanything that might be of use to us. I picked out an emptycorked wine bottle. The lifeboat bumped into a refrigerator thathad lost its motor. It floated with its door to the sky. I reachedout, grabbed the handle and lifted the door open. A smell leaptout so pungent⁵ and disgusting that it seemed to colour the air.
Hand to my mouth, I looked in. There were stains, dark juices,a quantity of completely rotten vegetables, milk so curdled⁶ andinfected it was a greenish jelly, and the quartered remains⁷ of adead animal in such an advanced state of black putrefactionthat I couldn't identify it. Judging by its size I think that it waslamb. In the closed, humid confines of the refrigerator, thesmell had had the time to develop, to ferment⁸, to grow bitterand angry. It assaulted my senses with a pent-up rage thatmade my head reel, my stomach churn and my legs wobble.
Luckily, the sea quickly filled the horrid⁹ hole and the thingsank beneath the surface. The space left vacant by thedeparted refrigerator was filled by other trash.
We left the trash behind. For a long time, when the windcame from that direction, I could still smell it. It took the sea aday to wash off the oily smears¹⁰ from the sides of the lifeboat.
I put a message in the bottle: "Japanese-owned cargo¹¹ shipTsimtsum, flying Panamanian flag, sank July 2nd, 1977, inPacific, four days out of Manila. Am in lifeboat. Pi Patel myname. Have some food, some water, but Bengal tiger a seriousproblem. Please advise family in Winnipeg, Canada. Any helpvery much appreciated. Thank you." I corked³ the bottle andcovered the cork⁴ with a piece of plastic. I tied the plastic tothe neck of the bottle with nylon string, knotting it tightly. Ilaunched the bottle into the water.

1 glistened   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

3 corked   

adj.带木塞气味的，塞着瓶塞的v.用瓶塞塞住( cork的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Our army completely surrounded and corked up the enemy stronghold. 我军把敌人的堡垒完全包围并封锁起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He kept his emotions corked up inside him. 他把感情深藏于内心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 cork   

n.软木，软木塞

参考例句：

• We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
• Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。

5 pungent   

adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a pungent style.文章写得泼辣。
• Its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hideouts.它的刺激性气味会令恐怖分子窒息，迫使他们从藏身地点逃脱出来。

6 curdled   

v.（使）凝结( curdle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The milk has curdled. 牛奶凝结了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Terror curdled his blood. 恐惧使他心惊胆颤。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 ferment   

vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱

参考例句：

• Fruit juices ferment if they are kept a long time.果汁若是放置很久，就会发酵。
• The sixties were a time of theological ferment.六十年代是神学上骚动的时代。

9 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

10 smears   

污迹( smear的名词复数 )； 污斑； （显微镜的）涂片； 诽谤

参考例句：

• His evidence was a blend of smears, half truths and downright lies. 他的证词里掺杂着诽谤、部份的事实和彻头彻尾的谎言。
• Anything written with a soft pencil smears easily. 用软铅笔写成的东西容易污成一片。

11 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。