美文赏析：Love of Life 热爱生命

 　　That day he decreased the distance between him and the ship by three miles; the next day by two－for he was crawling now as Bill had crawled; and the end of the day found the ship still seven mailes away and him unable to make even a mile a day. Still the indian summer held on, and he continued to crawl and faint ,turn and turn about; and ever the sick wolf coughed and wheezed² at his heels. His knees had become raw meat like his feet, and though he paddled them with the shirt from his back it was a red track he left behind him on the moss³ and stones. Once , glancing back, he saw the wolf licking hungrily his bleeding trail, and he saw sharply what his own end might be－unless－unless he could get the wolf. Then began as grim a tragedy of existence as was ever played－a sick man that crawled, a sick wolf that limped, two creatures dragging their dying carcasses across the desolation and hunting each other’s lives.

　　这一天，他和那条船之间的距离又缩短了三英里，到了第二天，他又继续缩短了两英里－因为他现在就和比尔先生先前一样在地上匍匐前进，到了第五天晚上的时候，他发现那条船依然离他还有七英里的距离，而他每天的进程还不到一英里。幸好深秋的天气依然晴朗，他继续爬，一次又一次地晕死过去，可是醒来他又继续地往前爬，不停地回头张望着；而那头病狼也在不停地咳嗽着，发出艰难的喘息声，可依然紧紧尾随其后。他的膝盖－就和他的双脚一样－早给磨得血肉模糊，其实他一早就脱下了身上的衬衣裹住了膝盖，可都没有用，他一路爬下来，他身后的苔藓和岩石上也就留下了一道触目惊心的血渍。有一次他回头的时候，他看见那头饿狼正贪婪地舔着他的血渍，一时间他清楚地意识到自己的结局－除非－除非他把那头狼解决掉。就这样，一幕从来没有上演的求生悲剧开始了－病人在前面爬，瘸腿的病狼尾随其后，两个生灵就这样在荒漠里拖着垂死的躯壳，随时准备猎取对方的生命。

　　Had it been a well wolf, it would not have mattered so much to the man; but the thought of going to feed the maw of that loathsome⁴ and all but dead thing was repugnant to him. He was finicky. His mind had begun to wander again, and to be perplexed⁵ by hallucinations, while his lucid⁶ intervals⁷ grew rarer and shorter.

　　如果这是头健康的狼，他也觉得没什么；可是一想到自己要葬身狼腹，尤其是眼前这头令人作恶、病怏怏的饿狼，他就觉得非常厌恶。要知道他可是一个非常讲究的人。他又开始胡思乱想起来，人也因幻觉影响而变得迷糊。他神智清醒的时间越来越少，越来越短。

　　He was awaken⁸ once from a faint by a wheeze¹ close in his ear.The wolf leaped lamely⁹ back, losing its footing and falling in its weakness. It was ludicrous, but he was not amused. Nor was he even afraid. He was too far gone for that. But his mind was for the moment clear, and he lay and considered.

　　有一次他从昏迷中被耳边传来的喘息声惊醒；那只狼很快一跛一跛地跳开，由于身体虚弱，那头狼还失足摔了一跤，那样子可笑极了，可是他却笑不出来。倒不是因为他害怕，事情到了这田地他早就不害怕了。不过，在这瞬间他的脑子很清醒，他躺在地上仔细地思考起来。

　　The ship was more than four miles away. He could see it quite distinctly when he rubbed the mists out of his eyes. But he could never crawl those four miles. He knew that, and was very calm in the knowledge. He knew that he could not crawl half a mile. And yet he wanted to live. It was unreasonable¹⁰ that he should die after all he had undergone. Fate asked too much of him. And , dying, he declined to die. It was stark¹¹ madness, perhaps, but in the very grip of Death he defied Death and refused to die.

　　那艘船就在离他还不到四英里的地方。他使劲揉了揉眼睛，那艘船清晰的出现在他眼前。可是，他再也爬不完这四英里的路程了，这点他很清楚，因为就算是半英里的路程他也爬不了。可同时他也非常镇静，因为他想活下去。他已经经历了千辛万苦，他不想就这样死掉。命运对他实在太苛刻了，可他就是不愿俯身受死。这是一种近乎疯狂的想法，可就算他无法逃脱死神的魔掌，他仍然要抗争下去，要让自己活下去。

　　He closed his eyes and composed himself with infinite precaution. He steeled himself to keep above the suffocating¹² languor¹³ that lapped like a rising tide through all the wells of his being. It was very like a sea, this deadly languor, that rose and rose and drowned his consciousness bit by bit. Sometimes he was all but submerged, swimming through oblivion with a faltering¹⁴ stroke;and again, by some strange alchemy of soul, he would find another shred¹⁵ of will and strike out more strongly.

　　他闭上眼睛，设法使自己平静下来，不敢有丝毫的松懈。令人窒息的疲倦像涨潮一样，从他的身体各处涌来，他还是顽强地打醒精神，不让自己被疲倦淹没。这种要命的疲倦，就像大海一样，一浪又一浪地涨过来，一点一点地吞噬着他的意识。有时候，他被完全淹没其中，就这样默默地漂游；而有时候，凭借一种奇异的心灵作用，他又找回了些许精神力量，更加坚毅地前进。

1 wheeze   

n.喘息声，气喘声；v.喘息着说

参考例句：

• The old man managed to wheeze out a few words.老人勉强地喘息着说出了几句话。
• He has a slight wheeze in his chest.他呼吸时胸部发出轻微的响声。

2 wheezed   

v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The old organ wheezed out a tune. 那架老风琴呜呜地奏出曲子。 来自辞典例句
• He wheezed out a curse. 他喘着气诅咒。 来自辞典例句

3 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

4 loathsome   

adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的

参考例句：

• The witch hid her loathsome face with her hands.巫婆用手掩住她那张令人恶心的脸。
• Some people think that snakes are loathsome creatures.有些人觉得蛇是令人憎恶的动物。

5 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

6 lucid   

adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的

参考例句：

• His explanation was lucid and to the point.他的解释扼要易懂。
• He wasn't very lucid,he didn't quite know where he was.他神志不是很清醒，不太知道自己在哪里。

7 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

8 awaken   

vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起

参考例句：

• Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。
• Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。

9 lamely   

一瘸一拐地，不完全地

参考例句：

• I replied lamely that I hope to justify his confidence. 我漫不经心地回答说，我希望我能不辜负他对我的信任。
• The wolf leaped lamely back, losing its footing and falling in its weakness. 那只狼一跛一跛地跳回去，它因为身体虚弱，一失足摔了一跤。

10 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

11 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

12 suffocating   

a.使人窒息的

参考例句：

• After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating.和父母呆了几个星期后，她感到自己毫无自由。
• That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room.这样好些了，我刚才在那个小房间里快闷死了。

13 languor   

n.无精力，倦怠

参考例句：

• It was hot,yet with a sweet languor about it.天气是炎热的，然而却有一种惬意的懒洋洋的感觉。
• She,in her languor,had not troubled to eat much.她懒懒的，没吃多少东西。

14 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

15 shred   

v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少

参考例句：

• There is not a shred of truth in what he says.他说的全是骗人的鬼话。
• The food processor can shred all kinds of vegetables.这架食品加工机可将各种蔬菜切丝切条。