英语美文与传神翻译：死海求生（连载6）

Solo Sailor in Peril

文 | 英语和翻译实践者

引言

托尼·布利莫尔是一位世界级的帆船运动员。他最爱的一个是妻子，一个是大海。他渴望永远和妻子幸福地生活在一起，而大海却要扼杀他的这个梦想。

正文

6 “Poor Tony”

Lalel Bullimore: On Monday morning my phone rings. That’ll be Tony, I think. But its Yvonne, my niece. “Aunt Lal, put the television on,” she says. “I think theres something wrong with Uncle.”

I rush downstairs and turn on the TV. It takes several seconds to warm up. The first thing that emerges is a picture of a boat upside down. The volume is so low I cant hear the newscasters voice, but I see the number on the hull. Its Tony.

I cant bring myself to turn up the sound—I dont want to hear if theyve found a body.

Minutes later, reporters start calling. An Australian based in London tells me two yachts have capsized. One of the skippers has been sighted and theyve dropped him a life raft. Which one? I wonder.

Friends come to keep me company. All our information is now coming from the television and radio—much of it contradictory. Eventually, however, the news breaks that the lone sailor was a Frenchman. Still missing is Tony.

Hearing this, I stand in the kitchen, sobbing like a child. “Hes in his boat,” I say to myself. “Hes alive. I know.”

By then, Wesley Massam, the builder of Exide Challenger, has arrived at the house. More than just the boats builder, he is a friend. He cautions, “Dont listen to the TV or radio. Every story will be different, and theyre going to speculate.”

He says he will find out all he can. Almost immediately he calls the MRCC in Canberra and speaks to Mike Jackson-Calway. When hes done, Wesley tells me that an Australian warship has been sent to Tonys boat.

“When will they get to him?” I ask.

I see Wesley hesitate. “In three days,” he finally says.

My hand covers my mouth. Poor Tony.

Tony Bullimore: The boat rolls, and I tumble off the shelf, landing with a splash instead of a thump. Now the cuddy is beginning to fill. If this continues, I think, the whole boat could settle lower, and Ill be in even more serious trouble.

It is up to my waist. Wiping my nose, I see a streak of blood on the back of my hand. I must have banged it when I fell.

As I edge nearer the broken window, I can feel the force of water draining out as the boat rises. The vacuum effect pulls me toward the hole.

Then I notice a strange thing. Stuff that was floating everywhere—sodden cookies, plastic cups, charts, tea bags, pencils—is gradually disappearing. I soon figure out that every time the boat drops into a big trough, sea water is pushed up through the smashed window, nearly filling the cabin. As the boat is carried to the peak of a wave, the water rushes out through the broken window, carrying with it my supplies and equipment. There goes a Robert Ludlum novel, my binoculars, a box of rice; my laptop computer and my toolbox are gone. The suction is gradually dismantling my boat on the inside.

I try to rescue what I can before it gets sucked out. I fish out of the water some chocolate bars, flares, thermal underwear, six small plastic containers of water and a can of baked beans. I stash them in an empty canvas storage bag in the cuddy and lash it all down so that it doesnt float away. I also manage to save my Survivor, the pump that makes sea water potable.

I unwrap a bar of milk chocolate and break it in half. Ill save the rest for later. Technically, I have plenty of food, but most of it is stored in watertight compartments beneath the cockpit floor, which is now underwater. I try not to think about it.

The lack of food doesnt worry me as much as the cold does. I can feel my breath condense in the air in front of my unshaven face. Im likely to die of hypothermia before I starve to death.

My mind keeps going back to Lal at home in our warm kitchen. I imagine its Sunday and she is preparing lunch. She may have gotten the news by now. Poor Lal, I think, dont cry for too long.

Then I think, concentrate on the life raft. You have to get it free.

试译

6 “可怜的托尼”

莱尔·布利莫尔：星期一早上，我的电话响了。是托尼，我想。拿起来一听却是我的侄女伊冯娜。“伯母，打开电视，”她说，“伯伯好像出事了。”

我冲到楼下，打开电视。电视机预热了几秒钟才打开。首先出来的画面是一条倾翻的船。音量非常小，我听不清播音员的声音，但我看清了船体上的号码。是托尼。

我不敢把声音开大，因为我不想听到他们是不是发现了尸体。

几分钟后，记者们开始打来电话。一位常驻伦敦的澳大利亚记者对我说，有两条帆船倾翻了。有一位驾驶员被发现，并给他投下了救生筏。会是哪一个呢？我琢磨着。

朋友们前来陪伴我。我们知道的所有的信息现在都来自电视和广播，而且大部分是矛盾的说法。可最后，新闻报道说，发现的那位船员是个法国人，仍然失踪的是托尼。

听到这个消息，我站在厨房里，哭得像个孩子。“他在自己的船里，”我自言自语地说，“他还活着。我知道。”

这时，“伊格赛德挑战者号”的建造者韦斯利·马萨姆来到我家。他不仅是帆船的建造者，也是我们的好朋友。他劝告我说：“别听那些电视或广播。每次报道说法都不一样，都在那里瞎猜测。”

他说他要尽最大努力把事情搞清楚。他几乎没有什么耽搁就给位于堪培拉的海事救援协调中心打了电话，并找到了杰克逊-卡尔威。打完电话，他告诉我说，一艘澳大利亚舰艇已经出发，救援托尼去了。

“他们什么时候能赶到？”我问。

我见韦斯利吞吞吐吐，不想回答。“3天。”他最后说道。

我不由地用手掩住了嘴巴。可怜的托尼。

托尼·布利莫尔：船摇晃起来，我从隔架上栽下来，不是“咕咚”，而是“扑通”一声。现在贮藏室里的水快涨满了。我想，要是这种情况继续下去，船会进一步下沉，我的处境就更加危险了。

水达到了腰间。我抹了抹鼻子，发现手上粘着血。我掉下来时可能是碰破了。

当我挪近撞坏的窗口时，我能感觉到船浮起来、水流出去时，水流产生的吸力。这种真空效应把我拉向那个窟窿。

此时，我注意到一种奇怪的现象。到处漂浮的我的东西——泡涨的饼干、塑料杯、海图、茶叶包、铅笔等，全都慢慢消失了。我很快发现，船每次落入波谷，海水就会通过破碎的窗口涌进来，几乎把船舱灌满。当船被推到浪尖时，舱里的水又会从窗口冲出去，并把我的生活用品和仪器带走。那本罗伯特·路德勒姆写的小说不见了，望远镜、一包方便米饭、笔记本电脑和工具箱都被带走了。海水的抽吸作用正从内部拆解我的帆船。

在被海水吸走之前，我竭力抢回一切能抢到的东西。我从水里捞出几块巧克力、应急灯、保暖内衣、6小塑料桶饮用水和一听油炸蚕豆。我把它们装到贮藏室一个空的帆布袋里，用绳索绑得很牢，以防冲走。我还设法保住了“幸存者”，那个能从海水制取饮用水的设备。

我剥开一块牛奶巧克力，掰下一半。留下一半以后吃。理论上讲，我有很多的食物，但绝大部分都存放在驾驶舱底下那个密封舱里，现在那个密封舱已置身于水下了。我竭力不去想它。

其实，寒冷比缺少食物更令人难以忍受。我感觉到呼出的气冷凝在我未刮的胡子上。我很可能饿死之前先被冻死。

我不断地想到家中的莱尔，她在温暖的厨房里。我想象着那是星期天，她在准备午饭。她现在也许从新闻里得到了我的消息。可怜的莱尔，我想，可别哭得时间太长了。

然后我又想，把精力集中在救生筏上。你得把它弄出来。

（未完待续，后面更精彩）

译者简介：从事英汉口译和笔译39年，译审，全国第一届和第二届“韩素音青年翻译奖”竞赛一等奖获得者；已出版译著8部，最新译著有《携火奔月》和《我的两次月球之旅》（上海交通大学出版社）。

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