2020年经济学人 环球航海家马文·克里默(3)

Both north and south of the Equator, his calculations proved so accurate that almost all the Globe Star’s landfalls, on a route from Dakar via Sydney round to Bermuda, were within 15 miles of the target, and close to the dates he’d set. Yet for much of the voyage he could not see the night sky at all. Crossing the Pacific, they had five sights of the stars in 5,000 miles. To estimate latitude¹ and direction he had to be fiercely observant in daylight, too.

在赤道北部和南部，克雷默的估测都非常准确，在从达喀尔途径悉尼到达百慕大群岛的路线中，几乎每次“地球之星”的着陆地都在目标地域15英里以内，时间也接近他设定的日期。但是，在航行的大部分时间，克雷默都根本看不到夜晚的天空。穿越太平洋时，他们在5000英里的范围内只看到了五颗星星。为了估计纬度和方向，克雷默得在白天保持极其敏锐的观察力。

He watched the sea most: its deep swell², the surface interaction of new waves with old ones, and the shadows they cast; its colour, whether blue in the deep or green in plankton-filled waters, and the wake of the boat. He guessed the Globe Star’s speed from the time bubbles took to move from bow to stern. His log showed that, having veered³ off the Horn in fog and with no landmarks⁴, he was unsure whether they had rounded it or not.

他注视的最多的是大海：深深的波涛，新旧海浪在水面上的相互作用，以及它们所投下的阴影；它的颜色，或是是深海的蓝色，或是充满浮游生物的水域里的绿色，还有船的尾迹。他通过气泡从船头到船尾移动的时间来猜测环“地球之星”的速度。他的航海日志显示，他们在浓雾中偏离了合恩角，而且又没有路标，他不确定他们是否绕过了这里。

But he thought they had because the sea had gone from a dark transparent⁵ green to a lighter⁶ green and then turned dark again—the colour, an old mariner⁷ had told him, of the Atlantic. He guessed they had, too, from the sudden icy breath of a north wind coming off the snow-covered Andes. The wind was always a useful indicator⁸. Leaving Cape⁹ May, he had set course south-east for Senegal by keeping the freezing north-westerly at the midpoint of the back of his neck. After days in the doldrums, floating with no direction, the sudden nail-scraping squeak¹⁰ of a hatch told him that a dry wind was blowing up from Antarctica.

但是他觉得他们饶了过去，因为海洋的颜色从从暗绿色变成浅绿色，后来又变成深色——一位老水手曾告诉他，那就是大西洋的颜色。通过白雪覆盖的安第斯山脉吹来的北风，突然吹来一阵冰冷的气息，他也觉得他们饶了过去。风总是一个有用的指示信号。离开开普梅后，克雷默将寒冷的西北风甩在正后方，向东南方向驶往塞内加尔。他在赤道无风带漂浮了几天，没有方向。突然，舱门上吱吱作响的刮指甲声告诉他，有一阵干燥的风正从南极吹来。

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 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

3 veered   

v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转

参考例句：

• The bus veered onto the wrong side of the road. 公共汽车突然驶入了逆行道。
• The truck veered off the road and crashed into a tree. 卡车突然驶离公路撞上了一棵树。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

5 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

6 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

7 mariner   

n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者

参考例句：

• A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.平静的大海决不能造就熟练的水手。
• A mariner must have his eye upon rocks and sands as well as upon the North Star.海员不仅要盯着北极星，还要注意暗礁和险滩。

8 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

9 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

10 squeak   

n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another squeak out of you!我不想再听到你出声！
• We won the game,but it was a narrow squeak.我们打赢了这场球赛，不过是侥幸取胜。