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VOA慢速英语2015 斯蒂芬·克莱恩《海上扁舟》Ⅱ

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The Open Boat by Stephen Crane1, Part Two 斯蒂芬·克莱恩《海上扁舟》Ⅱ

We continue the story of “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane. As we told you last week, the story is based on true events. In eighteen ninety-six, Crane was traveling to Cuba as a news reporter. On his way there, his ship sank in the Atlantic Ocean. Crane climbed into the last remaining lifeboat.

Three men got into the boat with him. They were the ship’s captain, the cook and a sailor named Billie. For three days, the men steered2 the small boat through high waves along the coast of Florida. At last, they saw land. Here is Shep O’Neal with the final part of the story.

A long stretch of coast lay before the eyes of the men. Slowly, the land rose up out of the mountainous4 sea. The men could see a small house against the sky. To the south, they could see a lighthouse. Tide, wind and waves were pushing the lifeboat northward5. The men thought someone on land would have seen the boat by now.

“Well,” said the captain, “I suppose we’ll have to attempt to reach the shore ourselves. If we stay out here too long, none of us will have the strength left to swim after the boat sinks.”

So Billie the sailor turned the boat straight for the shore.

“If we don’t all get ashore,” said the captain, “I suppose you fellows know where to send news of my death?”

The men then exchanged some information. There was a great deal of anger in them. They thought: “If I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I permitted6 to come this far and think about sand and trees?”

The waves grew stronger. They seemed always just about to break and roll over the little boat. The coast was still far away. The sailor said: “Boys, the boat won’t live three minutes more, and we’re too far out to swim. Shall I take her to sea again, captain?”

“Yes! Go ahead!” said the captain. The sailor turned the boat and took her safely out to sea again.

“It’s funny those life-saving people haven’t seen us,” one of the men said.

“Maybe they think we’re out here for sport! Maybe they think we’re fishing. Maybe they think we’re fools.”

Once more, the sailor rowed the boat and then the reporter rowed. Suddenly, they saw a man walking along the shore.

The man stopped walking. He moved his hand in the air to wave at them. He saw them! Now he was running to the house.

The captain tied a cloth to a stick and waved it. Now there was another man on the shore. The two men waved their hands in the air, as if they were saying hello to the men in the boat.

Now, what was that moving on the shore? It was a bus – a hotel bus. A man stood on the steps of the bus and waved his coat over his head. The men in the boat wondered what he wanted to say. Was he attempting to tell them something? Should they wait for help? Should they go north? Should they go south?

The men waited and waited but nothing happened. The sun began to go down. It got dark and cold. They could no longer see anyone on the beach.

The sailor rowed, and then the reporter rowed, and then the sailor rowed again. They rowed and rowed through the long night. The land had disappeared but they could hear the low sound of the waves hitting the shore. This was surely7 a quiet night.

The cook finally spoke8: “Billie, what kind of pie do you like best?”

“Pie,” said the sailor and the reporter angrily. “Don’t talk about those things!”

“Well,” said the cook, “I was just thinking about ham sandwiches, and …”

A night on the sea in an open boat is a long night. The sailor continued to row until his head fell forward and sleep overpowered him. Then he asked the reporter to row for a while. They exchanged places so the sailor could sleep in the bottom of the boat with the cook and the captain.

The reporter thought that he was the one man afloat on all the oceans in the world. The wind had a sad voice as it came over the waves.

Suddenly, there was a long, loud swishing sound behind the boat and a shining trail9 of silvery blue. It might have been made by a huge knife. Then there was another swish and another long flash of bluish light, this time alongside10 the boat. The reporter saw a huge fin3 speed like a shadow through the water, leaving a long glowing11 trail. The thing kept swimming near the boat. He noted12 its speed and power. The reporter wished the men would wake up. He did not want to be alone with the shark.

The reporter thought as he rowed. He was angry that they had come so close to land and yet might still die at sea. Then he remembered a poem that he had learned13 as a child. It was a poem about a soldier of the French Foreign Legion. The soldier lay dying14 in Algiers. Just before he died, he cried out: “I shall never see my own, my native land.” And now, many years after he had learned this poem, the reporter for the first time understood the sadness of the dying soldier.

Hours passed. The reporter asked the sailor to take the oars15 so that he could rest. It seemed like only a brief period, but it was more than an hour later, when the sailor returned the oars to the reporter. They both knew that only they could keep the boat from sinking. And so they rowed, hour after hour, through the night.

When day came, the four men saw land again. But there were no people on the shore. A conference16 was held on the boat.

“Well,” said the captain, “if no help is coming, we might better try to reach the shore right away. If we stay out here much longer, we will be too weak to do anything for ourselves at all.”

The others agreed. They began to turn the boat toward17 the beach. The captain told them to be careful – that when the boat came near the beach, the waves would sink it. Then everyone should jump out of the boat and swim to the shore.

As the boat came closer to land, the waves got bigger and more violent18. At last, a large wave climbed into the air and fell on the small boat with great force.

The boat turned over as the men jumped into the sea. The water was like ice. The reporter was tired. But he swam toward the beach. He looked for his friends.

He saw Billie, the sailor, in front of him, swimming strongly and quickly. The cook was near him. Behind, the captain held on to the overturned19 boat with his one good hand. Soon, the reporter could swim no longer. A current20 was carrying him back out to sea. He thought: “Am I going to drown? Can it be possible?”

But the current suddenly changed and he was able to swim toward the shore. The captain called to him to swim to the boat and hold on. The reporter started to swim toward the boat. Then he saw a man running along the shore. He was quickly taking off his shoes and clothes.

As the reporter got close to the boat, a large wave hit him and threw him into the air over the boat and far from it. When he tried to get up, he found that the water was not over his head, only half way up his body. But he was so tired that he could not stand up. Each wave threw him down, and the current kept pulling him back to sea.

Then he saw the man again, jumping into the water. The man pulled the cook to the shore. Then he ran back into the water for the captain. But the captain waved him away and sent him to the reporter. The man seized the reporter’s hand and pulled him to the beach. Then the man pointed21 to the water and cried: “What’s that?”

In the shallow22 water, face down, lay Billie, the sailor.

The reporter did not know all that happened after that. He fell on the sand as if dropped from a housetop. It seems that immediately the beach was filled with men with blankets, clothes and whiskey. Women brought hot coffee. The people welcomed the men from the sea to the land.

But a still and dripping23 shape was carried slowly up the beach. And the land’s welcome for the sailor’s body could only be its final resting place. When night came, the white waves moved in the moonlight. The wind brought the sound of the great sea’s voice to the men on the shore.?  

Words in This Story

afloat - adj. floating on water

shark - n. a large and often dangerous sea fish with very sharp teeth

row - v. to move a boat through water using oars


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 crane KzmxD     
v.伸长(脖子);n.起重机,吊车
参考例句:
  • We used a crane to lift the piano into the theatre.我们使用起重机将钢琴搬进剧场。
  • Must we wait till the crane arrives before we start loading?非要等起重机来了才能装运吗?
2 steered dee52ce2903883456c9b7a7f258660e5     
v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 );操纵;控制;引导
参考例句:
  • He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
  • The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 fin qkexO     
n.鳍;(飞机的)安定翼
参考例句:
  • They swim using a small fin on their back.它们用背上的小鳍游动。
  • The aircraft has a long tail fin.那架飞机有一个长长的尾翼。
4 mountainous c1AyD     
adj.多山的,如山的,巨大的
参考例句:
  • A mountainous country is one in which there are many mountains.山国是多山的国家。
  • The Antarctic is a mountainous area.南极洲是一个多山的地区。
5 northward YHexe     
adv.向北;n.北方的地区
参考例句:
  • He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
  • I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。
6 permitted dc103d75e269b8c2bb112e8a59761bcf     
允许( permit的过去式和过去分词 ); 许可; 许用
参考例句:
  • Radios are not permitted in the library. 图书馆内不许使用收音机。
  • Entrance is permitted only on production of a ticket. 出示门票才可进入。
7 surely yrRwj     
adv.确实地,无疑地;必定地,一定地
参考例句:
  • It'should surely be possible for them to reach an agreement.想必他们可以达成协议。
  • Surely we'll profit from your work.我们肯定会从你的工作中得到益处。
8 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
9 trail Cncw1     
n.踪迹,痕迹,一串,尾部,小径,尾,持枪姿势;vt.拖,尾随,追踪,落后于
参考例句:
  • The car raised a trail of dust.汽车掀起了一股尘土。
  • The hound found the trail of the rabbit.猎狗发现了兔子的踪迹。
10 alongside XLWym     
adv.在旁边;prep.和...在一起,在...旁边
参考例句:
  • There was a butcher's shop alongside the theatre.剧院旁边有一家肉店。
  • Alongside of him stood his uncle.他的身旁站着他叔叔。
11 glowing hsmzVA     
adj.白热的,通红的
参考例句:
  • She was positively glowing with happiness. 她满脸幸福。
  • Their new musical opened to glowing reviews. 他们的新音乐剧受到热烈好评。
12 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
13 learned m1oxn     
adj.有学问的,博学的;learn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
  • In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里,他被视为有学问的人。
14 dying 1rGx0     
adj.垂死的,临终的
参考例句:
  • He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
  • She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子,那里有一个垂死的人。
15 oars c589a112a1b341db7277ea65b5ec7bf7     
n.桨,橹( oar的名词复数 );划手v.划(行)( oar的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
  • The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 conference vprzf     
n.(正式的)会议;讨论
参考例句:
  • We're having a conference and we'd like you to sit in.我们将举行一次会议,希望你来旁听。
  • The conference will come to a close this afternoon.今天下午会议闭幕。
17 toward on6we     
prep.对于,关于,接近,将近,向,朝
参考例句:
  • Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
  • Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了,并跑了过去。
18 violent xhswm     
adj.暴力的,猛烈的,激烈的,极端的,凶暴的,歪曲的
参考例句:
  • The madman was violent and had to be locked up.这个精神病患者很凶暴,不得不把他锁起来。
  • They caught him and gave him a violent beating.他们抓住了他,把他狠狠打了一顿。
19 overturned overturned     
adj. 倒转的 动词overturn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The car skidded and overturned. 汽车打滑翻倒了。
  • When a bird's nest is overturned, no egg can remain intact. 覆巢之下无完卵。
20 current YYezN     
n.涌流,趋势,电流,水流,气流;adj.当前的,通用的,流通的,现在的,草写的,最近的
参考例句:
  • Electric current is often powerful enough to kill a man.电流常强得足以致命。
  • There is a story about her in the current number.最近一期上有关于她的故事。
21 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
22 shallow KENyj     
adj.浅的,肤浅的,浅显易懂的;n.(pl.)浅滩,浅处;v.变浅
参考例句:
  • The dish is too shallow to serve soup in.盘子太浅,盛不了汤。
  • His analysis was always shallow.他的分析总是很肤浅的。
23 dripping dripping     
n.滴;滴下;滴下物;油滴v.(使)滴下( drip的现在分词 );滴出;含有;充满
参考例句:
  • Her face was dripping with sweat. 她脸上汗水淋淋。
  • His hand was dripping blood. 他的手在滴血。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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