Unit 12 “Take Over, Bos’n!”课文翻译综合教程三

Unit 12 “Take Over, Bos’n!”Oscar Schisgall1 Hour after hour I kept the gun pointed at the other nine

Unit12 “TakeOver,Bos’n!” OscarSchisgall 1HourafterhourIkeptthegunpointedattheotherninemen.Fromthe lifeboat’sstern,whereI’dsatmostofthetwentydaysofourdrifting,Icould keepthemallcovered.IfIhadtoshootatsuchclosequarters,Iwouldn’tmiss. Theyrealizedthat.Nobodyjumpedatme.ButinthewaytheyallglaredIcould seehowthey’dcometohatemyguts. 2EspeciallyBarrett,who’dbeenbos’n’smate;Barrettsaidinhisharsh, crackedvoice,“You’reafool,Snyder.Y-youcan’tholdoutforever!You’re halfasleepnow!” 3Ididn’tanswer.Hewasright.Howlongcanamanstayawake?Ihadn’t daredtoshutmyeyesinmaybeseventy-twohours.VerysoonnowI’ddozeoff, andtheinstantthathappenedthey’djumponthelittlewaterthatwasleft. 4Thelastcanteenlayundermylegs.Therewasn’tmuchinitaftertwentydays. Maybeapint.Enoughtogiveeachofthemafewdrops.YetIcouldseeintheir bloodshoteyesthatthey’dgladlykillmeforthosefewdrops.AsamanIdidn’t 4 countanymore.IwasnolongerthirdofficerofthewreckedMontala.Iwasjusta gunthatkeptthemawayfromthewatertheycraved.Andwiththeirtongue swollenandtheircheekssunken,theywerehalfcrazy. 5ThewayIjudgedit,wemustbesometwohundredmileseastofAscension. Nowthatthestormswereover,theAtlanticswellswerelongandeasy,andthe morningsunwashot–sohotitscorchedyourskin.Myowntonguewasthick enoughtoclogmythroat.I’dhavegiventherestofmylifeforasinglegulpof water. 6ButIwasthemanwiththegun—theonlyauthorityintheboat—andI knewthis:oncethewaterwasgonewe’dhavenothingtolookforwardtobut death.Aslongaswecouldlookforwardtogettingadrinklater,therewas somethingtolivefor.Wehadtomakeitlastaslongaspossible.IfI’dgiveninto