Late in the afternoon he followed a stream, milky with lime, which ran through sparse patches of rush-grass. Grasping these rushes firmly near the root, he pulled up what resembled a young onion-sprout no larger than a shingle-nail. It was tender, and his teeth sank into it with a crunch that promised deliciously of food. But its fibers were tough. It was composed of stringy filaments saturated with water, like the berries, and devoid of nourishment. He threw off his pack and went into the rush-grass on hands and knees, crunching and munching, like some bovine creature.
He was very weary and often wished to rest (он очень устал и часто хотел отдохнуть) to lie down and sleep (лечь и поспать); but he was continually driven on (но его постоянно гнало вперед; driven гонимый; to drive гнать) not so much by his desire to gain the land of little sticks as by his hunger (не столько желание добраться до земли «прутиков», сколько голод). He searched little ponds for frogs (он обыскивал маленькие запруды в поисках лягушек) and dug up the earth with his nails for worms (и рыл землю ногтями в поисках червей; to dig up выкапывать, вырывать), though he knew in spite that neither frogs nor worms existed so far north (несмотря на то, что он знал, что ни лягушки, ни червяки не живут так далеко на севере; in spite of несмотря на; to exist существовать; иметься в природе, жить).
He looked into every pool of water vainly (он тщетно заглядывал в каждую лужу воды), until, as the long twilight came on (пока с приближением долгих сумерек; to come on наступать, приближаться /о времени дня или года/), he discovered a solitary fish (он не обнаружил одинокую рыбку), the size of a minnow, in such a pool (размером с гольяна, в такой луже). He plunged his arm in up to the shoulder (он погрузил руку до плеча; to plunge in погружать/ся/, окунать/ся/), but it eluded him (но она ускользнула от него; to elude избежать, спастись; избавиться; выскользнуть). He reached for it with both hands (он потянулся за ней обеими руками; to reach for тянуться за) and stirred up the milky mud at the bottom (и взбаламутил мутный ил на дне; to stir up хорошенько размешивать, взбалтывать; трясти; сотрясать; вспенивать). In his excitement he fell in (в возбуждении он упал в /воду/; to fall in падать в /что-либо/), wetting himself to the waist (промокнув: «намочив себя» до пояса; to wet промокнуть, вымокнуть). Then the water was too muddy to admit of his seeing the fish (потом вода стала слишком мутной, чтобы позволить ему видеть рыбу), and he was compelled to wait until the sediment had settled (и он был вынужден подождать, пока не уляжется осадок; to settle отстаиваться, оседать; to compel заставлять, вынуждать).
search [sǝ:ʧ], exist [ɪɡzɪst], compel [kǝmpel]He was very weary and often wished to rest to lie down and sleep; but he was continually driven on not so much by his desire to gain the land of little sticks as by his hunger. He searched little ponds for frogs and dug up the earth with his nails for worms, though he knew in spite that neither frogs nor worms existed so far north.
He looked into every pool of water vainly, until, as the long twilight came on, he discovered a solitary fish, the size of a minnow, in such a pool. He plunged his arm in up to the shoulder, but it eluded him. He reached for it with both hands and stirred up the milky mud at the bottom. In his excitement he fell in, wetting himself to the waist. Then the water was too muddy to admit of his seeing the fish, and he was compelled to wait until the sediment had settled.
The pursuit was renewed (преследование было возобновлено = возобновилось), till the water was again muddied (пока вода снова не замутилась; mud грязь, слякоть; ил, тина; muddy грязный). But he could not wait (но он не мог ждать). He unstrapped the tin bucket and began to bale the pool (он отвязал оловянное ведро и начал вычерпывать лужу). He baled wildly at first (сначала он вычерпывал исступленно; wild дикий), splashing himself and flinging the water so short a distance (забрызгивая себя и выплескивая воду на таком близком расстоянии) that it ran back into the pool (что она стекала обратно в лужу). He worked more carefully (он заработал более осторожно), striving to be cool (стремясь сохранять хладнокровие; cool прохладный; невозмутимый, хладнокровный; неторопливый, спокойный /о человеке и его действиях/), though his heart was pounding against his chest and his hands were trembling (хотя его сердце сильно билось в груди, а руки дрожали). At the end of half an hour the pool was nearly dry (в конце = по истечении получаса лужа была почти сухой). Not a cupful of water remained (не осталось и чашки воды). And there was no fish (но не было и рыбы). He found a hidden crevice among the stones (он нашел скрытую расщелину среди камней) through which it had escaped to the adjoining and larger pool (через которую она ускользнула в прилегающую и бóльшую заводь; to escape бежать, совершать побег; ускользать, избегать) a pool which he could not empty in a night and a day (заводь, которую он не смог бы осушить за сутки: «за ночь и день»). Had he known of the crevice (если бы он знал об этой расщелине), he could have closed it with a rock at the beginning (он мог бы перекрыть ее камнем в /самом/ начале) and the fish would have been his (и рыба была бы его = и рыба досталась бы ему).
The pursuit was renewed, till the water was again muddied. But he could not wait. He unstrapped the tin bucket and began to bale the pool. He baled wildly at first, splashing himself and flinging the water so short a distance that it ran back into the pool. He worked more carefully, striving to be cool, though his heart was pounding against his chest and his hands were trembling. At the end of half an hour the pool was nearly dry. Not a cupful of water remained. And there was no fish. He found a hidden crevice among the stones through which it had escaped to the adjoining and larger pool a pool which he could not empty in a night and a day. Had he known of the crevice, he could have closed it with a rock at the beginning and the fish would have been his.
Thus he thought (так он подумал), and crumpled up and sank down upon the wet earth (/и/ упал духом и опустился на сырую землю; to crumple up приходить в уныние, падать духом; to crumple = to crumple up комкать, мять; приводить в беспорядок). At first he cried softly to himself (сначала он заплакал тихонько про себя), then he cried loudly to the pitiless desolation that ringed him around (затем он зарыдал в голос перед безжалостной пустыней, которая окружала его; to ring around опоясать, окружать кольцом); and for a long time after he was shaken by great dry sobs (и долгое время после этого его сотрясали долгие сухие рыдания = долгие рыдания без слез: «он был сотрясаем»; to shake трясти, сотрясать).
He built a fire and warmed himself by drinking quarts of hot water (он развел костер и грелся, выпивая = поглощая кварты горячей воды; quart кварта /единица измерения объема жидкости; равняется 1/4 галлона = 2 пинтам = 1,14 л в Англии; 0,95 л в Америке/), and made camp on a rocky ledge in the same fashion he had the night before (и устроил лагерь на скалистом выступе точно так же: «в такой же манере», как и предыдущей ночью; to make a camp раскинуть лагерь). The last thing he did was to see that his matches were dry and to wind his watch (последним, что он сделал = напоследок он выяснил, что его спички сухие, и завел часы). The blankets were wet and clammy (одеяла были сырые и холодные; clammy холодный и влажный на ощупь). His ankle pulsed with pain (его лодыжка пульсировала от боли). But he knew only that he was hungry (но он осознавал лишь, что он голоден), and through his restless sleep he dreamed of feasts and banquets (и на всем протяжении беспокойного сна ему снились пиршества и банкеты) and of food served and spread in all imaginable ways (и еда, которую подавали и раскладывали всеми вообразимыми способами; to serve накрывать на стол, подавать; to spread развертывать/ся/; расстилать/ся/; разносить/ся/, распространять/ся/; to imagine воображать, представлять себе).
earth [ǝ:θ], quart [kwɔ:t], banquet [bæŋkwɪt], imaginable [ɪmæʤɪnǝbl]Thus he thought, and crumpled up and sank down upon the wet earth. At first he cried softly to himself, then he cried loudly to the pitiless desolation that ringed him around; and for a long time after he was shaken by great dry sobs.
He built a fire and warmed himself by drinking quarts of hot water, and made camp on a rocky ledge in the same fashion he had the night before. The last thing he did was to see that his matches were dry and to wind his watch. The blankets were wet and clammy. His ankle pulsed with pain. But he knew only that he was hungry, and through his restless sleep he dreamed of feasts and banquets and of food served and spread in all imaginable ways.
He awoke chilled and sick (он проснулся продрогший и больной). There was no sun (солнца не было). The gray of earth and sky had become deeper, more profound (серый цвет земли и неба стал темнее: «глубже», более насыщенным). A raw wind was blowing (дул промозглый ветер), and the first flurries of snow were whitening the hilltops (и первые снегопады покрывали белым вершины холмов; flurry налетевший ливень или снегопад; to whiten белить). The air about him thickened and grew white (воздух вокруг него сгустился и побелел) while he made a fire and boiled more water (пока он разводил костер и кипятил еще воду). It was wet snow (это был мокрый снег), half rain (наполовину дождь), and the flakes were large and soggy (и хлопья были крупными и мокрыми). At first they melted as soon as they came in contact with the earth (сначала они таяли, как только соприкасались с землей; to come in contact with соприкоснуться с), but ever more fell (но /их/ падало все больше), covering the ground (/и они/ покрыли землю), putting out the fire (/и при этом/ затушили костер), spoiling his supply of moss-fuel (испортили его запас топлива из мха).
profound [prǝfaʋnd], raw [rɔ:], half [hɑ:f]He awoke chilled and sick. There was no sun. The gray of earth and sky had become deeper, more profound. A raw wind was blowing, and the first flurries of snow were whitening the hilltops. The air about him thickened and grew white while he made a fire and boiled more water. It was wet snow, half rain, and the flakes were large and soggy. At first they melted as soon as they came in contact with the earth, but ever more fell, covering the ground, putting out the fire, spoiling his supply of moss-fuel.
This was a signal for him to strap on his pack and stumble onward (это был сигнал для него надевать тюк и ковылять дальше), he knew not where (он не знал куда). He was not concerned with the land of little sticks (его не интересовала ни земля «прутиков»; concerned заинтересованный; увлеченный; озабоченный, беспокоящийся), nor with Bill and the cache under the upturned canoe by the river Dease (ни Билл и тайник под перевернутым каноэ у реки Диз). He was mastered by the verb to eat (он был управляем глаголом «есть»; to master овладевать; руководить, управлять). He was hunger-mad (он обезумел от голода). He took no heed of the course he pursued (он не обращал внимания на курс, которым он следовал; to take no heed of не обращать внимания на), so long as that course led him through the swale bottoms (при условии, что этот курс вел его через болотистые низины). He felt his way through the wet snow to the watery muskeg berries (он пробирался ощупью сквозь мокрый снег к водянистым болотным ягодам), and went by feel as he pulled up the rush-grass by the roots (и шел наощупь, вырывая тростниковую траву за корешки). But it was tasteless stuff and did not satisfy (но она была безвкусной дрянью и не утоляла голод; to satisfy удовлетворять; радовать, доставлять удовлетворение; утолять /голод, любопытство и т. п./; taste вкус; stuff материя /особ. шерстяная/, ткань; материал, вещество; дрянь, хлам, чепуха). He found a weed that tasted sour (он нашел водоросль, которая была кислой на вкус; to taste иметь вкус, привкус) and he ate all he could find of it (и он съел ее всю, что смог найти), which was not much (чего = а ее было немного), for it was a creeping growth (ибо это было вьющееся растение; growth плод, продукт; урожай; нарост; предмет выращивания; растительный покров), easily hidden under the several inches of snow (легко прячущееся под несколькими дюймами снега; hidden спрятанный; to hide прятать).