第177期：我摸到了一条鲸鱼

想成为我们的主播，欢迎加微信 xdfbook 投稿。 一段美文，一首英文歌，或是一点生活感想，全由你做主。 《我摸到了一条鲸鱼》 Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy And that was when he first heard the water ripping1) near him. The moon had roused herself fully out of the sea and was tossing2) her silver bedclothes3) all around. Turner was sure that in that light he should have been able to make out4) any rocks. But he couldn't see anything breaking the surface. He listened, not moving, and heard the ripping again, but behind him this time, and closer to shore, and ahead of him—one after another. In the moonlight he saw a silver spray5) burst up into the air, a shower of diamond dust6). Then another, and another almost beside the boat, so that he could feel the spray of it against his face, and the dory7) rocked to the rhythm of the new swells8) as a great Presence9) broke the surface of the sea and Turner knew, or felt, the vastness of the whales. Now he almost did panic. One could come right up beneath them and turn the dory over as easily as a pine chip10), and he would be floating in the sea, holding on to the upturned dory, holding on to Lizzie, who he was sure could not hold on by herself. That is, he would be holding on to her if he could find her after they capsized11). But though the dory rocked back and forth with the swell of them, the whales never came so close that the boat might capsize. Turner heard them ripping the surface all around him, and felt the diamond spray sprinkle down on him in the moonlight like a benediction12). He knew he was in the middle of something much larger than himself, and not just larger in size. It was like being in the middle of a swirling universe that could swamp13) him in a moment but had no desire to. He might put out his hand into the maelstrom14) and become a part of it. But he didn't put his hand out yet, because as he watched, a whale five times as long as the dory surfaced, and rode quietly alongside him in the smooth swells. Turner could not breathe. The whale flipped15) its tail up a bit and began to roll from side to side, a great gargantuan16) roll like the roll of the globe, side to side, until it could slap the swells with the length of its flippers17), gleaming silver-white in the moonlight. Turner held on to the sides of the dory and rolled side to side with it with this great vastness that had swum past the mountains and valleys of the sea. Together they rocked, and Turner wished that the rocking would never stop, that there would always be this moonlit moment. But slowly the whale did stop rocking, and the seas calmed, and the rhythm of the swells took hold again. Quietly, more afraid than not, Turner slipped the oars18) into the water, and with gentle strokes19), keeping the oars beneath the surface all the time, he eased20) the dory forward, hoping that the whale would wait on the surface. It did. And so Turner reached the whale's eye, and they looked at each other. They looked at each other a long time—two souls rolling on the sea under the silvery moon, peering21) into each other's eyes. Turner wished with a desire greater than anything he had ever desired that he might understand what it was in the eye of the whale that shivered his soul. He stretched his hand out across the side of the dory and reached over as far as he could without tipping22) the boat. But the whale kept a space of dark water between them, and they did not touch. Then slowly the whale sank, the water closing quietly along its black and white back. And the whales were gone. "Lizzie," whispered Turner. There was no answer. He reached back and shook her leg, then her shoulder. Finally, he scooped23) up water and splashed it into her face—since saltwater will do for everything. "Lizzie, you've got to open your eyes." "They're open," she said. "You splashed me." "Lizzie, there were whales." She didn't answer. "Lizzie, whales." "You touch one?" "Tried." She took a deep breath. "They only let you touch them if you understand what they're saying." "What do they say?" "You'll know when ... when they let you touch them. Home yet?" ………… 正是在这个时候，他第一次听到自己身边有划破水面的声音。 月亮已经完完全全把自己从海中唤醒了，正把自己银色的被毯撒向整个海面。特纳肯定，在这样的月光下，他本可以辨认出所有岩礁的，可他却看不到有任何东西破水而出。他一动也不动地聆听着，然后又一次听到划破水面的声音，但这一次是在他身后，而后在更靠近岸边的地方，接着又在他的前方——一次又一次划破水面的声音。在月光下，他看见一道银色的水柱向上喷涌至空中，形成一片闪闪发光的水雾。接下来又一道水柱，而后几乎从小船边上又喷涌出一道水柱，所以他都能感觉到水喷洒在自己的脸上。当一个巨大的东西冲破海面而出，小渔船随着新的浪涌的节奏来回摇晃时，特纳意识到了——或者可以说是感受到了——鲸鱼的庞大。 这下他差点儿就真慌了。鲸鱼可能刚好从他们的小渔船底下游上来，轻而易举掀翻他们的小船，就如同掀翻一块松木那样。他会漂浮在大海上，紧紧抓住被掀翻的小船，抓住莉齐，他肯定莉齐没法自己抓住小船。也就是说，如果他能在船翻后找到莉齐，他就会一直抓着她。 不过，虽然小船随着鲸鱼游动引起的浪涌来回摇晃，但鲸鱼却从未靠近小船到让小船可能会翻的地步。特纳听见它们在自己的四面八方划破水面，感觉到亮晶晶的水雾在月光下洒到自己身上，就像教堂祈福时牧师洒圣水一样。他知道他正处在比自己大很多的某个东西中间，不仅仅是块头比自己大。这种感觉就像身处一个旋动的宇宙当中，这个宇宙在瞬间就可以将他吞没，但却不想这么做。他可以将手伸进大漩涡中，成为其中的一部分。 但他还没有把手伸出去，因为在他观察时，一条身长有小渔船五倍的鲸鱼露出了水面，悄无声息地在平缓的海浪中跟着他游着。特纳无法呼吸了。那条鲸鱼快速向上翻转了一下自己的尾鳍，然后便开始在水上左右翻转，那翻转规模不小，就像地球的转动似的。它来回翻转着，直到它能用自己长长的双鳍拍打海浪——它的双鳍在月光下银光闪闪。特纳抓住小船的两侧船舷，随着小船和这个已经游过群山和海谷的庞然大物一起来回翻滚。他们一起摇晃着，特纳希望他们可以一直这样摇下去，希望永远都会有现在这般月光照耀的时刻。 但慢慢地，这条鲸鱼确实不再摇晃了，海面平静了下来，又一次只剩下海浪涌动的节奏。特纳十分害怕，他轻轻地把双桨滑入水中，然后轻轻地划着，让双桨一直处在海面之下。他小心翼翼地向前划动着小船，希望那条鲸鱼会在海面上等自己。 那条鲸鱼果然在海面上等着他。于是，特纳望见了鲸鱼的眼睛，他们互相看着彼此。他们彼此对视了很久——两个灵魂在银色月光照耀下的大海上摇晃着，还凝望着彼此的双眼。那条鲸鱼眼中透出的东西震颤了特纳的灵魂，他极度希望自己可以理解那是什么，这种渴望比以往任何时候都更为强烈。 他把手探出小船的船舷，在不把船弄翻的情况下尽可能地向外伸手。但鲸鱼与他之间一直相隔着一片黑茫茫的海水，他们没有触摸到彼此。然后，鲸鱼缓缓地沉了下去，海水沿着它那黑白相间的背脊静静地闭合了。 这群鲸鱼离开了。 “莉齐。”特纳小声说。 没有回应。他把手伸到后面摇了摇她的腿，然后又摇了摇她的肩。最后，他舀了点水撒在她的脸上，因为咸咸的海水用处大着呢。“莉齐，你得睁开眼睛。” “已经睁开了，”她说，“你用水泼我了。” “莉齐，刚刚鲸鱼来了。” 她没有回答。 “莉齐，成群的鲸鱼。” “你摸到了一条？” “试着去摸来着。” 她深深地吸了一口气。“只有当你明白它们在说什么的时候，它们才会让你摸到它们。” “它们说的是什么呢？” “你会明白的，当……当它们让你摸到它们的时候。我们已经到家了吗？” …… 文章摘自：《新东方英语·中学生》杂志2016年12月号