He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.

他是个独自在湾流中一条小船上钓鱼的老人，至今已去了八十四天，一条鱼也没有逮住。

In the first forty days a boy had been with him.

前四十天里，有个男孩子跟他在一起。

But after forty days without a fish the boy's parents had told him that the old man was now definitely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky, and the boy had gone at their orders in another boat which caught three good fish the first week.

可是，过了四十天还没捉到一条鱼，孩子的父母对他说，老人如今准是十足地“倒了血霉”，这就是说，倒霉到了极点，于是孩子听从了他们的吩咐，上了另外一条船，头一个礼拜就捕到了三条好鱼。

It made the boy sad to see the old man come in each day with his skiff empty and he always went down to help him carry either the coiled lines or the gaff and harpoon and the sail that was furled around the mast.

孩子看见老人每天回来时船总是空的，感到很难受，他总是走下岸去，帮老人拿卷起的钓索，或者鱼钩和鱼叉，还有绕在桅杆上的帆。

The sail was patched with flour sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat.

帆上用面粉袋片打了些补丁，收拢后看来象是一面标志着永远失败的旗子。

The old man was thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck.

老人消瘦而憔悴，脖颈上有些很深的皱纹。

The brown blotches of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks.

腮帮上有些褐斑，那是太阳在热带海面上反射的光线所引起的良性皮肤癌变。

The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords.

褐斑从他脸的两侧一直蔓延下去，他的双手常用绳索拉鱼，留下了刻得很深的伤疤。

But none of these scars were fresh.

但是这些伤疤中没有一块是新的。

They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert.

它们像无鱼可打的沙漠中被侵蚀的地方一般古老。

Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.

他身上的一切都显得沧桑，除了那双眼睛，它们像海水一般蓝，是愉快而不肯认输的。

"Santiago," the boy said to him as they climbed the bank from where the skiff was hauled up.

“圣地亚哥，”他们俩从小船停泊的地方爬上岸时，孩子对他说。

"I could go with you again. We've made some money."

“我又能陪你出海了。我家挣到了一点儿钱。”

The old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him.

老人教会了这孩子捕鱼，孩子爱他。

"No," the old man said. "You're with a lucky boat. Stay with them."

“不，”老人说。“你遇上了一条交好运的船。跟他们待下去吧。”

"But remember how you went eighty-seven days without fish and then we caught big ones every day for three weeks."

“不过你该记得，你有一回八十七天钓不到一条鱼，跟着有三个礼拜，我们每天都逮住了大鱼。”

"I remember," the old man said. "I know you did not leave me because you doubted."

“我记得，”老人说。“我知道你不是因为没把握才离开我的。”

"It was papa made me leave. I am a boy and I must obey him."

“是爸爸叫我走的。我是孩子，不能不听从他。”

"I know," the old man said. "It is quite normal."

“我明白，”老人说。“这是理该如此的。”

"He hasn't much faith."

“他没多大的信心。”

"No," the old man said. "But we have. Haven't we?"

“是啊，”老人说。“可是我们有。可不是吗？”

"Yes," the boy said. "Can I offer you a beer on the Terrace and then we'll take the stuff home."

“对，”孩子说。“我请你到露台饭店去喝杯啤酒，然后一起把打鱼的家伙带回去。”

"Why not?" the old man said. "Between fishermen."

“那敢情好，”老人说。“都是打鱼人嘛。”