He walked off, bare-footed on the coral rocks, to the ice house where the baits were stored

The old man drank his coffee slowly (старик медленно пил свой кофе). It was all he would have all day (это все, что у него будет /из пищи/ на протяжении всего дня) and he knew that he should take it (и он знал, что ему следует взять это = напиться кофе как следует). For a long time now eating had bored him and he never carried a lunch (уже долгое время еда наскучила ему, и он никогда не брал с собой /в море/ завтрак; to bore — надоедать, докучать). He had a bottle of water in the bow of the skiff (у него была бутылка воды на носу лодки; bow — нос корабля) and that was all he needed for the day (и это все, что было ему нужно на весь день).

The boy was back now with the sardines (мальчик уже вернулся с сардинами) and the two baits wrapped in a newspaper (и двумя живцами, завернутыми в газету) and they went down the trail to the skiff (и они спустились вниз по тропинке к лодке; trail — след; тропа), feeling the pebbled sand under their feet (ощущая мелкий гравий под ногами; pebble — галька, гравий; sand — песок), and lifted the skiff and slid her into the water (приподняли лодку и сдвинули ее в воду; to slide — скользить; сдвинуть что-л. скользящее).

"Good luck old man (удачи, старик)."

"Good luck," the old man said. He fitted the rope lashings of the oars onto the thole pins (он закрепил веревки весел на колышки уключин; thole pin — уключина) and, leaning forward against the thrust of the blades in the water (и, налегая на весла: «подаваясь вперед против давления лопастей весел в воде»; blade — лопасть), he began to row out of the harbour in the dark (он вывел лодку: «начал грести» из гавани в темноте). There were other boats from the other beaches going out to sea (были другие лодки, выходящие в море с других берегов) and the old man heard the dip and push of their oars (и старик слышал, как погружались и выталкивались их весла; to dip — мокать, погружать /в воду/; to push — толкать) even though he could not see them now the moon was below the hills (хотя он и не мог видеть их сейчас, когда луна скрылась за холмами).

The old man drank his coffee slowly. It was all he would have all day and he knew that he should take it. For a long time now eating had bored him and he never carried a lunch. He had a bottle of water in the bow of the skiff and that was all he needed for the day.

The boy was back now with the sardines and the two baits wrapped in a newspaper and they went down the trail to the skiff, feeling the pebbled sand under their feet, and lifted the skiff and slid her into the water.

"Good luck old man."

"Good luck," the old man said. He fitted the rope lashings of the oars onto the thole pins and, leaning forward against the thrust of the blades in the water, he began to row out of the harbour in the dark. There were other boats from the other beaches going out to sea and the old man heard the dip and push of their oars even though he could not see them now the moon was below the hills.

Sometimes someone would speak in a boat (иногда кто-нибудь в лодках разговаривал). But most of the boats were silent (но большинство лодок были безмолвны) except for the dip of the oars (за исключением звуков опускания в воду весел). They spread apart after they were out of the mouth of the harbour (они рассеивались в разные стороны после того, как выходили из бухты; to spread — распространяться; mouth — устье, вход) and each one headed for the part of the ocean where he hoped to find fish (и каждая направлялась в ту часть океана, где надеялась найти рыбу). The old man knew he was going far out (старик знал, что уйдет далеко /от берега/) and he left the smell of the land behind (и он оставил запах земли позади) and rowed out into the clean early morning smell of the ocean (и греб в чистый утренний запах океана). He saw the phosphorescence of the Gulf weed in the water (он видел свечение саргассовых водорослей в воде; gulfweed — саргассова водоросль; gulf — залив; weed — сорная трава, сорняк; водоросль) as he rowed over the part of the ocean that the fishermen called the great well (пока греб над той частью океана, которую рыбаки называли «великим колодцем») because there was a sudden deep of seven hundred fathoms where all sorts of fish congregated (потому что дно там круто опускается на семьсот морских саженей, и там собираются всевозможные виды рыб; fathom — морская сажень /182 см/; to congregate — собираться, сходиться) because of the swirl the current made against the steep walls of the floor of the ocean (из-за водоворота, который создает течение, наталкиваясь на крутые стены морского дна). Here there were concentrations of shrimp and bait fish (здесь скапливаются креветки и рыба для наживки = мелкая рыбешка) and sometimes schools of squid in the deepest holes (а иногда и стаи кальмаров в глубочайший дырах = на самой большой глубине; school — школа; стая, косяк /рыб/) and these rose close to the surface at night where all the wandering fish fed on them (и они: «все это» поднимаются на поверхность ночью, где все блуждающие рыбы ими питаются; to rise; to feed).

Sometimes someone would speak in a boat. But most of the boats were silent except for the dip of the oars. They spread apart after they were out of the mouth of the harbour and each one headed for the part of the ocean where he hoped to find fish. The old man knew he was going far out and he left the smell of the land behind and rowed out into the clean early morning smell of the ocean. He saw the phosphorescence of the Gulf weed in the water as he rowed over the part of the ocean that the fishermen called the great well because there was a sudden deep of seven hundred fathoms where all sorts of fish congregated because of the swirl the current made against the steep walls of the floor of the ocean. Here there were concentrations of shrimp and bait fish and sometimes schools of squid in the deepest holes and these rose close to the surface at night where all the wandering fish fed on them.

In the dark the old man could feel the morning coming (в темноте старик чувствовал, как наступает утро) and as he rowed he heard the trembling sound as flying fish left the water (и пока он греб, он слышал дребезжащий звук, с которым летучая рыба покидала воду; to leave) and the hissing that their stiff set wings made as they soared away in the darkness (и свист, с которым их жесткие крылья рассекали воздух: «парили» в темноте; hiss — шипение, свист; stiff — жесткий, неэластичный; to soar — парить). He was very fond of flying fish as they were his principal friends on the ocean (он очень любил летучих рыб, потому как они были его главными друзьями в океане; to be fond of — любить, относиться с душевной теплотой; principal — главный, основной). He was sorry for the birds (ему было жалко птиц), especially the small delicate dark terns that were always flying and looking and almost never finding (особенно утонченных темных крачек, которые всегда летали и искали, и почти никогда не находили; delicate — изысканный, тонкий; tern — крачка /птица/), and he thought, the birds have a harder life than we do (у птиц жизнь труднее, чем у нас) except for the robber birds and the heavy strong ones (если не считать стервятников и больших сильных птиц; robber — грабитель; to rob — грабить). Why did they make birds so delicate and fine (зачем птиц создали настолько утонченными и прекрасными) as those sea swallows (как те морские ласточки) when the ocean can be so cruel (если океан бывает так жесток)? She is kind and very beautiful (он /океан/: «она» — добрый и очень красивый). But she can be so cruel and it comes so suddenly (но он может быть таким жестоким, и это происходит так неожиданно) and such birds that fly, dipping and hunting, with their small sad voices are made too delicately for the sea (а такие птицы, которые летают, ныряя и охотясь, с их слабыми грустными голосами, слишком хрупки для моря).

In the dark the old man could feel the morning coming and as he rowed he heard the trembling sound as flying fish left the water and the hissing that their stiff set wings made as they soared away in the darkness. He was very fond of flying fish as they were his principal friends on the ocean. He was sorry for the birds, especially the small delicate dark terns that were always flying and looking and almost never finding, and he thought, the birds have a harder life than we do except for the robber birds and the heavy strong ones. Why did they make birds so delicate and fine as those sea swallows when the ocean can be so cruel? She is kind and very beautiful. But she can be so cruel and it comes so suddenly and such birds that fly, dipping and hunting, with their small sad voices are made too delicately for the sea.

He always thought of the sea as la mar (он всегда думал о море, как о la mar) which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her (так люди называли его на испанском, когда любили его). Sometimes those who love her say bad things of her (иногда те, кто любил его, говорили о нем плохие вещи = плохо) but they are always said as though she were a woman (но они всегда говорили так, как будто оно было женщиной). Some of the younger fishermen (некоторые из молодых рыбаков), those who used buoys as floats for their lines and had motorboats (те, кто использовали буйки как поплавки на своих лесах, и у которых были моторные лодки), bought when the shark livers had brought much money (купленные, когда печень акулы стоила больших денег = была в цене), spoke of her as el mar which is masculine (говорили о нем, как об el mar, что имеет мужской род). They spoke of her as a contestant or a place or even an enemy (они говорили о нем как о сопернике, или как о месте, или даже как о враге; contest — соревнование, состязание; contestant — соперник, противник, конкурент). But the old man always thought of her as feminine (но старик всегда думал о нем как о женщине) and as something that gave or withheld great favours (как о чем-то, что может дать или не дать великие милости; to withhold — отказывать /в чем-л./; воздерживаться /от чего-л./; favour — расположение, благосклонность), and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them (и если оно и совершало дикие или злые поступки: «вещи», то это потому, что оно не могло их не сделать). The moon affects her as it does a woman (луна волнует его /море/, как женщину; affect — воздействовать; волновать), he thought.

He always thought of the sea as la mar which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her. Sometimes those who love her say bad things of her but they are always said as though she were a woman. Some of the younger fishermen, those who used buoys as floats for their lines and had motorboats, bought when the shark livers had brought much money, spoke of her as el mar which is masculine. They spoke of her as a contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favours, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought.

He was rowing steadily and it was no effort for him (он греб монотонно и это не было для него усилием = и это было ему не тяжело; steadily — постоянно, непрерывно; effort — усилие, напряжение) since he kept well within his speed and the surface of the ocean was flat except for the occasional swirls of the current (так как он придерживался своей скорости, и поверхность океана была гладкой: «плоской», за исключением случайный водоворотов течения; since — с тех пор; так как; to keep — придерживаться, удерживаться). He was letting the current do a third of the work (он позволял течению делать треть работы) and as it started to be light he saw he was already further out than he had hoped to be at this hour (и когда начало светать, он увидел, что он уже дальше, чем он надеялся оказаться в этот час).

I worked the deep wells for a week and did nothing (я работал в глубоких местах: «колодцах» неделю и ничего не сделал), he thought. Today I'll work out where the schools of bonito and albacore are (сегодня я поработаю, где ходят стаи пеламиды и альбакора; albacore — альбакор, длиннопёрый тунец) and maybe there will be a big one with them (и, возможно, там будет крупная рыба вместе с ними).

He was rowing steadily and it was no effort for him since he kept well within his speed and the surface of the ocean was flat except for the occasional swirls of the current. He was letting the current do a third of the work and as it started to be light he saw he was already further out than he had hoped to be at this hour.

I worked the deep wells for a week and did nothing, he thought. Today I'll work out where the schools of bonito and albacore are and maybe there will be a big one with them.

Before it was really light he had his baits out and was drifting with the current (перед тем, как стало по-настоящему светло = когда еще не рассвело, он закинул наживки и плыл по течению; to drift — дрейфовать, передвигаться по течению). One bait was down forty fathoms (одна наживка ушла вниз на сорок морских саженей). The second was at seventy-five (вторая на семьдесят пять) and the third and fourth were down in the blue water at one hundred and one hundred and twenty-five fathoms (и третья с четвертой ушли глубоко в голубую воду на сто и сто двадцать пять саженей). Each bait hung head down with the shank of the hook inside the bait fish (каждая наживка висела головой вниз со стержнем крючка внутри рыбешки; shank — стержень), tied and sewed solid (крепко завязанная и зашитая; solid — цельный, сплошной; прочный крепкий) and all the projecting part of the hook, the curve and the point, was covered with fresh sardines (а вся выступающая часть крючка, изгиб и острие, были унизаны: «покрыты» свежими сардинами; project — выдаваться, выступать). Each sardine was hooked through both eyes so that they made a half-garland on the projecting steel (каждая сардина была надета на крючок через оба глаза, образуя полугирлянду на выступающей стали). There was no part of the hook that a great fish could feel which was not sweet smelling and good tasting (не было ни одной части крючка, который бы не имел приятный запах и хороший вкус для большой рыбы).

Before it was really light he had his baits out and was drifting with the current. One bait was down forty fathoms. The second was at seventy-five and the third and fourth were down in the blue water at one hundred and one hundred and twenty-five fathoms. Each bait hung head down with the shank of the hook inside the bait fish, tied and sewed solid and all the projecting part of the hook, the curve and the point, was covered with fresh sardines. Each sardine was hooked through both eyes so that they made a half-garland on the projecting steel. There was no part of the hook that a great fish could feel which was not sweet smelling and good tasting.

The boy had given him two fresh small tunas (мальчик дал ему два свежих тунца), or albacores (или альбакора), which hung on the two deepest lines like plummets (которые висели на двух самых глубоких лесах, как грузила; plummet — грузило /на удочке/) and, on the others, he had a big blue runner and a yellow jack that had been used before (а на других у него были большая голубая макрель и желтая умбрица, которыми он уже пользовался раньше); but they were in good condition still and had the excellent sardines to give them scent and attractiveness (но они все еще были в хорошем состоянии, а отличные сардины придавали им аромат и заманчивость; attractive — привлекательный). Each line, as thick around as a big pencil, was looped onto a green-sapped stick (каждая леса, в диаметре такая же толстая, как большой карандаш, была закреплена петлей на гибкую: «зеленую высушенную» палку; to loop — скреплять, связывать петлей; to sap — лишать сока, сушить) so that any pull or touch on the bait would make the stick dip (так, что любой рывок или касание наживки заставят палку окунуться в воду; to dip — макать, окунать) and each line had two forty-fathom coils (и у каждой лесы было два сорокасаженных мотка) which could be made fast to the other spare coils (которые могли быть прикреплены к другим запасным моткам; fast — крепко, прочно; to make fast — закреплять) so that, if it were necessary, a fish could take out over three hundred fathoms of line (так что, если будет необходимо, рыба могла утащить более трех сотен саженей лесы = рыбу можно было опустить на триста саженей; so that — так что).

Now the man watched the dip of the three sticks over the side of the skiff (теперь старик наблюдал, не пригибаются ли за борт лодки зеленые прутья) and rowed gently to keep the lines straight up and down and at their proper depths (и греб тихонько, следя, чтобы лески оставались прямыми и на нужной глубине). It was quite light and any moment now the sun would rise (было уже довольно светло, и в любой момент сейчас могло взойти солнце).

The boy had given him two fresh small tunas, or albacores, which hung on the two deepest lines like plummets and, on the others, he had a big blue runner and a yellow jack that had been used before; but they were in good condition still and had the excellent sardines to give them scent and attractiveness. Each line, as thick around as a big pencil, was looped onto a green-sapped stick so that any pull or touch on the bait would make the stick dip and each line had two forty-fathom coils which could be made fast to the other spare coils so that, if it were necessary, a fish could take out over three hundred fathoms of line.

Now the man watched the dip of the three sticks over the side of the skiff and rowed gently to keep the lines straight up and down and at their proper depths. It was quite light and any moment now the sun would rise.

The sun rose thinly from the sea and the old man could see the other boats (солнце немного поднялось над морем, и старик видел другие лодки; thinly — тонко; экономно, понемногу), low on the water and well in toward the shore (низко в воде и ближе к берегу; toward — к, по направлению), spread out across the current (распространившиеся по всей ширине течения). Then the sun was brighter and the glare came on the water (затем солнце стало ярче, и на море появился блеск; glare — ослепительно яркий свет, сияние, блеск) and then, as it rose clear, the flat sea sent it back at his eyes (а затем, когда оно полностью взошло, гладкое море отражало: «посылало обратно» его лучи прямо в глаза) so that it hurt sharply and he rowed without looking into it (так, что это причиняло резкую боль, и он стал грести, не глядя на него). He looked down into the water and watched the lines that went straight down into the dark of the water (он смотрел вниз в воду и смотрел за лесами, уходящими вниз в тьму воды). He kept them straighter than anyone did (у него они уходили ровнее, чем у кого-либо: «он держал их прямее, чем кто-либо другой»), so that at each level in the darkness of the stream there would be a bait waiting exactly where he wished it to be for any fish that swam there (так что на каждом уровне = на разных глубинах темноты потока будет ждать приманка точно там, где он хотел бы, чтобы она была, для любой рыбы, которая там проплывет). Others let them drift with the current (другие позволяли им плыть с течением) and sometimes they were at sixty fathoms when the fishermen thought they were at a hundred (и иногда они были на глубине шестьдесят саженей, когда рыбаки думали, что они были на сотне).

But, he thought, I keep them with precision (но, подумал он, я держу их точно = закидываю приманку точно; precision — точность, правильность). Only I have no luck any more (только мне больше не везет). But who knows (но кто знает)? Maybe today (может, сегодня). Every day is a new day (каждый день — новый день). It is better to be lucky (лучше быть удачливым = хорошо, когда везет). But I would rather be exact (но я лучше буду точным; exact — точный, правильный). Then when luck comes you are ready (тогда, когда приходит удача, ты готов к ней).

The sun rose thinly from the sea and the old man could see the other boats, low on the water and well in toward the shore, spread out across the current. Then the sun was brighter and the glare came on the water and then, as it rose clear, the flat sea sent it back at his eyes so that it hurt sharply and he rowed without looking into it. He looked down into the water and watched the lines that went straight down into the dark of the water. He kept them straighter than anyone did, so that at each level in the darkness of the stream there would be a bait waiting exactly where he wished it to be for any fish that swam there. Others let them drift with the current and sometimes they were at sixty fathoms when the fishermen thought they were at a hundred.

But, he thought, I keep them with precision. Only I have no luck any more. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.

The sun was two hours higher now (солнце было теперь на два часа выше) and it did not hurt his eyes so much to look into the east (и было уже не так больно глазам смотреть на восток). There were only three boats in sight now (было видно только три лодки; sight — поле зрения, видимость) and they showed very low and far inshore (и, казалось, что они очень низко /сидят/ в воде и очень близко /находятся/ к берегу; inshore — у берега, близко к берегу).

All my life the early sun has hurt my eyes (всю мою жизнь раннее солнце причиняло боль моим глазам), he thought. Yet they are still good (но они все еще хороши). In the evening I can look straight into it without getting the blackness (вечером я могу смотреть прямо на него, без черных пятен перед глазами: «не получая черноты»). It has more force in the evening too (вечером в нем больше силы). But in the morning it is painful (но утром оно болезненное; painful — причиняющий боль, болезненный).

Just then he saw a man-of-war bird with his long black wings circling in the sky ahead of him (именно тогда он увидел птицу-фрегата с длинными черными крыльями, которая кружила в небе впереди него; man-of-war bird — /зоол./ фрегат; man-of-war — военный корабль; ahead — вперёд, впереди). He made a quick drop (она сделала быстрое снижение = пошла круто вниз), slanting down on his back-swept wings (скользя наклонно вниз на заведенных назад крыльях; to slant — двигаться наклонно, под углом; to sweep — мести; сметать, отметать), and then circled again (а потом снова закружила).

"He's got something (он что-то нашел)," the old man said aloud (сказал старик вслух). "He's not just looking (он не просто смотрит)."