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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 mi
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 mi
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 begi
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 begi
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).