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There was an ocean (it was bigger than the Indian, deeper than the Atlantic, bluer than the Pacific) between us. It shadowed us, it followed us around as we walked, it 1)wedged itself between us like a rude 2)pedestrian and kept us from ever quite connecting.
I was a late starter, and by the time I met Karina I was eager to 3)latch onto something good. She had soft 4)features and shiny dark hair. She thought somehow that I was brilliant and remarkable in some 5)intangible way I never fully quite grasped. We had a good thing going for a while, but we never really knew each other, not in any way that matters, and what started as a 6)puddle grew into a pool, a stream, then a river, a lake, a 7)gulf, a sea, and finally, a 8)full-fledged ocean, deep and wide.
I had to 9)take a stand, and I told Karina that the situation had grown intolerable. We had to do something. So we decided to meet each other halfway. We’d leap into the ocean from opposite shores. We’d brave the waves and the sharks, and if it was meant to be, we’d meet up somewhere in the middle and when the rescue boat motored by, we’d be saved, together.
But it was winter and the currents were 10)choppy and cold. I survived eating fish and seaweed, drinking salty water that only deepened my thirst, leaving my throat 11)parched with loneliness. I thought of Karina going through all the same trials and 12)tribulations, swimming toward me, 13)gasping for air, risking her life all in the name of the noble, 14)uncharted experiment that we’d begun. And though I loved her for it, I wondered why she’d agreed to it, and I found myself suddenly regretting the entire thing. And my limbs were 15)numb from swimming, and my face was frozen, and all I could think about was the sight of land, the shoreline, and 16)baking dry in the sun.
But then one of those remarkable things happened, the kind of thing that only happens in stories like this, stories of the imagination sent 17)careening out of control. A whale came towards me from behind and 18)dragged me along the surface of the water on its 19)slimy, 20)rubbery, shiny black back. As we glided across the 21)whitecaps I could feel the 22)misty wind 23)whipping against me like a thousand wet towels 24)snapped all at once. I thought I would freeze to death, but instead the cold started to feel like a second skin, and I 25)steeled myself against it, even grew somewhat 26)accustomed to the pain.
By the next morning, I could see a shoreline in the distance. It wasn’t just any shoreline: it was home. It was the beach where Karina and I had first met, the fish 27)taco 28)stand where we’d had our first date, and the balcony of her father’s beach house, where we’d shared our first kiss, and where I could see her now, as a tiny, lovely 29)blip.
As we moved closer to shore, I could see she was covering her mouth. I realized: she could see me, off in the distance, and she was laughing. It 30)dawned on me that then she hadn’t fulfilled her part of the 31)pact. She’d never stepped foot in the ocean at all: she’d just wanted to see if I would do it. We crossed the first line of 32)breakers and the whale, on a 33)whim, without warning, tossed me aside into the raging 34)surf. I managed to 35)paddle my way to shore, breathing heavily, 36)spitting up saltwater, and finally, 37)passing out on the sand like a beached seal.
When I came to, Karina was standing over me, a glamorous giant, tall and glorious, almost sunlike in her bright-orange swimsuit and 38)goofy red glasses. She bent down and gave me a 39)chaste little kiss on the cheek. She smelled like the opposite of the sea. “Congratulations, you’ve passed your first test,”she said to me, in a soft whisper. I couldn’t help but wonder just exactly what she meant by those words.
我们之间隔着一片海洋（它比印度洋更大，比大西洋更深，比太平洋更蓝）。它像影子一样跟着我们。我们走到哪儿，它就跟到哪儿。它像一个无礼的行人一样挤到我们中间，把我们分开，使我们连联系的机会也没有。
我很晚才开始恋爱，认识卡莉娜以后，我盼望可以获得一份美好的爱情。她长相秀气，头发乌黑闪亮。不知怎么地，她认为我在某个不可捉摸的方面很有才华而且很出色，可我从未完全领会她所说的是哪个方面。有一段时间，我们俩相处得不错。但我们并不真正地了解对方——在所有重要的问题上我们都不了解。我们之间的分歧从小水坑变成池塘，再到小溪、河流、湖泊、海湾、海（指内海），最终，变成了一片又深又广的汪洋。
我必须表明态度。我对卡莉娜说，情况已经变得让人难以忍受了。我们得做点什么进行补救。于是，我们决定在中途碰面。我们俩将各自从相反方向的海岸跳下海。我们将勇敢地面对海浪和鲨鱼。如果我们俩的缘分是命中注定的话，我们会在海洋中间的某个地方相遇。接着，机动援救船会及时赶到，我们一起获救。
可当时正值冬天，海上波涛汹涌，海水冰冷刺骨。我靠吃海鱼和海草活了下来，喝海水让我更加口渴，口干舌燥使我倍感孤独。我想到卡莉娜也正在经历着同样的考验与磨难，她向我游来，挣扎着呼吸，冒着生命危险。这一切都是为了我们已经开始的那个崇高却充满未知的试验。虽然我欣赏卡莉娜的勇气，但我还是不明白她为什么会同意这样做，而且我发现自己突然间对整件事情感到很后悔。长时间的游泳使我的四肢麻木了，我的脸也冻僵了。我的脑子里只有陆地、海岸线以及自己被太阳晒干的样子。
就在这时，神奇的事情发生了——这种事情只会出现在像这样充满想象力的小说里。一条鲸鱼从后面向我游过来，把我放在它那粘粘的，像橡胶一般富有弹性并发光的鲸脊上沿着水面拖行。当我和鲸鱼在白浪间穿行时，我感觉到那夹着湿气的海风在“鞭打”我，如同上千条湿毛巾一起朝我打来。我以为我会因此而冻死，寒冷却反而似乎开始变成我的第二层皮肤，我使自己坚强地与之对抗，甚至渐渐地习惯寒冷所带来的疼痛。
第二天早上，我看到了远处的海岸线。那可不是一般的海岸线——那是家。那是我和卡莉娜第一次见面的海滩，海滩上那个炸玉米鱼卷的小摊是我们俩第一次约会的地方。就在她父亲海边房子的阳台上，我们第一次接吻。如今，我看到卡莉娜也在海滩上，那是一个细小却可爱的光点。
我和鲸鱼离岸边越来越近，我看到卡莉娜用手捂住嘴巴。我意识到：尽管相隔甚远，她还是可以看到我，而且她正在大笑。这时，我渐渐明白她并没有履行协定中她的承诺。她根本就没有踏入海里一步——她只是想看看我会不会去这么做。我和鲸鱼穿过第一排逼近岸边的小浪花。突然，鲸鱼没有任何征兆地把我抛进汹涌的浪涛中。我用手划水，努力向岸边游去，拼命地喘着气，不停地吐出嘴里的海水，最后，我就像是一只被冲上岸的海豹一样昏倒在沙滩上。
当我醒来时，卡莉娜像一个美丽迷人的巨人一样站在我的上方，高大而华丽。她穿着鲜橙色的泳衣，戴着滑稽的红色眼镜，看起来就像是太阳一般。她弯下身，在我的脸颊上轻轻地吻了一下。她身上没有任何海的味道。“祝贺你，你通过了第一个考验。”卡莉娜用柔和的声音对我耳语道。我不禁揣摩她说这话是什么意思。
注：本文中所涉及到的图表、注解、公式等内容请以PDF格式阅读原文。
There was an ocean (it was bigger than the Indian, deeper than the Atlantic, bluer than the Pacific) between us. It shadowed us, it followed us around as we walked, it 1)wedged itself between us like a rude 2)pedestrian and kept us from ever quite connecting.
I was a late starter, and by the time I met Karina I was eager to 3)latch onto something good. She had soft 4)features and shiny dark hair. She thought somehow that I was brilliant and remarkable in some 5)intangible way I never fully quite grasped. We had a good thing going for a while, but we never really knew each other, not in any way that matters, and what started as a 6)puddle grew into a pool, a stream, then a river, a lake, a 7)gulf, a sea, and finally, a 8)full-fledged ocean, deep and wide.
I had to 9)take a stand, and I told Karina that the situation had grown intolerable. We had to do something. So we decided to meet each other halfway. We’d leap into the ocean from opposite shores. We’d brave the waves and the sharks, and if it was meant to be, we’d meet up somewhere in the middle and when the rescue boat motored by, we’d be saved, together.
But it was winter and the currents were 10)choppy and cold. I survived eating fish and seaweed, drinking salty water that only deepened my thirst, leaving my throat 11)parched with loneliness. I thought of Karina going through all the same trials and 12)tribulations, swimming toward me, 13)gasping for air, risking her life all in the name of the noble, 14)uncharted experiment that we’d begun. And though I loved her for it, I wondered why she’d agreed to it, and I found myself suddenly regretting the entire thing. And my limbs were 15)numb from swimming, and my face was frozen, and all I could think about was the sight of land, the shoreline, and 16)baking dry in the sun.
But then one of those remarkable things happened, the kind of thing that only happens in stories like this, stories of the imagination sent 17)careening out of control. A whale came towards me from behind and 18)dragged me along the surface of the water on its 19)slimy, 20)rubbery, shiny black back. As we glided across the 21)whitecaps I could feel the 22)misty wind 23)whipping against me like a thousand wet towels 24)snapped all at once. I thought I would freeze to death, but instead the cold started to feel like a second skin, and I 25)steeled myself against it, even grew somewhat 26)accustomed to the pain.
By the next morning, I could see a shoreline in the distance. It wasn’t just any shoreline: it was home. It was the beach where Karina and I had first met, the fish 27)taco 28)stand where we’d had our first date, and the balcony of her father’s beach house, where we’d shared our first kiss, and where I could see her now, as a tiny, lovely 29)blip.
As we moved closer to shore, I could see she was covering her mouth. I realized: she could see me, off in the distance, and she was laughing. It 30)dawned on me that then she hadn’t fulfilled her part of the 31)pact. She’d never stepped foot in the ocean at all: she’d just wanted to see if I would do it. We crossed the first line of 32)breakers and the whale, on a 33)whim, without warning, tossed me aside into the raging 34)surf. I managed to 35)paddle my way to shore, breathing heavily, 36)spitting up saltwater, and finally, 37)passing out on the sand like a beached seal.
When I came to, Karina was standing over me, a glamorous giant, tall and glorious, almost sunlike in her bright-orange swimsuit and 38)goofy red glasses. She bent down and gave me a 39)chaste little kiss on the cheek. She smelled like the opposite of the sea. “Congratulations, you’ve passed your first test,”she said to me, in a soft whisper. I couldn’t help but wonder just exactly what she meant by those words.
我们之间隔着一片海洋（它比印度洋更大，比大西洋更深，比太平洋更蓝）。它像影子一样跟着我们。我们走到哪儿，它就跟到哪儿。它像一个无礼的行人一样挤到我们中间，把我们分开，使我们连联系的机会也没有。
我很晚才开始恋爱，认识卡莉娜以后，我盼望可以获得一份美好的爱情。她长相秀气，头发乌黑闪亮。不知怎么地，她认为我在某个不可捉摸的方面很有才华而且很出色，可我从未完全领会她所说的是哪个方面。有一段时间，我们俩相处得不错。但我们并不真正地了解对方——在所有重要的问题上我们都不了解。我们之间的分歧从小水坑变成池塘，再到小溪、河流、湖泊、海湾、海（指内海），最终，变成了一片又深又广的汪洋。
我必须表明态度。我对卡莉娜说，情况已经变得让人难以忍受了。我们得做点什么进行补救。于是，我们决定在中途碰面。我们俩将各自从相反方向的海岸跳下海。我们将勇敢地面对海浪和鲨鱼。如果我们俩的缘分是命中注定的话，我们会在海洋中间的某个地方相遇。接着，机动援救船会及时赶到，我们一起获救。
可当时正值冬天，海上波涛汹涌，海水冰冷刺骨。我靠吃海鱼和海草活了下来，喝海水让我更加口渴，口干舌燥使我倍感孤独。我想到卡莉娜也正在经历着同样的考验与磨难，她向我游来，挣扎着呼吸，冒着生命危险。这一切都是为了我们已经开始的那个崇高却充满未知的试验。虽然我欣赏卡莉娜的勇气，但我还是不明白她为什么会同意这样做，而且我发现自己突然间对整件事情感到很后悔。长时间的游泳使我的四肢麻木了，我的脸也冻僵了。我的脑子里只有陆地、海岸线以及自己被太阳晒干的样子。
就在这时，神奇的事情发生了——这种事情只会出现在像这样充满想象力的小说里。一条鲸鱼从后面向我游过来，把我放在它那粘粘的，像橡胶一般富有弹性并发光的鲸脊上沿着水面拖行。当我和鲸鱼在白浪间穿行时，我感觉到那夹着湿气的海风在“鞭打”我，如同上千条湿毛巾一起朝我打来。我以为我会因此而冻死，寒冷却反而似乎开始变成我的第二层皮肤，我使自己坚强地与之对抗，甚至渐渐地习惯寒冷所带来的疼痛。
第二天早上，我看到了远处的海岸线。那可不是一般的海岸线——那是家。那是我和卡莉娜第一次见面的海滩，海滩上那个炸玉米鱼卷的小摊是我们俩第一次约会的地方。就在她父亲海边房子的阳台上，我们第一次接吻。如今，我看到卡莉娜也在海滩上，那是一个细小却可爱的光点。
我和鲸鱼离岸边越来越近，我看到卡莉娜用手捂住嘴巴。我意识到：尽管相隔甚远，她还是可以看到我，而且她正在大笑。这时，我渐渐明白她并没有履行协定中她的承诺。她根本就没有踏入海里一步——她只是想看看我会不会去这么做。我和鲸鱼穿过第一排逼近岸边的小浪花。突然，鲸鱼没有任何征兆地把我抛进汹涌的浪涛中。我用手划水，努力向岸边游去，拼命地喘着气，不停地吐出嘴里的海水，最后，我就像是一只被冲上岸的海豹一样昏倒在沙滩上。
当我醒来时，卡莉娜像一个美丽迷人的巨人一样站在我的上方，高大而华丽。她穿着鲜橙色的泳衣，戴着滑稽的红色眼镜，看起来就像是太阳一般。她弯下身，在我的脸颊上轻轻地吻了一下。她身上没有任何海的味道。“祝贺你，你通过了第一个考验。”卡莉娜用柔和的声音对我耳语道。我不禁揣摩她说这话是什么意思。
注：本文中所涉及到的图表、注解、公式等内容请以PDF格式阅读原文。