сезонами). Indeed, there were two wet seasons and two dry seasons, in the year (в самом
деле, было два влажных сезона = сезона дождей и два сухих сезона в году).
season [si:zn] almanac [‘o:lmænək] account [ə’kaunt]
I MAKE ME A CALENDAR
IT was now just one year since I was cast upon this lonely island. Do you wonder
how I have kept an account of the time? I will tell you.
A few days after the ship wreck it came into my mind that I should lose track of
the days and the seasons. For I had neither almanac nor notebook. It would be hard
always to remember the days of the week and I might even forget when it was Sunday.
So I set up a large post by my door. At the top of this post I cut in large letters
these words:
I CAME ON SHORE HERE
SEPTEMBER 30, 1659.
Every morning I cut a little notch on the side of the post under these words.
Every seventh notch was twice as long as the rest, and this showed me that the
day was Sunday.
Every thirtieth notch was longer still and broader. This showed me that a full
month had gone by.
It was thus I made my calendar.
One morning I found, on counting up, that there were three hundred and sixty-five
notches on the post. I knew, therefore, that it was just one year since my landing.
I kept this day as a solemn fast.
I sat in my castle and thought of the goodness of God in thus keeping me alive
and safe in the midst of so many perils
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I humbled myself, and thanked him for his many mercies.
For twelve hours I tasted nothing. When, at last, the sun went down, I ate a biscuit
and a bunch of grapes and went to bed.
Having now been on the island a whole year, I had learned that the seasons there
were not the same as in England.
They were not to be spoken of as spring, summer, autumn, and winter. They were
rather to be called the wet season and the dry season. Indeed, there were two wet seasons
and two dry seasons, in the year.
I SOW SOME GRAIN (сею зерно)
THE first wet season began about the middle of February (первый влажный
сезон начался примерно в середине февраля) and lasted till the middle April (длился
до середины апреля).
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The first dry season began about the middle of April and lasted till the middle of
August.
The second wet season began about the middle of August and lasted till the
middle October.
The second dry season began about the middle of October and lasted till the
middle of February.
I could not have kept track of these thing easily if it had not been for my calendar
(я не смог бы вести учет этому так легко, если бы не мой календарь).
Just before the first rainy season began I was one day rummaging among the
shelves in my cave (совсем перед тем, как первый сезон дождей начался, я одним
днем тщательно искал среди полок в пещере; to rummage – тщательно
разыскивать что-то).
There I found the little bag (сумку) that I had brought from the ship with some
barley in it (которую я принес с корабля с некоторым количеством ячменя в ней), as
I have already told you (как я уже говорил вам).
I lifted it; it was almost empty (я поднял ее, она была почти пуста).
I looked inside (внутрь). I saw nothing there but some dust and chaff (не увидел
там ничего, кроме пыли и мякины). The rats had been there (крысы побывали там),
and had eaten the grains of barley (съели зерна ячменя).
The bag would be useful for something else (сумка могла бы быть полезна для
чего-нибудь другого). I took it outside and shook the dust and chaff upon he ground (я
вынес ее наружу и вытряс пыль и мякину на землю). It was a sunny place (солнечное
место), close by the great rock (близко к большой скале).
About a month after this (примерно /через/ месяц после этого), I saw that
something green was starting to grow at that place (что-то зеленое начинало расти на
том месте). I wondered what it was (я задался вопросом, что это было). It could not be
grass (это не могла быть трава), for the stalks were larger and stronger (так как стебли
были больше и крепче).
I had forgotten about the barley (забыл о ячмене). But I took care that nothing
should break the stalks down (позаботился, чтобы ничто не сломало стебли).
They grew fast (они росли быстро), and were soon as high as my waist (скоро
были такими высокими, как моя талия). Then I was surprised to see ten or twelve
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heads of green barley come out (был удивлен = с удивлением увидел как появились
десять или двенадцать головок зеленого ячменя).
You cannot think how glad I was (вы не можете подумать = представить себе,
как рад я был). I remembered, then, how I had shaken the bag of dust and chaff over that
very spot (я вспомнил тогда, как я вытряс сумку пыли и мякины именно над тем
местом).
But there was another surprise for me (но был и другой сюрприз, другая
неожиданность для меня). I noticed in the wet ground (заметил в мокрой земле) a
little nearer the rock some other green plants (немного ближе к скале, несколько
других зеленных растений). These were not so tall as the barley stalks (они не были
такими высокими, как стебли ячменя), and they did not seem to be the same (и они не
казались такими же).
I watched them for several days (наблюдал за ними несколько дней). Then I
saw that they were stalks of rice (они были стеблями риса). No doubt some grains of
rice had been in the bag with the barley (без сомнения, несколько зерен риса было в
сумке с ячменем), and had fallen out with the dust and chaff (вывалились вместе с
пылью и мякиной).
You may be sure that I took good care of the grain (можете быть уверены, я
хорошо позаботился о зерне). As soon as the barley was ripe I harvested it (как только