But the old man thought only of his steering and his great tiredness. He had gone out too far and the sharks had beaten him. He knew they would leave him nothing but the stripped skeleton of his great catch.
When the third appeared, he thrust at it with the knife, only to feel the blade[刀片] snap as the fish rolled.
As the sun rose he saw other boats in toward shore, which was only a low green line on the sea.
The clouds over the land now rose like mountains, and the coast was only a long green line with the gray blue hills behind it. The water was a dark blue now, so dark that it was almost purple.
But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.
It is silly not to hope, he thought.
但老人此时想到的只是掌舵和他自己极度的疲乏。他出海太远了，那些鲨鱼把他打败了。他知道那些鲨鱼除了大马林鱼的空骨架之外，是什么也不会给他留下的。
当第三条鲨鱼出现时，他拿刀子向鲨鱼戳去。鲨鱼打了一个滚，结果把刀给折断了。
太阳升起时，他看到其他一些船只都头朝着海岸，在海上看来海岸就像是一条接近地平线的绿带子。