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But first, I was to prepare more land, for I had now seed enough to sow above an acre of ground.
目前，我必须先多耕点地，因为我现在有了足够的种子，可以播种一英亩以上。
Before I did this, I had a week's work at least to make me a spade, which when it was done was but a sorry one indeed, and very heavy, and required double labour to work with it;
在耕地之前，我用了至少一星期做了把铲子，铲子又拙劣又笨重，拿去锄地只会事倍功半。
however I got through that, and sowed my seed in two large flat pieces of ground, as near my house as I could find them to my mind, and fenced them in with a good hedge, the stakes of which were all cut of that wood which I had set before, and knew it would grow, so that in one year's time I knew I should have a quick or living hedge, that would want but little repair.
但不管怎么说，我总算有了掘地的工具，并在住所附近找了两大片平地把种子播下去，筑了一道坚实的篱笆把地围起来，篱笆的木桩都是从我以前栽过的那种树上砍下来的。这种树长得很快，一年内就能长成茂密的篱笆，用不着多少工夫去修理。
This work did not take me up less than three months, because great part of that time was of the wet season, when I could not go abroad.
这项工作花了我三个多月的时间，因为这期间大部分时间是雨季，我无法出门，故修筑篱笆的事时辍时续。
Within doors, that is, when it rained, and I could not go out, I found employment on the following occupations;
在家里，即雨天不能出门的时候，我也找些事情做。
always observing, that all the while I was at work I diverted myself with talking to my parrot, and teaching him to speak, and I quickly taught him to know his own name, and at last to speak it out pretty loud P O L, which was the first word I ever heard spoken in the island by any mouth but my own.
我一面工作，一面同我的鹦鹉闲扯，以教它说话作为消遣。不久，我就教会它说自己的名字，后来它居然会响亮地叫自己为“波儿”。这是我上岛以来第一次听到其他生物讲话。
This, however, was not my work, but an assistance to my work, for now, as I said, I had a great employment upon my hands, as follows, I had long studied by some means or other, some earthern vessels, which indeed I wanted sorely, but knew not where to come at them.
教鹦鹉说话当然不是我的工作，只是消遣而已。前面谈到，我目前正在着手一件重要的工作。我早就想用什么办法做些陶器，我急需这类东西，可就是不知怎么做。
However, considering the heat of the climate, I did not doubt but if I could find out any clay, I might make some pots, as might, being dried in the sun, be hard enough, and strong enough to bear handling, and to hold any thing that was dry, and required to be kept so;
这里气候炎热，因此，我敢肯定，只要能找到陶土，就能做些罐子，然后放到太阳底下晒干，陶土定能晒得既坚硬又结实，而且经久耐用，可以用来装一些需要保存的干燥东西。
and as this was necessary in the preparing corn, meal, etc. which was the thing I was doing, I resolved to make some as large as I could, and fit only to stand like jars to hold what should be put into them.
加工粮食，制造面粉等工作，就必需要有盛器贮藏。所以，我决定尽量把容器尽可能做大一些，里面就可以装东西。
It would make the reader pity me, or rather laugh at me, to tell how many awkward ways I took to raise this paste, what odd misshapen ugly things I made, how many of them fell in, and how many fell out, the clay not being stiff enough to bear its own weight;
要是读者知道我怎样制造这些陶器，一定会为我感到又可怜又可笑。我不知用了多少笨拙的方法去调合陶土，也不知做出了多少奇形怪状的丑东西；因为陶土太软，很多陶器吃不住本身的重量，不是凹进去，就是凸出来，根本不合用；
how many cracked by the over violent heat of the sun, being set out too hastily; and how many fell in pieces with only removing, as well before as after they were dried; and in a word, how after having laboured hard to find the clay, to dig it, to temper it, to bring it home and work it;
也有因为晒得太早，温度过高而晒裂了；还有很多在晒干后一搬就碎了。总而言之，我费了很大力气去找陶土，找到后挖出来，调合好，运回家，再做成罐子。
I could not make above two large earthern ugly things, I cannot call them jars, in about two month's labour.
结果，我用了近两个月才做成两只大瓦罐，样子非常难看，简直无法把它们叫作缸。
However, as the sun baked these two, very dry and hard, I lifted them very gently up, and set them down again in two great wicker baskets which I had made on purpose for them, that they might not break,
最后，太阳终于把这两只大瓦罐晒干晒硬，我就把它们轻轻搬进两只预先特制的大柳条筐里，以免它们破裂。
and as between the pot and the basket there was a little room to spare, I stuffed it full of the rice and barley straw, and these two pots being to stand always dry, I thought would hold my dry corn, and perhaps the meal, when the corn was bruised.
在缸和筐子之间的空隙处，又塞上了稻草和麦秆。现在，这两个大缸就不会受潮，以后我随时可以用来装粮食和面粉。
Tho' I miscarried so much in my design for large pots, yet I made several smaller things with better success, such as little round pots, flat dishes, pitchers and pipkins, and any things my hand turned to, and the heat of the sun baked them quite hard.
我大缸做得不成功，但那些小器皿却做得还像样，像那些小圆罐啦，盘子啦，水罐啦，小瓦锅啦等等，总之，一切我随手做出来的东西都还不错，而且，由于阳光强烈，这些瓦罐都晒得特别硬。
But all this would not answer my end, which was to get an earthern pot to hold what was liquid, and bear the fire, which none of these could do.
但我还没有达到我的最终目的。这些容器只能用来装东西，不能用来装流体放在火上烧，而这才是我真正的目的。
It happened after some time, making a pretty large fire for cooking my meat, when I went to put it out after I had done with it, I found a broken piece of one of my earthern ware vessels in the fire, burnt as hard as a stone, and red as a tile.
过了些时候，一次我偶然生起一大堆火烤肉，烤完后我就去灭火，忽然发现火堆里有一块陶器碎片，被火烧得像石头一样硬，像砖一样红。
I was agreeably suprised to see it, and said to my self, that certainly they might be made to burn whole if they would burn broken.
我惊喜万分，想着陶器碎片能烧，完整的陶器当然也能烧了。
This set me to study how to order my fire, so as to make it burn some pots.
于是我开始研究如何控制火力，烧出几口锅来。
I had no notion of a kiln, such as the potters burn in, or of glazing them with lead, tho' I had some lead to do it with;
我当然不知道怎样搭一个窑，就像那些陶器工人用的那种窑；我也不知道怎样用铅去涂上一层釉，虽然铅我还是有一些的。
but I placed three large pipkins, and two or three pots in a pile one upon another, and placed my firewood all round it with a great heap of embers under them, I plied the fire with fresh fuel round the outside, and upon the top, till I saw the pots in the inside red hot quite through, and observed that they did not crack at all;
我把三只大泥锅和两三只泥罐一个个堆起来，四面架上木柴，生了一大堆炭火，然后在四周和顶上点起了火，一直烧到里面红透为止，而且十分小心控制火候不烧裂。
