The Old Man and the Sea is the story of an epic struggle between an old, seasoned fisherman and the greatest catch of his life. For eighty-four days. Santiago, an aged Cuban fisherman, has set out to sea and returned 1 handed. So conspicuously unlucky is he that the parents of his young, devoted apprentice (徒弟) and friend, Manolin, have 2 the boy to leave the old man in order to fish in a more prosperous boat. 3, the boy continues to care for the old man upon his return each night. He helps the old man haul his gear to his ramshackle hut (破旧不堪的陋室), secures food for him, and discusses the latest developments in American baseball, especially the trials of the old man's hero, Joe DiMaggio. Santiago is 4 that his unproductive streak of failure will soon come to an end, and he 5 to sail out farther than usual the following day.
On the eighty-fifth day of his unlucky streak, Santiago does as promised, sailing his skiff (小艇) far beyond the island's shallow coastal waters and 6 into the Gulf Stream. He prepares his lines and drops them. At noon, a big fish, which he knows is a marlin (青枪鱼), takes the bait (鱼饵) that Santiago has placed one hundred fathoms deep in the waters. The old man expertly hooks the fish, but he cannot pull it in. Instead, the fish begins to pull to boat.
Unable to tie the line 7 to the boat for fear the fish would snap a taut line, the old man bears the strain of the line with his shoulders, back, and hands, ready to give slack should the marlin make a run. The fish 8 the boat all through the day, through the night, through another day, and through another night. The entire time, Santiago endured 9 pain from the fishing line. Whenever the fish lunges, leaps, or makes a dash for 10, the cord（绳） cuts Santiago badly. Although wounded and weary, the old man feels a deep empathy and admiration, for the marlin, his brother in suffering, strength, and determination.
As Santiago sails on with the fish, the marlin's blood leaves a trail in the water and attracts sharks. The first to attack is a great make shark, which Santiago manages to kill with the harpoon (鱼叉). In the 11, the old man loses the harpoon and lengths of valuable rope, which leaves him vulnerable to other shark attacks. Although he kills several sharks, more and more appear. They devour (吞噬) the marlin's precious meat, leaving only skeleton, head, and tail, Santiago punished himself for going "out too far," and for sacrificing his great and worthy 12.
The next morning, a crowd of 13 fishermen gathers around the skeletal carcass of the fish, which is still lashed (紧系) to the boat. Knowing nothing of the old man's struggle, tourists at a nearby café observe the 14 of the giant marlin and mistake it for a shark. Manolin, who has been worried over the old man's absence, is moved to tears when he finds Santiago safe in his bed. The boy fetches the old man some coffee and the daily papers with the baseball scores, and watches him sleep. When the old man wakes, the two agree to fish as 15 once more. The old man returns to sleep and dreams his usual dream of lions at play on the beaches of Africa.
