Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

写在前面的话——中国人学英语现状分析

英语是语言的帝国

全球60亿人中，有8亿人的母语是英语；2.5亿人的第二母语是英语。12.3亿人学习英语，33.6亿人和英语有关。全世界电视节目的75%、E-mail的80%、网络的85%、软件源代码的100%使用英语。40~50年后，全球50%的人精通英语。全球约6000种语言，本世纪末其中的90%将消亡。届时英语作为主导语言的地位将迸一步得到提升。
目前中国大约有3亿人在学英语，超过英国和美国的人口总和，这是中国努力与时代接轨、与国际接轨的一个重要标志。大量中国人熟练掌握国际通用语言是中华民族走向繁荣富强的必要保障。

英语学习的远期目标
在中国，英语已经远远超出一个学科的范畴，一个人英语水平的高低总是和事业、前途、地位，甚至命运联系在一起，对于个人来讲，英语在人生旅途中具有战略意义，不失时机地在英语上投入时间、投入精力、投入金钱符合与时俱进的潮流，是明智之举。

目前存在的问题
尽管在中国学习英语的人很多，但收效却令人担忧，学了这么多年英语，能够运用自如的人实在是凤毛麟角。由于运用能力差，无法品尝到英语学习成功的快乐，很多人不得不承认学英语的目的只是为了考试。

考试的压力对英语学习的积极影响
在我国，与个人命运休戚相关的各类考试，如中考、高考、四六级、硕士研究生入学考试、博士研究生入学考试、职称考试、出国考试，都考或只考英语。目前，很多人把中国人学不好英语的责任推到英语考试身上，好像中国人学不好英语就是因为有了英语考试，甚至有人还产生了将英语考试废除的想法。
大家可以冷静地反思一下:如果没有各种各样的英语考试，哪里有这么多中国人坚持学英语？国家正是利用了考试这个指挥棒引导很多人去学英语。说句实话，你不能指望每个中国人都怀着与国际接轨的远大抱负去学英语。中国曾经取消过考试，结果造成了 10年的人才断层。所以，我的看法是在谈论考试的不足时，首先应该承认它在选拔人才、培养人才方面的不可替代的作用。英语考试对中国人学英语起到了很大的积极作用，功不可没。但必须承认：如果真想把英语学好，光会做几道考试题是远远不够的。

不可缺少的环节
没有几百万字的输入无法学好英语。语言的习得是一个长期的过程，需要大量的“输入”。一个由汉语武装起来的头脑，没有几百万字英文的输入，即使要达到一般水平也难。绝大多数的英语学习者正是由于缺少了这一环节，所以停留在一个无奈的水平上。

“圣人”学英语的做法
在学英语的长远目标和考试的压力共同作用下，自然会产生学好英语的强烈愿望，但这一遇望的实现需要有很强的“韧劲（自我约束力）。春来不是读书天，夏日炎炎正好眠，秋有蚊虫冬又冷，收起书包待明年。随着物质文明的繁荣，总有一些理由使人不能安心学习。这样下去，我们的英语之树永远长不高。古人云:人静而后安，安而能后定，定而能后慧，慧而能后梧，悟而能后得。很有道理。在四川大足佛教石刻艺术中，有一组大型佛雕《牧牛图》，描绘了一个牧童和牛由斗争、对抗到逐渐协调、融合，最后合而为一的故事。佛祖说:“人的心魔难伏，就像牛一样，私心杂念太多太多;修行者就要像牧童训练他们，驯服他们，以完美自己的人生。”那些具有很强心力的人.我们姑且称其为“圣人”，他们能够驯服那些影响我们学习的大牛、小牛，抵制各种诱惑，集中精力，专心学习，到达成功的彼岸。

凡人的困惑
在目前的教育体系中，学好英语是需要坚韧不拔的毅力的。但问题是我们大多数平凡的人无法和圣人相比，所以在学英语的征途上，失败者多，成功者少。客观地讲，即使采用不太高的标准来衡量在中国英语学习的失败率应该在99%以上，有的人说难道我们不能把大多数的人都变成圣人吗，这样大多数人就可以学好英语了。我们不得不承认大多数凡夫俗子是不能够成为圣人的。值得我们深思的是，目前的英语学习体系没有给大多数人提供一条平坦的道路。

兴趣——英语学习成功的真正源泉
我和大家一样都是凡人，我也曾经遇到过学英语的困惑，干巴巴的课文无论怎样都激不起我的兴趣。幸运的是我有一个在国外生活多年的姐姐，有一次她回国，给我带来很多浅显有趣的读物。我拿起一本一读，觉得很简单，一个星期就读完了。就英语学习而言，一部英文小说其实就是用英语建构的一个“虚拟世界”。那里有人，有人的心灵和人与人之间关系的揭示，有人与自然、与社会的冲突和调和。走进一部英文小说，你实际上就已经“生活”在一个“英语世界”里了，不愁没有东西可学。经典作品要读，写得好的当代通俗小说也要读。我一共读了 50本，从此对英语产生了兴趣，英语水平有了很大的提高。还是爱因斯坦说得好：“兴趣是最好的老师。”

《新概念英语》的主编L. G. Alexander的启示
中国人读英语书有个特点，越读不懂越读，习惯于读满篇都是生词的文章。L. G. Alexander先生是世界著名的英语教学专家，他的经典之作《新概念英语》对于中国的英语教学产生了深远的影响。针对这一现状Alexander先生说过:“记住，你的接受型词汇量（即你听或阅读英语时能理解的部分)比你的积极词汇量(即你在说或写时能自如运用的部分)要大得多。如果要扩大词汇量，最好的办法是多听英语，多读英语，但不要超出自己的水平，即阅读那些比你目前水平稍底的书。”这才是提高英语运用能力的诀窍。
本套读物的特色：
情节曲折:本书选材的时候非常注意作品的吸引力。比方说：
《查泰莱夫人的情人》（Laly Chatterley’s Lover)：我当年读大学的时候，班上每个同学都买一本看。有的同学甚至熄灯后，打着手电筒躲在被窝里看。
《吸血鬼》(Dracula)：这个故事真吓人，我看完以后好几天没睡好觉。后采我的一个学生说他对英语从来不感兴趣，我就把这本小说推荐给他。后来他对我说:“这是我一口气读完的第一本英语书，就是太吓人了。老师，能不能再给我来一本？”
《呼啸山庄》(Wuthering Heights)：讲述的是一个骇人听闻的复仇故事，当初没有想到这本书的作者竟然是一个生活在几乎与世隔绝环境中的女孩。
《飘》(Gone with the Wind)：几乎所有的美国女孩都读过这本书，主人公斯佳丽是美国女孩的偶线，可以说我见过的每个美国女孩都是一个 Scarlett。
本套丛书收入的都是你在一生中值得去读的作品，读这些作品不但可以提高你的英语水平，而且能够提高你的个人修养。
•语言地道:本套读物均由美国作家执笔，用流畅的现代英语写成。他们写作功底深厚，这是母语为非英语的作者很难达到的。
•通俗易懂:本书是用3300个最常用的英语单词写成，易读懂，对于难词均有注释，你躺在床上不用翻字典就能顺利地读下去。
•配有高质量的音带:这样大家可以在读槿的基础上进行听的训练，请注意:阅读需要量，听力更需要量。大量的语音输入是用英语深入交谈的源泉。
这套读物供你在下课后或下班后闲暇时阅读，其优点是帮你实现英语学习的生活化，使英语成为你生活的一部分。这才是英语成功的真谛，更是任何有难度事情成功的真谛。
王若平于北京

 

故事梗概

18世纪中叶，在海中航行的船只接二连三地遭到海怪袭击，造成船毁人亡的悲剧。大海之中变得危机四伏，一时之间人心惶惶。各国政府均派出军舰寻找海怪，维护航道安全，但都一无所获。法国生物学家阿隆纳斯教授应美国政府之邀，同仆人康塞尔一道加入搜捕海怪的探险队。他们在船上结识了号称“捕鲸人之王”的加拿大人尼德•兰德。不料，一行人出师未捷，已陷囹圄。教授乘坐的军舰在同海怪较量后被打得落荒而逃。教授、仆人和尼德•兰德掉入海中后被人救起，此时方才发现海怪原是一艘超级潜艇鹦鹉螺号，潜艇艇长自称尼摩艇长。
被人所俘，教授一行人不免惴惴不安，但尼摩艇长却因为钦佩教授的成就，将其待为上宾，后来甚至亲自带教授参观潜艇，将其构造、设计等机密和盘托出。虽然教授等人被软禁在潜艇上，却也凭借潜艇的先进装备大开眼界，加深了他们对海洋的认识。阿隆纳斯教授等人同尼摩艇长和他的乘员一道游历四海。他们去克利斯波岛海中森林狩猎，在太平洋最深处探奇览胜，到万尼科罗群岛附近寻找沉船。他们在通过托雷斯海峡的时候风险迭起，事故甚至夺取了尼摩艇长手下一名艇员的性命，使艇长痛苦不已。后来，艇长邀请教授等人一道，在海底的珊瑚墓地为自己死去的艇员举行了葬礼。
尼德•兰德一心想要逃走，但逃跑计划屡次受挫。他计划在托雷斯海峡附近的岛上打猎时逃离潜艇，不料在岛上遭到土著人攻击，被迫回到潜艇上，引来大批土著围攻潜艇。尼摩艇长镇定自若，凭借潜艇的先进装备，兵不血刃地击退了土著。
接下来的航行中，艇长同教授等人参观了珍珠海床，驾驶潜艇通过了苏伊士运河狭窄的水下通道，从红海直接来到加勒比海。这让教授等人对艇长的神通广大肃然起敬，也对海底煤矿的奇妙赞叹不已。随后，艇长又带教授水中访探，见识了消失的古城亚特兰蒂斯的神妙之处。尼摩艇长不顾尼德•兰德的不满，坚持要去南极。潜艇去的时候一路顺风，不料在归途中被冰山碰撞，岌岌可危。在此生死瞬间，尼摩艇长急中生智，想出了用锅炉加热冰层的办法，终于逃离绝境。其后，艇长似乎雄心受挫，潜艇漫无目的地在海中潜航。其间尼德•兰德多次策划逃走，但均未成功。
眼睁睁地看着又一名艇员在跟章鱼搏斗的时候死在了自己面前，尼摩艇长的怒火终于失去了控制。他轻而易举地将采犯的军舰击沉，舰上的全体乘员都葬身鱼腹。但此时的尼摩艇长受到良心的极大谴责，痛苦之下将潜艇驶入风暴中心，从此生死不明。教授等人抓住最后的机会侥幸逃生。
海底深处到底有些什么样的秘密？纵横四海，叱咤风云的尼摩艇长究竟何许人也？鹦鹉螺号为何如此神奇？……法国科幻小说家儒勒•凡尔纳的传世名篇——《海底两万里》带你一览海底的旖旎风光。你，准备好了吗？
 
Part One
Chapter One A Moving Island (1)
Chapter Two Support and Resistance (4)
Chapter Three My Decision (8)
Chapter Four Ned Land (13)
Chapter Five An Adventure (18)
Chapter Six The Speedy Hunt (20)
Chapter Seven An Unknown Type of Whale (26)
Chapter Eight Inside the Submarine (30)
Chapter Nine Ned Land’s Anger (36)
Chapter Ten A Man of the Seas (39)
Chapter Eleven All by Electricity (49)
Chapter Twelve Explanations (53)
Chapter Thirteen The Black River (58)
Chapter Fourteen New Methods Introduced (62)
Chapter Fifteen A Walk on the Bottom of the Sea (66)
Chapter Sixteen A Sea Forest (69)
Chapter Seventeen Four Thousand Leagues Under the Pacific Ocean (71)
Chapter Eighteen Vanikoro (74)
Chapter Nineteen Torres Straits (76)
Chapter Twenty A Few Days on Land (80)
Chapter Twenty-one Captain Nemo’s Electric Shock (83)
Chapter Twenty- two Dreams (88)
Chapter Twenty-three The Sea Kingdom (90)

Part Two
Chapter One The Indian Ocean (94)
Chapter Two Captain Nemo’s Offer (96)
Chapter Three Ten Millions of Pearls (98)
Chapter Four The Red Sea (103)
Chapter Five The Arabian Tunnel (106)
Chapter Six Captain Nemo’s Fortune (109)
Chapter Seven The Mediterranean in Forty-Eight Hours (116)
Chapter Eight Vigo Bay (119)
Chapter Nine A Continent Disappeared (125)
Chapter Ten The Underwater Coal Mines (129)
Chapter Eleven The Sargasso Sea (131)
Chapter Twelve Whales (135)
Chapter Thirteen The Iceberg (139)
Chapter Fourteen The South Pole (144)
Chapter Fifteen Accident or Incident? (145)
Chapter Sixteen Want of Air (149)
Chapter Seventeen From Cape Horn the Amazon (154)
Chapter Eighteen The Squids (157)
Chapter Nineteen The Gulf Stream (160)
Chapter Twenty A Long Journey (164)
Chapter Twenty-One An Underwater Tomb (167)
Chapter Twenty-Two The Last Words of Captain Nemo (171)
Chapter Twenty-Three Conclusion (174)

 

PART ONE

CHAPTER ONE

A Moving Island

During the year 1866, the world was shocked to hear stories of a sea monster attacking several ships that passed through the oceans. The governments of many countries were quite interested in the matter. The monster was said to be much larger than a whale. Most agreed that the monster’s shape was similar to that of a whale, however. Some declared the mysterious animal to be nearly two hundred feet long; others swore the monster was more than a mile long.
On the 20th of July 1866, a great ship was leaving India for Australia when it was hit by the mysterious animal, and sunk into the ocean, only five miles off the east coast of Australia. Just three days later, in the Pacific Ocean, the sea animal attacked another ship.
Immediately after these frightening events, people all over the world were talking about the sea animal. Newspapers continually had new stories related to the monster. Scientists, news reporters, and many others wrote many pages about their views on the newly discovered sea monster. For six months, people talked of nothing but the mysterious animal.
During the first months of the year 1867, however, interest in the sea monster seemed to decline a great deal. People were no longer cu-rious to read about the sea monster, until the 5th of March 1867, when another ship, Canadian, had been hit. Now, however, people began to believe this sea monster was not an animal, but rather a small island in the sea that floated to various places in the ocean. The ship, though, had not been hit terribly; it returned to its port for repairs. Had the ship hit a rock under water? No one knew, but after a close examination, it was found that part of the ship’s bottom was broken. As this ship’s accident was not serious, it should have been forgotten. But three weeks later, another ship was again hit in the same manner.
On the 13th of April 1867, the second ship, a great British ship, was damaged, after speeding through the ocean. Tire ship was then brought back to its port and examined. The engineers were astonished to find the same triangular hole as was in the damaged Canadian ship just three weeks before. The hole had been broken through the iron bottom of each ship in the same manner. This mysterious island moving throughout the oceans had easily made a hole through iron, over 1.375 inches thick.
The excitement surrounding this mysterious danger had returned. People’s interest in the events became stronger than ever. Now, the monster or island was now blamed for any unhappy event that hap-pened on sea. The mysterious danger was now connected to over two thousand lost ships during that time. Communication between the countries of the world became more dangerous. People were now de-manding that this mystery be discovered, so the seas would once again be safe.

mysterious (adj.)神秘的，神奇的
swear (v.)发誓；诅咒
league (n.)里格（旧时长度单位，约3英里或4.8公里）
decline (v.)下降；减弱，衰弱
in the same manner 同一条路，同样地
speed (v.)快速行进 speed through 快速通过
triangular (adj.)三角形的

 

CHAPTER TWO

Support and Resistance

While these events were taking place, I had just returned from do-ing scientific research in the disagreeable American state of Nebraska. I was, at that time, the Assistant Professor at the Museum of Natural His-tory in Paris. After six months in Nebraska, I arrived in New York at the end of March with many precious things to take back to the museum in Paris. I was to return to France at the beginning of May. Until then, I continued my studies of plants and animals. I had been perfectly in-formed about the sea monster. I had read all the American and European newspapers still without being able to explain the terrible events. I sometimes believed there to be a sea monster, indeed, but at other times, I knew such things were impossible.
I arrived in New York shortly after the British ship was damaged. The idea of the sea monster being a floating island was soon forgotten, as the monster traveled great distances in quite a short amount of time. People now believed one of two things, that either it was a monster with great strength or a submarine with a powerful motor.
Most, however, could not believe the mysterious danger to be a submarine. That one man could have such a powerful machine available was not possible. Where, when, and how was it built? And how could it have been kept a secret? Certainly, e governments of the world would have discovered such plans. Some believed it to be a weapon of war, created by a government, but this was not likely either, as it would be quite difficult to keep such a mystery a secret from envious countries, always watching neighboring nations. This would certainly be impos-sible.
After I arrived in New York, several people asked my opinion on the mystery. In France, I had published a long book, called The Myster-ies of Great Submarine Grounds. This book was quite popular among other scientists of the world, and I gained a great deal of fame through its success. My advice was asked. I did not wish to speak my opinion on the matter, as I was as confused as the rest of the world, but I was forced to. At last, I decided that this mystery must be a sea animal of great strength and speed. The great depths of the ocean are still un-known to us. We have not yet discovered the greatest depth of the oceans. What animals live in those deep waters is a complete mystery to us. We do know, however, all the living types of animals of the world. We must find this animal among the sea animals we have knowledge about I believe this mysterious animal to be a particular type of whale, massive in size, with a large tooth sticking out from its mouth, which could easily make a large hole in the iron bottom of a ship. This whale is called the narwhal. Some whales can grow to a length of nearly sixty feet. Increase its size and strength, and you obtain the mysterious sea animal that has become so dangerous. I decided that until I received further information on the matter, this was the story I would believe.
My views were accepted and discussed often by other scientists, as well as by the public. The United States began making preparations for an expedition to find this dangerous sea animal. These preparations were made in New York, where a great American ship, the Abraham Lincoln, would follow the monster. The ship was immediately sent out, but after two months, the monster had not been seen.
On the 2nd of July, however, another ship, leaving from San Fran-cisco, California, had seen the animal three weeks before while on its journey to Shanghai. The crew onboard the Abraham Lincoln was eager after hearing the news, and immediately prepared to sail towards the Pacific Ocean.
Three hours before the Abraham Lincoln was to leave from New York, I received the following letter:
To Professor Aronnax,
Sir, the Government of the United States respectfully invites you to join the Abraham Lincoln for this new journey. Captain Farragut hopes you will immediately join him aboard the ship.
Sincerely, J.B, Hobson,
Secretary of New York Harbors.

Nebraska 内布拉斯加州：美国中央的一个州。于1867年成为美国的第三十七州。
Assistant Professor 助理教授，副教授
floating island 浮岛，整块连土带植被，漂浮于海面的小岛。
submarine (n.)潜水艇
available (adj.)可利用的，可获得的
neighboring (adj.)邻近的，附近的，接壤的
The Mysteries of Great Submarine Grounds 书名《海底揭秘》
confused (adj.)迷惑的
narwhal 一种齿鲸，雄性有一长牙。
expedition (n.)考察，探险
onboard (adv.)在船上

 

CHAPTER THREE

My Decision

Three seconds before the arrival of this letter, I had no plans to pursue this mysterious sea monster myself. Three seconds after reading the letter, however, I decided it was my duty to find this animal, so the seas would again be safe for travel.
I had just returned from quite a tiring journey, and wished to again see my country, my friends, and my little house. However, after receiv-ing the letter, I forgot my tiring journey, my friends, my little house — and accepted this invitation from the American Government.
“Besides,” thought I, “all roads lead back to Europe, and the sea animal may be friendly enough to hurry me towards the coast of France. Perhaps the animal will be caught in the seas of Europe.”
“Conseil,” I called to my servant, in an impatient voice.
Conseil was my faithful servant, who traveled with me on all my visits. I liked him, and I believe he liked me. He was calm, quick, eager to assist me, and only gave his advice when it was asked for. He had come with me on all my travels for the past ten years, and never once complained. At thirty years old, he was always in excellent health. He was ten years younger than his master, but seemed a great deal more energetic and youthful than I. But Conseil had one fault, he was always too formal, even after ten years of service, he spoke to me only as a servant.
“Conseil” I said again, beginning to prepare for the departure.
As he was quite a faithful servant, I never asked him if my travel-ing would be convenient for him, but this trip would be rather long, and perhaps dangerous. What would Conseil say?
“Conseil,” I called a third time.
“Did you call, sir?” he asked as he entered.
“Yes, please prepare for us to leave in two hours.”
“Of course,” replied Conseil, quietly.
“We must hurry,” I said quickly.
“We are returning to France, then?” he asked.
“Oh, certainly, but we are not returning directly,” I answered shortly. “We will be taken aboard the Abraham Lincoln. We will help destroy that dangerous whale that has destroyed so many ships on the seas.” We then packed our things and left to board the great ship. “Pro-fessor Pierre Aronnax?” the captain of the ship greeted me as we ar-rived.
“Yes,” I replied, “Captain Farragut?”
“You are welcome, Professor, your room is ready for you.”
The Abraham Lincoln was an excellent choice for the journey, as it reached a speed of nearly twenty miles an hour, a rather high speed for a ship, but would never be able to win a battle with the mysterious sea animal. As I was settling into my room, the captain called for us to de-part from the port. If I had arrived fifteen minutes later than I had, I would have missed this amazing journey.
Captain Farragut decided we would not return to the area in the Pacific Ocean where the sea monster was last seen. As we left the harbor, a crowd of nearly five hundred thousand people cheered as they watched our departure.

pursue (v.)追赶，追踪
assist (v.)援助，帮助
complain (v.)抱怨，诉苦
energetic (adj.)精力充沛的，积极的
faithful (adj.)忠实的，可靠的
whale (n.)鲸鱼
greet (v.)问候，向…致意
depart (v.)离开，起程
amazing (adj.)惊人的，无比的
cheer (vi.)喝彩，欢呼

 

CHAPTER FOUR

Ned Land

Captain Farragut was a good seaman, the soul and leader of the great Abraham Lincoln. He was determined to find the sea animal. He believed in it; the monster did exist, and he would destroy it, making the seas safe once again. Either Captain Farragut would kill the animal, or the animal would kill the captain. The sailors on board shared the opinion of their captain. They were continually discussing the sea ani-mal, watching the ocean, waiting to see their enemy.
Besides their desire to seek out this sea monster, there was a re-ward of two thousand dollars for the first man onboard to spot the mon-ster. I watched eagerly with all the rest; Conseil, however, showed no interest in the matter. He seemed to be the only one aboard not eager to discover this sea animal.
Captain Farragut had provided his ship with every weapon to catch the sea monster. No whale-catching company had been better prepared for such an adventure as we were on the Abraham Lincoln. Better still, we had Ned Land with us, king of the whale catchers.
Ned Land was a Canadian, with a great talent for catching whales. He was skillful, calm, bold, and clever. Nearly forty years old, he was quite tall (more than six feet high), with a strong body that he moved quickly with passion and strength. He attracted many people to him, with his bold and confident manner. Although Ned spoke little to those he did not know, he seemed to be quite fond of me. Little by little, Ned Land became more talkative with me. We are old friends now, an un-changeable friendship that arose while facing terrible dangers together. Ah, brave Ned!
Ned did not share my idea of the sea monster being a gigantic whale, although every other person onboard believed the great whale did exist. He rarely spoke on the subject of the sea monster.
One evening, as we were looking out into the sea, I became quite curious about his views on the sea monster, and begged him to speak his opinion on the matter. He looked at me closely for a few minutes before speaking.
“Perhaps, Professor Aronnax, I do not believe we are following a sea monster.”
“But, Ned, you are a whale catcher, familiar with all the great ani-mals of the sea. How is it that you can doubt the existence of such an animal?”
“That is my point. No scientist who studies the stars should be-lieve in magic stars flying through the skies, so why should I, a whale catcher for many years, believe that such a mysterious animal exists? I have seen several different types of whales throughout my years as a whale catcher, but not one had been able to damage a ship.”
“But, Ned, people talk of ships that have been damaged by the teeth of the narwhal whale, which has a strong tooth, able to make a hole in the bottom of a ship.”
“Wooden ships — that is possible,” replied the Canadian, “but I have never seen it done. I cannot believe that gigantic whales could damage the iron bottoms of ships, as you say they do.”
“Well, Ned, the narwhal whale has incredible strength, as does its one large tooth, easily able to damage the bottom of a ship,” I said as I saw he was looking at me carefully as I spoke. “For such an animal to be able to live in the depths of the ocean, it must have a great amount of strength. If you or I were to travel to such depth, our bodies would quickly be destroyed because of the great pressure at deep levels in the sea. Therefore, for such an animal to live in the depths of the ocean, its body and skin must have great strength to resist the strong pressure.”
“Why! They must be made of iron themselves!” Ned Land ex-claimed.
“Yes, it must have the strength of iron and the speed of a train, throwing itself at each passing ship through the ocean!”
“Yes — certainly — perhaps.” replied the Canadian, not quite willing to believe me.
“Do you believe me now?” I asked.
“Well, I believe that if such animals do exist at such depths in the ocean, they must be as strong as you say.”
“But if they do not exist, then how do you explain the many ships that were damaged as they passed through the seas.”

spot (v.)认出，发现
talent (n.)才能，有才能的人
bold (adj.)勇敢的，无畏的
passion (n.)激情,热情
confident (adj.)自信的
talkative (adj.)爱说话的，多嘴的
gigantic (adj.)巨大的，庞大的
rarely (adv.)罕有地，珍贵地
incredible (adj.)难以置信的，惊人的
resist (v.)抵抗，耐得住
exclaim (v.)大叫，呼喊

 

CHAPTER FIVE

An Adventure

For quite some time, the voyage of the Abraham Lincoln, had no incidents, but on the 30th of June, the ship met a crew of American whale catchers, following a great whale. They begged Ned to go onboard to help them catch the whale they had in sight. Our captain agreed to let him go aboard their ship, as we would now see Ned’s great skill as a whale catcher. Ned, instead of only catching the one whale in-sight, caught another, as well.
Every man onboard was watching the seas carefully day and night, in hopes of receiving the award of two thousand dollars. I, however, was not interested in such a prize, but my curiosity forced my eyes in the direction of the sea, along with the ship’crew. The front and back of the ship were crowded with people watching the seas, each hoping to first spot the mysterious sea animal. No one could eat or sleep. Twenty times a day, we heard one man or another announce that they had seen the great sea animal, but they had been mistaken. For three months, we lived this way with continual excitement and anxiety.
On the 5th of November, our ship was less than two hundred miles from the coast of Japan. This was the last night we would continue in these waters before heading towards Europe to end our journey.
“Come, Conseil,” I said, “This is the last chance to win the two thousand dollars.”
“Sir,” replied Conseil, “I had never intended to win the prize.”
“You are right, Conseil. We have all been quite foolish, wasting our time in looking for this sea monster. We should have been back in France six months ago.”
“In your home, sir,” replied Conseil, “and in your museum, sir, is where I wish to be.”
Just a moment later, we suddenly heard Ned Land cry out, “Look out there! The very thing we are looking for!”

in sight 可见，看得见
day and night 昼夜，整天
announce (v.)宣布，通告
anxiety (n.)忧虑，焦虑

 

CHAPTER SIX

The Speedy Hunt

At hearing Ned’s announcement, the crew hurried towards him — the captain, sailors, and even the engineers came running over. I was astonished to see that Ned was able to see the mysterious sea animal in the darkness of night, but he was correct. The sea was lit up all around the animal; it had produced a powerful bright light surrounding itself. After some time, the animal raced away before turning around and coming near the ship before stopping, then disappearing under the waves. The sea monster then returned on the other side of the ship. At any point, it could have crashed into the Abraham Lincoln, causing a terrible accident, but it did not. I was then shocked to see the ship then fled, rather than attack the monster. The captain, usually quite calm, now was looking terrified.
important

“Professor Aronnax,” he said, “I do not know what animal this is, and I will not risk having my ship damaged in such darkness. We must wait for daylight; our situation will be different then. It is evident, however, that the animal is certainly a gigantic narwhal; an electric one. It must be the most terrible animal ever created, with an incredible amount of strength.”
The crew was on watch the rest of the night, all refusing to sleep. The narwhal stayed with the ship during the night, as well, remaining at the same speed as the ship. At midnight, however, the animal disappeared under the water. A few hours later, we spotted the mysterious animal again, but the captain decided it was still too dark to attack. Some time later, however, the narwhal disappeared under the waves. By seven o’clock in the morning, we were all quite disappointed to see a thick layer of fog covering the sea. We were, therefore, unable to see the animal. Suddenly, however, at around eight o’clock in the morning, Ned Land’s voice was again heard.
“There it is again!” he cried.
The entire ship then turned to see the electric narwhal less than a mile away from the ship. The Abraham Lincoln then began to follow the narwhal. I examined it carefully. The earlier reports about the narwhal had greatly overestimated its size. I estimated its length at only two hundred and fifty feet, and rose to a height of one hundred twenty feet above the water.
The captain then ordered the ship to move as fast as possible to-ward its enemy. For nearly an hour, the ship moved at top speed, with-out moving any closer to the mysterious animal The ship was going nearly nineteen miles an hour, but the terrible monster was swimming at nineteen miles an hour, as well. The ship was then able to increase its speed slightly, after going another hour without getting closer to the narwhal. The Abraham Lincoln was now going nearly twenty miles an hour, but the strange animal increased its speed to twenty miles an hour, as well, which only upset the impatient crew onboard the ship.
“We shall catch it! We shall catch it!” cried Ned Land, watching carefully, waiting for the opportunity to throw his spear at the mysteri-ous enemy. But just when he was going to throw’ his spear, the narwhal escaped under the water, then began to circle the ship, which greatly disturbed the crew.
The captain then decided to attack in another manner. He ordered the crew to begin shooting at the narwhal.
“I will give five dollars to anyone who hits that horrible beast!” cried the captain, looking quite anxious. One old man aimed his weap-on at the narwhal, shot, and hit the animal, but did not harm it. For the next few hours, the ship continued to follow, but did not get any closer. The Abraham Lincoln followed that beast nearly three hundred miles that unlucky day, the 6th of November. Soon enough, however, night came and we were no longer following the narwhal.
Now I thought we would never see the narwhal again, but I was mistaken. Just before eleven o’clock at night, we spotted the electric light of the mysterious animal, still just three miles away. The narwhal was not moving; perhaps tired after speeding through the water all day long; it appeared to be sleeping. The captain decided he must now at-tack The Abraham Lincoln quietly went towards the narwhal No one onboard spoke; all was silent. We were now less than one hundred feet from the electric sea animal. At this moment, I saw Ned Land holding his spear in one hand, ready for his attack. He threw his spear at the animal with great force; as it struck, a sound of metal hitting metal was heard. Then, a terrible shock followed, and I was thrown into the sea.

engineers (n.)轮机员
terrible (adj.)可怕的，极坏的
terrified (adj.)恐惧的，受惊吓的
layer (n.)层
overestimate (v.)估计过度，过分评价
estimate (v.)估计，判断
slightly (adv.)略微，轻微地
impatient (adj.)不耐烦的,急躁的
opportunity (n.)机会，目机
disturb (v.)使骚动，使不安
horrible (adj.)恐怖的，讨厌的
no Longer 不再，已不
 

 

CHAPTER SEVEN

An Unknown Type of Whale

I was astonished to be thrown into the sea that I did not realize I had gone down nearly twenty feet underwater. I am a good swimmer, and quickly reached the surface of the water to look for the ship. Had the crew seen me disappear? Would I be rescued?
Darkness was all around I saw a dark object leaving to the east. It was the Abraham Lincoln! I was lost.
“Help, help!” I shouted, swimming towards the ship. My clothes were heavy on my body, and kept me from swimming quickly. I was sinking! I couldn’t breathe!
“Help!” My mouth then filled with water and went under water before suddenly feeling a strong arm carry me to the surface again.
“If master would hold on to my shoulder, master would swim much easier.”
I quickly grabbed his shoulder.
“Is it you?” I asked.
“Yes,” Conseil answered.
“Were you thrown into the sea, as well?”
“No, but after I saw my master fall into the sea, I followed him.”
“And the ship?”
“I think my master should not think about the ship any longer,” Conseil responded calmly. “The ship was terribly damaged by the mon-ster’s teeth.”
“Then we are lost!”
“Perhaps we are,” Conseil answered. “However, we still have sev-eral hours left.”
We continued to swim, and Conseil’s calm manner greatly eased me, although our situation was still quite terrible. The sea was quite calm now, which helped us greatly as we swam. The accident with the sea animal had happened at eleven o’clock. By one o’clock, I could swim no longer. Conseil offered to carry me as he swam, but after some time, his breathing became quick and he was having great difficulty in swimming, and I knew then that we could not continue this way much longer.
“Leave me! Leave me!” I said to him.
“Leave my master? Never!” he replied. “I would rather drown first!”
At that moment, the moon appeared, and I saw the ship in the distance, only five miles away. My eagerness returned, and I was again able to swim. I would have cried out, but did not have the energy. I soon heard Conseil yell for help, and after a few moments, we heard another voice.
“Did you hear that?” I whispered.
“Yes! Yes’”
We began swimming towards the voice, but as we were swimming, I lost all the strength I had left, and soon was underwater when I felt a strong arm again carry me to the surface. When I awakened again, I was lying on a floating island. I saw that it was not Conseil who had rescued me this time, but the strong arm of Ned Land!
“Ned!” I cried.
After being thrown from the ship, Ned had quickly found the floating island, and immediately went to it before spotting us many hours later. After looking around, however, I realized that we were not on a floating island, but rather resting on the back of the giant narwhal! Ned then explained that his spear had not entered the animal’s skin because it was made of strong iron. I was shocked to hear this announcement. We were not on the back of a sea anima), but rather sitting on the top of a submarine! Just then, this mysterious submarine began to move. Luckily, the submarine remained on the surface of the water, moving at a rather slow speed. Soon enough, the submarine stopped, and a hole at the surface was opened. A mat) was then seen, coming from the inside. He said something, although I did not know the language he spoke, then he quickly disappeared inside again. A few moments later, eight strong men appeared and silently took us down into their mystery ma-chine.

rescue (v.)解救
object (n.)物体，目标
breathe (v.)呼吸，透气
surface (n.)表面，水面
grab (v.)抓住,攫取
respond (v.)回答，做出反应
ease (v.)使安心，减轻，放松
quick (adj.)急促的，剧烈的
in the distance 在远处，在很远的那边
yell (v.)呼喊，叫喊

 

CHAPTER EIGHT

Inside the Submarine

This was finished quickly and in silence. Who were these men? Perhaps some new sea thieves, exploring the oceans in their own manner. Just as we were safely inside, the opening was closed, and we were again surrounded by darkness. We were alone. When I looked around, attempting to see in the darkness, Ned Land spoke with great anger, and Conseil attempted to calm him.
After waiting in the darkness for nearly half an hour, light suddenly appeared all around us, the same electric light I had seen surrounding the submarine. A door was then opened, and two men walked into the room. One was short, very muscular, with thick black hair on his head. He looked to be from southern France, The second stranger I will ex-plain in more detail He had calm confidence with intelligent black eyes, pale skin, and a tall, strong body. Whether this person was thirty-five or fifty, I did not know, but he was the most self-assured person I had ever seen, with the look of a strong leader.
The taller of the two, the leader, examined us quietly for a few moments before saying something to the other stranger. I did not under-stand a word of their strange language. Alter speaking for a few mo-ments, they both stared at me in silence. I then told them in good French that I did not know his language, but they seemed not to understand me, and I became quite embarrassed.
“Perhaps if master told them our story,” said Conseil, “the gentle-men would understand the words.”
I began to explain our adventure, speaking clearly, announcing our names, as well. They listened politely in silence, but still seemed not to understand. When I finished, they said nothing. I then began speaking in English; perhaps they would then understand. Ned then continued the explanation in English, but the men still said nothing. Conseil then offered to tell our story in German, but the men still did not understand. I attempted an explanation in Latin, but they were silent. The two men, after a few moments of silence, spoke a few words in their mysterious language before leaving the room again.
“We spoke to those men in French, English, German and Latin, and they were rude enough not to respond once!” Ned exclaimed after the two men left the room.
“Calm yourself,” I said to him, “anger will not help us now.”
“But, Professor, do you not see that we will soon die of hunger in this prison?” Ned responded.
“We must not worry yet,” I said, “We must wait. We still know nothing about the captain of this submarine.”
“I believe him to be our enemy,” Ned replied angrily.
“We still do not know, nor do we know where they come from. The two men look to be from southern Europe. Perhaps they are Spaniards, or even Arabians or Indians. Their language must be quite difficult for us to understand.”
“That is the disadvantage of not having one language used around the world,” said Conseil.
Just then, the door opened, and a new man brought us clothes and coats. I did not know what the material was made of, but we were quite content to have warm clothes. While we changed clothing, the man brought in our meal, on high quality plates of silver. The table looked like the dining room of a grand hotel. The dishes were all excellent, but I could not recognize what we were eating. During the meal, I noticed that each spoon, fork, knife and plate had a letter and a phrase carved into it: MOBIUS IN MOBILE
The letter N was certainly the first initial of the name of that mys-terious captain who had come in to examine us. The phrase, “Mobilis in Mobili,” comes from Latin, meaning “changing within change.”
Ned and Conseil ate their food quickly, as did L I was then a bit more relaxed, as I realized these mysterious men were not going to let us die of hunger. After finishing our meal, we were ready for sleep.
”I shall sleep well tonight.” said Conseil.
“So shall I.” replied Ned Land.
My two friends were soon asleep on the floor, but I was still too concerned with our situation to sleep. Where were we? What machine were we now inside, perhaps in the depths of the ocean.

muscular (adj.)肌肉发达的.强健的
detail (n.)细节
confidence (n.)自信
intelligent (adj.)聪明的，有才智的
self-assured (adj.)自信的，自持的
embarrassed (adj.)困窘的，局促不安的
Latin (n.)拉丁语
Spaniard (n.)西班牙人，西班牙土著人或其居民
Arabian (n.)阿拉伯人
disadvantage (n.)不利条件，缺点
content (n.)满足的，满意的
concerned (adj.)担忧的.焦虑的
 

 

CHAPTER NINE

Ned Land’s Anger

I do not know how long we slept, but when we awoke, we no longer felt tired, as we were the evening before. After waking, I noticed that the other two were still sleeping, and I immediately began examin-ing our surroundings. I then began thinking about how the captain of this submarine would provide us with air, as our supply of air in that room would not last much longer. Humans breathe in the air, but breathe out a gas that is poisonous to again breathe in. As the room’s air supply was used, it filled with the poisonous gas we breathed out. If we had not received new supplies of air, we would soon have died from breathing in the poisonous gases. Although the room was quite large, we had already breathed in a great deal of the air supply during the night, and now the room was becoming filled with the poisonous gas we breathed out.
I wondered how the captain would supply our room with new breathable air. Would he create air through a chemical method, or would he simply go to the surface of the water again for new supplies, like a whale. I was thinking about this matter when I felt a strong wind of new breathable air come into the room. I then realized that we had come to the surface of the water. I soon discovered that the air was coining into the room through a pipe in the wall. I had discovered the mystery of the submarine’s air supply. At that moment, Ned and Conseil were waking from their deep sleep.
“Did master sleep well?” asked Conseil, with his usual politeness.
“Very well, my dear boy. And you, Mr. Land?”
“I slept quite well, thank you, Professor. But I am a bit confused right now, as I feel a strong sea wind!”
I then told the Canadian of my discovery while he was asleep.
“Well, it must be near dinnertime now,” Ned responded.
“Dinnertime, my friend? Rather, it is near breakfast time. We have certainly begun a new day,” I told him.
“So,” said Conseil, “we have slept for twenty-four hours?”
“Yes, we must have,” I responded.
“Dinner or breakfast, either way, I hope someone brings us our meals soon,” Ned said.
We waited for a great deal of time, and became quite hungry dur-ing our wait, Ned grew angry as he became hungrier. For another two hours, Ned simply got angrier; he cried and shouted, but no one came. No sound could go through those strong iron walls.
I was terrified, Conseil was calm, Ned was angry.
Then, we heard a noise outside. The locks were turned and the door opened. Someone came in, but just as he entered the room, Ned Land jumped up and put both hands around the man’s neck. Ned was holding his neck tightly, so the man could not breathe. Conseil hurried to help the man, and I was running over when I stopped after hearing these words in French —
“Be quiet, Master Land; and you, Professor, will you please listen to me?”

poisonous (adj.)有毒的，有害的
breathable (adj.)可呼吸的.适合或宜于呼吸的
dinnertime (n.)正餐就餐时间
go through 通过,经过
Master (n.)[古语]先生:用于称呼男子

 

CHAPTER TEN

A Man of the Seas

It was the captain of the submarine who spoke these words. At hearing the words, Ned Land immediately stood up. After a few mo-ments of silence, the mysterious captain spoke again.
‘‘Gentlemen,” he said in a calm voice, “I speak French, English, German, and Latin equally well. Therefore, I understood all three of you perfectly when you spoke yesterday. I know now that Pierre Aronnax, Professor of Natural History at the Museum of Paris; Conseil, his serv-ant; and Ned Land, Canadian whale catcher, were onboard the Abraham Lincoln from the United States of America.”
This mysterious captain spoke without a foreign accent, but I still did not recognize him as a Frenchman.
“You, I am sure, believe I have waited too long to come for my second visit, but I spent a great deal of time thinking of how to act to-wards you. I must say that your presence here has been quite annoying, as I have previously broken all my connection to the human world. You have come to trouble our lives here, as the Abraham Lincoln followed me, intending to attack.”
“Sir,” I said, “I realize that because you have not had contact with the rest of the world, you do not know that the accidents between vari-ous ships and your submarine have caused a great deal of anxiety in America and Europe. People are now quite frightened to cross the oceans. The Abraham Lincoln was sent out to destroy some mysterious sea monster so the seas would once again be safe.”
The captain showed a quick smile on his face before replying.
“Professor Aronnax,” he replied, “that ship would have attempted to destroy my submarine if its captain had had the opportunity to. Therefore, I must treat you as my enemies.”
I could say nothing.
“Being that you were on that ship, intending to destroy me,” the captain continued, “I could leave you in the ocean to drown now, and forget that you ever existed, as you are my enemies, planning to do the same to me. That would be my right.”
“Perhaps it is the right of a savage,” I answered, “but not that of a gentleman.”
“Professor,” replied the captain, “I am not a typical gentleman! I have left human society forever. I do not follow its rules, and demand that you never speak of such things again in front of me!”
He said this calmly, but I could see anger in his eyes as he spoke. I then realized that this man must have had experienced something terri-ble in his past, to force himself to escape to the bottoms of the ocean forever. On this submarine, he had created his own rules of life. After a long silence, the captain spoke again.
“I will allow you to remain onboard this submarine, but you will not be allowed to see certain things while here, and will be forced to remain in your rooms at certain times. Do you agree to these rules?”
“Yes, we accept, but do you mean that we will be free onboard, not treated as prisoners?”
“Yes.”
“What freedom do we have, then, as we have no other choice than to remain here.”
“You have the freedom to see what you will onboard this subma-rine, but you are not allowed the freedoms that my crew and I have.”
“Do you mean that we will never leave this prison? We will forever be on this submarine? We will never again see our countries and our friends?”
“Yes, sir, but leaving such a place is not as difficult as you may be-lieve,” the captain said calmly.
“Well,” exclaimed Ned Land, “I will never promise not to try to escape.”
“I did not ask for your promise, Master Land,” answered the cap-tain coldly. “You are prisoners here; I will allow you to live onboard, although I could easily have you killed. You attacked me. You came here and have seen this secret life I have. Do you believe I will send you back to that cruel world so the whole world must know of my se-cret? Never!”
“So, sir,” I said, “you simply give us the choice between life and death?”
“Yes.”
Then, in a more gentle voice, he continued —
“Professor Aronnax, I have often read your book on the depths of the sea. You have studied as closely as you could from land, but now your studies will truly begin. Your time here will be valuable to you. You will soon see the mysteries of the ocean.”
I was rather curious at hearing these words, and forgot for a mo-ment that I was still a prisoner.
“Well, what shall I call you, then?” I asked, unable to say anything more.
“Sir,” replied the captain, “You will know me only as Captain Nemo, and I will know you and your companions only as passengers on the Nautilus, my submarine.”
Captain Nemo then ordered Conseil and Ned Land to their room, where a meal would be waiting for them. I was to follow Captain to an elegantly decorated dining room, where we sat together for breakfast. The plates on the table were priceless treasures, as well as the paintings on the wall and the furniture of the room. We were served a number of dishes, all coming from the depths of the ocean. I, however, could not guess what I was eating, although all the dishes were quite pleasing.
“I am sure you do not know most of these dishes,” he said to me, “but they are nutritious. I have not eaten food from the earth for quite some time, and am never ill. This dish, which tastes like meat, comes from turtle. This milk came from a whale, this sugar from a sea fish, and this jam from sea plants, which tastes like fruit jam of the earth.”
“You like the sea, Captain?”
“Yes, I love it! The sea is everything. It covers seventeenths of the earth. The beginning of the earth started with the sea. On the surface of the earth, men are able to fight and kill, but under the waters, their pow-ers disappear. There is only independence under these waters! No mas-ters! I am free!”
He then became silent, remembering where he was again. He be-came calm, then spoke again.
“Now, Professor,” he said, “if you wish to see the rest of the Nau-tilus, I am willing to show you.”
I then followed the captain into another room, the library, where I saw a great number of books covering parts of the walls. I could not be-lieve what I was seeing. There were rare books, found only in the great libraries of kings, but there, under the surface of the ocean waters, was an incredible collection.
“You must have six or seven thousand books here,” I said, quite astonished.
“Twelve thousand. Professor Aronnax. These books are my only connection to human society. Just before I dove into the ocean for the first time on my Nautilus, I bought my last books and papers,” he said before continuing. “This room is not only a library, but also a smoking room.”
“A smoking room!” I cried.
“Please, have this cigar, Professor Aronnax.”
He offered me the cigar, and I began smoking, surprised by its fine quality.
“It is excellent,” I said, “but it is not tobacco.”
“No!” answered the captain. “This tobacco comes from a sea plant.” As he spoke, he opened another door into a luxurious sitting room, nearly thirty feet long, eighteen feet wide, and fifteen feet high. The ceiling and walls were decorated with priceless paintings, a collection more valuable than those of several museums around the world. Also displayed were several collections of the rarest sea animals from around the world, as well as various types of pearls: pink pearls from the waters of the Middle East, and green, yellow, blue, and black pearls from every other ocean. Some such pearls were larger than a bird’s egg, worth mil-lions. Captain Nemo must have spent a great deal to have such a collec-tion, but just as I was thinking about this, he began to speak.
“I see you are examining my collection of pearls. I have collected each one with my own hand, and I have researched every sea on this earth.”
“No museum on earth has such a collection as you have, but I still must see how this amazing Nautilus is able to travel to such mysterious places.”
“You will soon discover the mysteries of this submarine, but first I must show you to your room, which is next to mine,” He then took me to an elegant room, with a bed and several other pieces of furniture. The captain then showed me his room, which had nothing but a small iron bed and a table, with no comforts, only the necessary furniture. He then asked me to sit down, and he began to explain the mystery of the Nau-tilus.

presence (n.)存在，到场
previously (adv.)先前，以前
contact (n.)接触，联系
savage (n.)野蛮人，凶恶之人
typical (adj.)通常的，标准的
certain (pron.)某些，某一个
prisoner (n.)囚犯，俘虏
companion (n.)同伴
Nautilus 鹦鹉螺，潜水器
elegantly (adv.)优美地，雅致地
decorate (v.)装饰
treasure (n.)珍品,财宝
nutritious (adj.)有营养的，营养丰富的
turtle (n.)龟，甲鱼
dive (v.)潜水
luxurious (adj.)豪华的,奢侈的
sitting room 客厅,起居室
display (v.)展示，陈列
 
 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

All by Electricity

There were instruments hanging on the wall of his room, as well as in the other rooms of the submarine, showing its location and direction. Nearby, were the other instruments: the thermometer, giving the tem-perature inside the submarine, and a barometer, explaining the pressure within the Nautilus, whether on the surface of the water, or in the depths of the ocean.
“And these instruments here,” he explained, “are used to control the lights, the warmth within the submarine, and are the most important element of the Nautilus. In short, they are used to control electricity.”
“Electricity?” I cried in surprise.
“Yes, sir. I use the chemicals found in seawater to create the elec-tricity. I depend upon the seawater to produce the electricity, and the electricity gives heat, light, motion, and life to the Nautilus.”
“But not the air you breathe?”
“Oh! I could easily create the air from separating the chemicals that make up water, but I have no need to, as I often go to the surface of the water, and I have a great deal of air stored, if I am unable to come to the surface quickly.”
“It is incredible, Captain!”
“We have not finished, Professor Aronnax. You still have not seen the back of the Nautilus.”
At the front of the submarine, I saw the dining room, nearly fifteen feet long, separated from the library, which was also fifteen feet long. Then came the large sitting room, thirty feet long, which was separated from the captain’s room, about fifteen feet in length, and mine, almost eight feet long, and last, a room filled with stored air, about twen-ty-three feet in length. In total, the front of the submarine was nearly one hundred and five feet long. The doors were all tightly shut, if there was ever a leak in one of the rooms.
I followed the captain to the center of the submarine, where we came to an iron ladder. I asked the captain what was on the second level, and was told there was a small boat there.
“What? You have a boat?” I exclaimed in surprise.
“Of course, it’s an excellent boat, used for fishing or for pleasure,” Captain Nemo replied calmly. “This boat is attached to the top of the submarine, which can easily separate itself from the rest of the Nautilus, allowing the boat to go to the surface, while the submarine remains far below.”
“But how do you get back onboard the submarine?”
“I do not come back, Professor Aronnax; the submarine comes to me, as there is an electric wire connected to the boat, and I send a mes-sage through the wire when I wish for the Nautilus to come to the sur-face.”
“Really,” I said, quite astonished, “nothing could be simpler.”
After passing the stairs leading to the platform, from which we had first entered the submarine, we came to Conseil and Ned’s room, nearly six feet long, where they were happily eating their breakfast. Then, a door opened into a kitchen nine feet long. There, I observed that elec-tricity was used for all the cooking and the making of drinking water. Near the kitchen was a bathroom, complete with hot and cold water. Next to the kitchen was a large sleeping room, nearly sixteen feet long, with several beds. I then realized there must be a great number of men aboard the Nautilus. Next was the engine room, which had been created by Captain Nemo himself. This room was over sixty-five feet long, di-vided into two parts, one for producing electricity, and the other for di-recting the submarine. I examined the various machines carefully, hop-ing to fully understand how the submarine worked. The captain then explained in great detail the various machines and each one’s purpose. I soon discovered that the maximum speed of the Nautilus was nearly fifty miles an hour. I had several questions to ask, so the captain and I returned to the sitting room to discuss the incredible sea machine in greater detail.

instrument (n.)仪表，仪器，工具
location (n.)所在地，定位
thermometer (n.)温度计，体温计
barometer (n.)气压计，晴雨表
leak (n.)泄漏，渗漏
attach (v.)缚上，系上
platform (n.)平台，台
engine room 轮机舱
maximum (adj.)最高的，最多的，最大极限的

 

CHAPTER TWELVE

Explanations

A moment after we were settled into the sitting room, the captain showed me a drawing of the Nautilus, and began explaining his crea-tion in great detail.
“Professor Aronnax, you see here that the submarine is shaped like a cigar, with a length of 232 feet, and a maximum width of twenty-six feet. There are two iron coverings, one inside the other. At each end of the submarine are breathable air storage rooms. If I wish for the Nauti-lus to sink, I simply fill the rooms with enough seawater for it to sink. Do you understand my explanation?”
“I do, I can understand how the submarine is able to sink, but I still do not know how you are able to go to such depths in the ocean under such great pressure.”
“If I wish to go to great depths in the ocean, I must sink at a low speed, so the passengers are able to get used to the pressure changes. And when I wish to return to the surface, I simply use electricity to empty the storage space that has been filled with water, therefore al-lowing the Nautilus to rise again. My submarine has a great amount of power, with the use of electricity, which gives life to the submarine. If I wish to travel five or six miles below the surface, I must move at quite a low speed. We are able to see our path through the glass box, where members of my crew control the direction. This glass is nearly ten inches thick, able to resist the great pressure deep under the surface of the oceans. The Nautilus’ path is lit by a powerful electric light, allow-ing the Nautilus to see nearly half a mile ahead.”
“Excellent, Captain, but now I must ask you about the accident with the Canadian ship, the Scotia. Had you intended to damage the ship?”
“No, that was, indeed, an accident, sir. I was sailing only one fathom below the surface of the water, when the two crashed.”
“Well, now what about the accident with the Abraham Lincoln?”
“Professor, that ship was attacking me, therefore I was forced to defend myself.”
“Ah, Captain! Your Nautilus is certainly incredible.”
“Yes, Professor. I love it as if it were part of myself. Here, below the ocean’s surface, there are no other ships to crash into; no fire to fear, as the submarine is made entirely of iron; and the electricity supplies all our needs. In the depths of the ocean, there is only calm. I can under-stand this creation perfectly, as I am not only the captain, but also the builder and engineer.”
“But how were you able to build this Nautilus in secret?”
“Each part, Professor Aronnax, has come from a different part of the earth. The bottom came from southern France, the iron coverings came from London, the storage spaces came from Sweden, and the measurement instruments came from New York. I had the parts taken to a deserted island where my crew and I met to build the great submarine. When we finished our work, we destroyed everything else we had brought to the island, so no one would know we had been there.”
“So, the cost of this submarine was quite expensive?”
“Professor Aronnax, the cost of this submarine was nearly 147,500 English pounds, and about 200,000 pounds for the collection of paint-ings you have seen.”
“You are rich, then?”
“Quite rich, sir. I could easily pay off France’s debt, but still have a fortune.”

empty (v.)倒空，腾空
therefore (adv.)因此，所以
fathom 英寻。1英寻约合1.83米。
crash (v.)碰撞，坠落，坠毁
entirely (adv.)完全地，彻底地
part (n.)零件，部件
deserted island 无人岛
payoff 还清(债务)等,付清

 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The Black River

The earth was once covered completely in water, but after some time, the mountaintops began to appear, then islands were seen, which later settled to form the continents of the earth. The shape of the continents allows us to divide the seas into five great bodies of water: the Arctic of the North Pole, the Antarctic of the South Pole, the Indian, the Atlantic, and the Pacific Oceans.
The Pacific Ocean stretches between Asian and America, and is considered to be the quietest of seas, producing a great deal of rain. It was in this ocean that I was introduced to the Nautilus and its mysterious captain.
“Sir,” said Captain Nemo, “it is almost noon, we will now go to the surface.”
A few minutes later, we were at the surface of the water, I went to the central stairs and walked up to the surface of the ocean. The plat-form was only three feet out of the water. I noticed that the iron pieces put together to make the covering looked a great deal like the skin of a fish. I now understood why so many ships that had seen the Nautilus, thought it to be a great sea animal. The sea was beautiful. I could see nothing but the ocean, no islands or ships. A great desert of water.
Captain Nemo came to the surface to take observations on our lo-cation. I looked at the sea, near the Japanese coast, one last time before returning into the submarine.
“And now, sir, I must attend to the Nautilus and my crew, so I must leave you,” said the captain. “We are currently twenty-six fathoms be-low the surface of the ocean. Here are maps of the oceans of the world. And now, I must go.”
For the next hour, I could think of nothing but what captain had told me that morning. I began examining one of the sea maps, showing the various sea rivers of the earth. The sea has large rivers, just as the continents do. These waters are known for their direction, temperature, and color. There are five main sea rivers of the earth: one in the North Atlantic, a second in the South Atlantic, a third in the North Pacific, a fourth in the South Pacific, and a fifth in the Southern Indian Ocean.
On one of the maps, the captain had shown me our location, flow-ing toward the northeast in one of the many sea rivers, called the Black River. I was examining this map when Conseil and Ned Land walked into the sitting room. They were shocked at what they saw.
“Where are we?” exclaimed the Canadian. “In a museum in Cana-da?”
“No. my friends,” I answered, “you are not in Canada, but rather on the Nautilus 150 feet below the surface of the water.”
“But Professor Aronnax,” said Ned Land, “can you tell me how many men are onboard? Ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred?”
“I do not know, Mr. Land, but we should not attempt to escape right now, as we know very little about the Nautilus and its crew and captain. This submarine is an incredible invention, and we should ex-plore this wonder while we have such an opportunity.”
“See!” exclaimed the Canadian, “but we can see nothing in this iron prison!”
Just after Ned Land spoke these words, the room became dark. We then heard the sound of doors sliding, and were astonished to see the sea on each side of us, lit up by the electricity from the Nautilus. We could see for nearly a mile ahead. I cannot describe the beauty I saw through that glass. The three of us stood in silence, unable to take our eyes away from the sights of the sea.
For the next two hours, we watched as the Nautilus was followed by a number of sea creatures, all attracted to the submarine by its pow-erful electric light. Suddenly, however, there was light again in the sit-ting room, and the iron doors closed, and we could no longer watch the sea animals pass by. I expected Captain Nemo to return, but he did not. It was now five o’clock.
Ned Land and Conseil returned to their room, and I soon returned to mine. My dinner was ready.

stretch (v.)伸展，延伸
a great deal of 许多，大量
central (adj.)中央的
attend to 专心，注意，照顾
explore (v.)探险，探测，探究
slide (v.)(使)滑动，(使)滑行
astonished (adj.)惊讶的，吃惊的
creature (n.)生物

 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

New Methods Introduced

The next day was the 9th of November. I awoke after a long twelve hours of sleep. Conseil came in to greet me, while the Canadian con-tinued to sleep for several hours more. I was hoping to see the captain that day, as I had many more questions about his invention. I quickly dressed and went to the sitting room, but was disappointed not to see him there.
I spent the day examining the various treasures in the sitting room, still amazed at the captain’s great collection. That day, the doors were never opened to show the amazing wonders of the ocean.
The next day, the 10th of November, I still had not seen the captain. We were surprised that he still had not come to see us. Was this man ill? Although we never saw the crew of the submarine, we could not com-plain about our situation. We were fed well, and treated with respect.
Early in the morning on the 11th of November, I felt the wind from the sea coming into the submarine. I then knew we were on the surface. I quickly went to platform, hoping to see the captain. No one was there, however. It was six o’clock in the morning, the sea was calm and the sky was cloudy. I soon returned to my room. Five days were spent in this manner. Every morning, I went to the platform, hoping to see the captain, but he never appeared. On the 16th of November, however, I received a note from the captain. To Professor Aronnax, 16th of No-vember 1867. Captain Nemo invites Professor Aronnax on a hunting expedition, which will take place tomorrow morning in the forests of Crespo Island. He hopes the professor will be able to join him.
Captain Nemo. “A hunt!” exclaimed Ned. “So, the captain plans to go on land.” “Yes, it seems he will,” I said, reading the letter again. “Well, we must accept this invitation,” said the Canadian. “When we are on land, we will know better what to do.” We then went to the map to see our location. We had traveled eighteen hundred miles from our starting point, I then spotted the tiny island of Crespo where we would begin a hunting trip.
That night, I went to bed with a great deal of anxiety.
The next morning, the 17th of November, I realized that the Nau-tilus was not moving, I dressed quickly and went into the sitting room. Captain Nemo was there waiting for me. I had not seen the captain in eight days, but I did not mention it. My companions and I then fol-lowed the captain into the dining room for breakfast.
“I hope that you all eat well this morning, as the island has no ho-tels or restaurants for meals. We will not eat again until very late in the evening,” he told us as we sat down to eat. “I am pleased to see that you do not think I was crazy when I invited you for a hunting trip in the sea. A man can live in the water if he brings along breathable air, carried in a tank on his back. Tire tank is filled with air under pressure, used to sup-ply him with breathable air through his walk in the sea. We will be us-ing such tanks for our hunting trip. The tanks I have are able to supply us with air for nine or ten hours.”
“But how will you light the path at the bottom of the sea?” I asked.
“We will have electric lanterns with us to light our way. Our weapons for hunting will be air guns, which fire balls of air under great pressure. These balls also hold a smaller ball of glass, which holds a metal bullet, which is able to kill any animal, small or large.”
“Well, you have explained your methods completely to me. I am ready to follow you,” I told the captain.
He then took us to a dressing room.

know better 更了解，知道得多些
mention (v.)提及，说起
lantern (n.)灯笼，提灯
air gun 气枪:用压缩空气来驱动的枪。
bullet (n.)小子弹，弹丸

 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

A Walk on the Bottom of the Sea

In this room, we dressed for our hunting expedition. After discov-ering that this trip would be underwater, Ned was rather upset about the adventure, as he would have no way to escape during this hunting trip, but still joined us.
We were then placed in heavy suits made of rubber. The chest area of the suit had another iron covering to protect our lungs from the great pressure at such depths in the ocean. We were nearly five fathoms under the surface of the water. Then, copper and glass helmets were placed on our heads. We were now ready for our expedition, but I soon realized that I was unable to move, as the suit and helmet were covered in a great deal of metal, and I discovered that it was impossible for me to walk. Soon enough, however, I felt someone pushing me through another doorway. I then felt water fill the room, then another door was open and we were soon on the bottom of the sea with the captain and another member of his crew.
I cannot explain the wonders I saw on that incredible expedition. I was surprised to see that the light of the sun lit up the ocean floor nearly thirty feet below the surface. The ground was flat, and I had no trouble walking in the water. We walked, seeing small sea animals, flowers, rocks, plants, and shells along the way. We saw plants and animals of every color on that expedition, and thirty feet below the surface of the water, the sunlight was still bright. Some time later, however, the ocean floor changed, and we were now walking through a muddy bottom, with long sea plants hanging down from the surface of the water. A short time later, our path began moving downward. Soon enough, the captain pointed to a mass of plants collected together.
“It is the forest of the Island of Crespo,” I thought, and I was right.

upset (v.)扰乱，使不适，使心烦
robber (n.)橡胶
copper (n.)铜
helmet (n.)头盔，钢盔
doorway (n.)门口：房间、建筑物或通道的入口;门道
muddy (adj.)多泥的，泥泞的
 
 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

A Sea Forest

As we came closer to the forest, I saw that it was made up of large tree-like plants. I was astonished to see the branches of the trees all reaching up towards the sun. There were no broken branches on the sea floor. The sea was calm and the sea trees were still. Soon after we arrived in the forest, Captain Nemo decided we should rest for some time. I fell asleep looking up at the great sea trees. When I awoke, I was terrified to see a giant sea spider looking at me closely. Captain Nemo noticed this monster, as well, and quickly shot the animal. I then saw the giant spider fall from the trees. That animal reminded me that there are many more sea animals I should fear in that mysterious sea forest. I thought this event would end our expedition, but Captain Nemo decided we would continue, and we were soon seventy-five fathoms below the surface of the water.
Captain Nemo turned on the electric lantern, which soon attracted a number of sea animals, curious to see where the light had come from. After a few more hours of walking, we came to a wall made up of rocks. It was the earth! Here was the beginning of the island.
We then began our return to the Nautilus. This new path was quite steep, making the walk rather painful. I then heard the captain shoot his gun, and a large sea animal ahead of us then fell to the ocean floor. Captain Nemo then put the great animal over his shoulder, and we continued our journey. After another two hours of walking, I was horrified to see two sharks nearby. They were terrible-looking animals, with iron jaws that could easily crush a human. Luckily, these terrible monsters did not see us as they swam by, as sharks have terrible sight. Half an hour after, we arrived at the Nautilus. The outer door had been left open, and we entered. Captain Nemo then let the water escape and the room was soon empty of water. The inside door was opened, and we were taken inside. There, our suits and helmets were taken off, and we re-turned to our rooms for food and sleep. I thought about our incredible adventure for the rest of the evening until I fell asleep.

spider (n.)蜘蛛，蛛形目动物
steep (adj.)陡峭的，险竣的
horrified (n.)惊悸的，惊骇的
crush (v.)压碎

 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Four Thousand Leagues Linder the Pacific Ocean

The next morning, the 18th of November, I went up to the platform early, no longer feeling tired after the long sea adventure the day before. Captain Nemo soon appeared to take observations on our location, but said nothing to me. A few moments later, a number of other men came up to the platform, as well. They came from nations all over the world, but onboard the Nautilus, only used their mysterious language that I had heard the captain speak.
Just after I stepped back into the submarine, the captain turned to speak to me. “Professor Aronnax,” he asked, “do you know the depth of the ocean?”
“I believe the depth in the Atlantic Ocean to be nearly four thousand fathoms, and about 1,200 fathoms in the Mediterranean, but the deepest levels of the sea are known to be in the South Atlantic Ocean, nearly 7,500 fathoms, or one and three quarters leagues.”
“Well, Professor,” replied the captain, “we shall show you areas deeper than that, I hope.”
During the next few weeks, I saw the captain very little. Nearly every day, for a short time, the iron doors in the sitting room were opened, allowing us to observe the wonders of the sea. The Nautilus was traveling southeast, usually sailing between three hundred and four hundred and fifty feet below the surface of the water. By the 27th of November, we had traveled over 4,860 leagues from our starting point. From the 4th to the 11th of December, the Nautilus sailed over 2,000 miles.
On the 11th of December, I was busy reading while Conseil and Ned Land watched the sea through the glass windows in the sitting room. Conseil suddenly interrupted me.
“Will master come here for a moment.” he said.
“What is the matter, Conseil?”
“I want master to look at something.”
I went to look, and discovered a sunken ship in the depths of the ocean. There were still bodies of those that were onboard, including the body of a young woman holding a child in her arms tightly. What a sight! Here, we were able to see the last moments of their lives. I then noticed hungry-looking sharks, curious about the human bodies. As the submarine turned, I saw the name of the ship — The Florida Sunder-land.

the Mediterranean 地中海,位于欧、亚、非三大洲之间。
interrupt (v.)打断，干扰
for a moment 一会儿，片刻 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Vanikoro

This terrible sight was the first of many that we were to see while the Nautilus sailed through the common ship routes. On the 27th of December, as I was examining our location on a map, the captain came into the sitting room, and pointed to a spot on the map, saying, “Vani-koro.”
I was shocked to hear the word. This was the name of an island off the coast of northern Japan where explorers had been lost in the late 1700’s. Two ships were lost, traveling through the rocky waters near Vanikoro. Their disappearance was known all over the world. The lead-er of the explorers was a Frenchman. Some time later, the French gov-ernment sent another ship to the area to discover what had happened. They arrived on the island of Vanikoro to find out from the natives of the island what had happened. At first, the natives refused to speak, fearing the strangers. The explorers soon befriended the natives, how-ever, and discovered that the first explorer had reached the island of Vanikoro after his ship had sunk, after which he built another small boat before again disappearing on the sea.
“So, no one knows what had happened to that mysterious boat he built on the island?” asked the captain with a smile.
“No one knows.”
Captain Nemo said nothing, but walked to the sitting room where the iron doors were opened.
“I found the spot where that boat was lost,” the captain told me with a smile.

route (n.)路线，路程，通道
native (n.)本地人，土人
befriend (v.)像朋友一样对待
 

 

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Torres Straits

During the nights of the 27th and 28th of December, the Nautilus left the island of Vanikoro with great speed, and in three days, we had gone over 750 leagues to the southwest.
Early on the 1st of January 1868, Conseil came up to the platform to wish me a happy new year.
“What! Well, thank you, but I do not know if this is, indeed, a happy new year. Do you mean this year will be the end of our time as prisoners, or the year during which we continue on this strange voyage?” I asked my faithful servant.
“I do not know, master. We will certainly see curious things. For the past two months, we have had no time to rest, always being surprised by the new discoveries,” Conseil replied.
On the 2nd of January, we had gone 11,340 miles from our starting point. We were now near a dangerous sea passage, quite narrow with many rocky areas, shallow water, and small islands, creating many difficulties for ships passing through. This passage, called the Torres Straits, is almost impossible for ships to pass through, therefore, the Nautilus moved through the narrow waterway quite slowly. The Nautilus was now sailing on the surface of the water, allowing us to observe the sea from the platform. The sea around the submarine was rough, often crashing onto the hidden rocks and small islands through the waterway.
“This is a bad sea!” exclaimed Ned Land, as we watched the sea with great fear. “The captain must be confident in his path through these dangerous waters; if the submarine touches one of those rocks only slightly, we all might be destroyed.”
The situation was dangerous, but the submarine seemed to slide through the water easily. Later that day, I felt a great shock as the Nautilus stopped after becoming stuck on a rock. I immediately went to the platform; Captain Nemo was there with some of his crew, examining the problem.
“Has there been an accident?” I asked the captain.
“Yes, there has been an incident,” he responded. “We will sail again. Our journey has just begun in these seas. Although the waters of the Pacific Ocean are calm, the strength of the water flows change quickly, and in a few days, we will again sail.”
I was quite surprised at the captain’s great confidence, but I could not argue with the man. Soon enough, the captain allowed Conseil, Ned Land and I to go for a hunting expedition on a nearby island, while the Nautilus was unable to sail. Ned Land was the most eager, hoping for an opportunity to escape. I, however, worried that exploring a mysterious island, with natives we knew nothing about, may be more dangerous than returning to the Nautilus.

sea passage 海上航道
rough (adj.)狂暴的，具有猛烈运动特征的，汹涌的
waterway (n.)航道，水道

 

CHAPTER TWENTY

A Few Days on Land

We had not been on land in over two months, after becoming “passengers of the Nautilus,” as Captain Nemo declared. Rather, we had become prisoners of the captain. We were eager to step onto land and experience its food, which we had not tasted in a great while.
When we arrived, we found a variety of fruits and vegetables, which we picked to take back to the Nautilus. After several hours of hunting, we were only able to find a few birds to roast. Ned was quite disappointed, as he was looking forward to hunting larger animals for their meat, which he had so wished to eat while onboard the Nautilus. Ned Land knew what vegetables and fruits to search for, as he spent many years as a sailor, going on such hunting journeys while on sea adventures.
After a full day of hunting, we returned to the Nautilus, our boat filled with various fruits and vegetables, as well as a few birds that were killed for their meat. As we returned to the submarine, no one appeared. I returned to my room and slept well after dinner.
The next day, the 6th of January, nothing was new onboard the Nautilus. We decided to return to the island. Ned Land was hoping to find larger animals on the island. After searching for many hours, we still had not found any larger animals to hunt.
Some time later, after going deeper into the island’s forest, Ned Land managed to kill a great pig, which had immediately fallen dead when it was hit with the powerful air gun. We prepared parts of the meat, but saved most for later meals onboard the Nautilus. Soon after this successful hunt, the two companions found a group of kangaroos, moving rather slowly, allowing the two friends to kill four or five.
“Ah, Professor!” cried Ned Land, “what excellent meals we will soon have! And those idiots onboard the Nautilus refuse such wonderful treasures.”
At six o’clock in the evening, we returned to our boat. The Nautilus was two miles away, which we saw from the beach of the island.
“What if we do not return to the Nautilus this evening?” said Conseil.
“What if we never return?” Ned Land responded.
At that moment, a stone fell nearby.

roast (v.)烘烤，烧
kangaroo (n.)袋鼠
what if 假设，如果…将会怎么样,即使…又有什么关系

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Captain Nemo’s Electric Shock

We looked to the edge of the forest where the stone had fallen from. A second stone hit the bird in Conseil’s hand. We stood up quickly, holding our weapons, ready for an attack.
“To the boat!” I said quickly, hurrying to the sea. Natives of the island were now running towards us, looking rather angry. Stones continued to fly towards us.
Ned Land carried the great pig in one arm with the kangaroos in the other, while still running quickly. In two minutes, we were on the boat, hurrying towards the submarine. Soon enough, one hundred island natives ran into the water, screaming and throwing rocks as they followed us. In twenty minutes, we were back on the Nautilus, but could see no one else onboard.
I then went to the sitting room where I found Captain Nemo.
“Captain!” I said. “There are nearly one hundred natives of the island coming towards the submarine.”
“Professor Aronnax,” replied the captain calmly, “there is no reason to fear an attack from them,” He said nothing more.
I returned to the platform, and watched the natives waiting for our return to the beach. The next morning, the 8th of January, at six o’clock, I went up to the platform. The natives were there, but now had between 500 and 600 people together. During the day, they remained on the beach, gesturing for me to return. I declined this invitation, however. Ned Land was quite disappointed that we were unable to return to the island for more meat treasures. At eleven o’clock in the morning, the natives were still on the beach, although I had not seen them with any boats. Some minutes later, however, several boats filled with the natives surrounded the Nautilus. For some time, they waited, confused at seeing this mysterious ship, not looking like the usual ships that passed through. Soon, the natives moved closer, now shooting arrows at the Nautilus.
I went down to the sitting room, but no one was there. I then went to the captain’s room to explain the troubling situation.
“Ah!” said the captain, “They have come with their small boats?”
“Yes, sir. They may soon enter the submarine if we do not lock the door to the platform.”
“Well, sir, let them come in. I have no reason not to allow them in.”
I then followed the captain to the stairs leading to the platform just as the natives were stepping on to the submarine.
“Come and you will see,” he said to me.
Twenty horrible faces appeared, but the first who placed his hand on the stair-rail suddenly screamed and ran back to the platform.

rail:
a wooden or metal bar placed around sth as a barrier or to provide support 栏杆；扶手；围栏
She leaned on the ship’s rail and gazed out to sea.
她靠着船上的护栏，凝望大海。

Ten of his companions did the same, and were shocked by the electricity of the stair-rail. Ned Land ran to the stair-rail, attempting to defend the submarine, but was shocked, as well.
“I have been shocked!” he cried.
This explains all. It was not a stair-rail, but rather a thick wire with electricity flowing through. Meanwhile, the natives quickly returned to their boats, too hurt and frightened by the mysterious ship. At that moment, the seawater began flowing more quickly, and the Nautilus was soon floating in the water again. The speed was slow at first, but increased, sailing on the surface of the ocean and was soon out of the Strait of Torres.

scream (v.)尖声叫，尖声喊叫
gesture (v.)做手势，以手势表示
decline (v.)婉辞,谢绝
troubling (adj.)令人头疼的，麻烦的
defend (v.)防御，保卫，保护
meanwhile (adv.)同时
 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Dreams

The next day, the 10th of January, the Nautilus continued on its journey at nearly thirty-five miles an hour. I went up to the platform and found the captain looking at the sea through one of his glass instruments for quite some time. He then turned to another crewmember to say something in their strange language. The other man looked quite upset, with tears in his eyes. I wondered about what the captain was looking for, as we were hundreds of miles away from land. I went down into the sitting room where I found another instrument for seeing faraway distances. I went again to the platform to look when the captain threw the instrument out of my hand.
Had I upset the captain? Had he thought I discovered some secret of his? No, he was not angry with me, as he was now looking again at that spot far away from us.
“Professor Aronnax,” he said calmly after a few moments, “I must have you and your companions restricted from this area for now.” I was then taken to the room where I spent the first night aboard the Nautilus. Ned Land and Conseil were there, as well.
Our breakfast soon arrived, and Ned was disappointed to see only food from the sea on our plates. Soon enough, Ned fell asleep, and I was surprised to see Conseil fall asleep, as well. I tried to resist sleep, but it was impossible. I could do nothing but close my eyes.

restrict (v.)限制，约束，限定

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The Sea Kingdom

The next clay, I was surprised to wake up in my own room. I quickly dressed and went to the platform. Conseil and Ned were waiting for me there. They, too, were surprised to wake up in their room, and we soon realized that Captain Nemo had put something in our food so we would know nothing about what had happened the day before. The Nautilus was quieter than usual that morning, which was quite mysterious. Captain Nemo did not appear.
At two o’clock in the afternoon, I was in the sitting room writing when the captain came in, looking quite nervous. I looked at him; he seemed rather tired, as if he had not slept the night before. He walked around the room quickly, then sat down, picked up a book, then put it down. He seemed quite uneasy. After a long silence, he spoke to me.
“Are you a doctor, Professor Aronnax?”
I was quite surprised to hear such a question.
“Are you a doctor?” he repeated.
“Well,” I said, “I was a doctor for several years before entering the museum.”
“Very well, will you please examine one of my men? He has become ill.”
I knew there was a connection between this illness and the events of the day before, and I was rather interested in the mystery. I followed the captain to the back of the submarine. We walked past a room filled with several beds, and I realized the room was the crew’s living space. I was then taken to a room nearby where a man about forty years old lay dying on a bed. He was not only ill, but was wounded; his head was covered in bandages and blood. It was a terrible wound; part of his brain was exposed after being struck with a strong weapon.
“What caused this wound?” I asked.
“A shock to the submarine broke one of the engines, which struck his head, but tell me your opinion on his wound,” the captain said nervously.

a violent shaking movement that is caused by an explosion, earthquake, etc. （由爆炸、地震等引起的）剧烈震动，剧烈震荡
The shock of the explosion could be felt up to six miles away.
爆炸引起的剧烈震荡在六英里之外都能感觉到。
The bumper absorbs shock on impact.
遇到撞击时保险杠能减轻震动。

I was silent for a moment.
“You may speak,” said the captain. “This man does not understand French.”
“He will be dead in two hours.”
“Nothing can save him?”
“Nothing.”
I saw tears fill the captain’s eyes and a look of great pain on his face.
“You can go now, Professor Aronnax,” the captain said after a few moments of silence.
The rest of the day, I could think of nothing but that man with the mysterious wound. The next morning, I met Captain Nemo on the platform. As soon as he saw me, he walked over.
“Professor, I would like to invite you on a walk through the sea.”
“With my companions?” I asked.
“If they would like to come.”
At eight o’clock in the morning, we went for our second sea adventure. After walking for two hours, we stopped, but there were no sea trees or plants around us. I turned around to see Captain Nemo’s men behind us. Ned Land and Conseil were near me. We watched as the men began digging a large hole in the ocean floor. I understood all! This was a burial ground under the sea for the crew of the Nautilus. Soon enough, the wounded man’s body was carefully placed in the hole, and his comrades knelt down to pray for their companion. We then returned to the submarine.
After we arrived, I went to the platform; Captain Nemo was soon there, as well.
“So, this man died during the night?” I asked him.
“We will not forget him,” he said, beginning to cry. “Our peaceful burial ground is there, over one hundred feet below the surface of the water.”
“Your dead comrades sleep quietly, Captain, safe from sharks.”
“Yes, sir, safe from sharks and men,” the captain said sadly.

uneasy (adj.)心神不安的，不自在的，不稳定的，不舒服的
bandage (n.)绷带
expose (v.)使暴露，受到，使曝光
ocean floor 海底，洋床，海床
kneel (v.)跪下
pray (v.)祈祷，祷告
peaceful (adj.)平静的，安宁的

 

PART TWO

CHAPTER ONE

The Indian Ocean

We now come to the second part of our journey under the sea. I realized that Captain Nemo was preparing for his death. There, none of the ocean’s monsters could disturb the last sleep of the Nautilus crew. “Nor any man,” the captain had said; even in his death, he refused to join human society!
Conseil believed that Captain Nemo had simply become tired of the human world, unable to deal with the simple minds of human society. I, however, believe there was more to the character and story of Captain Nemo.
From the 21st to the 23rd of January, the Nautilus sailed nearly two hundred and fifty leagues in twenty-four hours, or twenty-two miles an hour. We often watched through the windows in the sitting room as fish followed the electric light of the submarine.
On the 27th of January, we spent the day on the surface of the water. In the late afternoon, we began swimming in a sea of milk-like liquid. Conseil could not believe what he saw.
“It is called a milk sea,” I explained, “and is made up of a great number of tiny colorless worms, the width of a hair. These animals connect together for several leagues.”
“Several leagues!” exclaimed Conseil.
Several hours later, we were again in the clear waters of the ocean, having passed through the milk sea.

last sleep 死，长眠
liquid (n.)液体，流体
worm (n.)蠕虫，爬虫

 

CHAPTER TWO

Captain Nemo’s Offer

On the 2801 of January, I went up to the platform and noticed a group of mountains about two thousand feet high. I soon discovered that we were near an island off the coast of India. This island was fa-mous for its pearls, deep under the nearby waters.
“Would you like to see those beds of pearls?” the captain asked.
“Certainly, Captain.”
“We will see the beds of pearls, but we will not see men fishing for them, as the season for pearl fishing has not yet begun. But, Professor Aronnax, you are not afraid of sharks, correct?”
“Sharks!” I exclaimed.
“I am not familiar with those types of fish,” I responded, trying to hide my fear.
“We are familiar with them,” replied Captain Nemo, “and you will be soon, as well. But, we shall also have our weapons with us. So, I will see you early tomorrow morning, sir.” Captain Nemo then left me.
Some oyster shells have been found with over one hundred pearls inside. These lovely wonders are produced when a grain of sand reach-es the inside of the shell, and the pearl builds around that grain of sand year after year. The fishermen pull apart these shells to find the pearls inside. The oyster cannot survive in the open air, and usually dies after a few days. The pearls are priced depending on their size and color. Thinking about our sea adventure the next day, I was still quite worried about meeting sharks while in the sea, their own home. Conseil and Ned Land did not share my worries, however, and so I decided I must be brave.

offer (n.)邀请，提议
fishing (n.)捕鱼，打捞
oyster (n.)牡蛎，蚝
grain (n.)细粒,颗粒
 

 

CHAPTER THREE

Ten Millions of Pearls

At four o’clock in the morning, I was awoken by a crewmember, and told to prepare for the pearl hunt. I quickly dressed and went to the sitting room where Captain Nemo was waiting for me.
“Professor Aronnax, are you ready to begin?”
“I am ready.”
“Then, please follow me.”
The captain took us to the boat where five other men were waiting with our diving suits and helmets. The pearl beds were rather close to land. The water was too shallow for the Nautilus to sail into, so we were to take the boat there, then dive into the pearl beds.
“Here we are, Professor Aronnax,” said Captain Nemo. “You see that bay over there?” he asked, pointing in the distance. “In a month, those waters will be filled with pearl divers.”
We soon arrived and put on our diving suits and helmets. Just before we were to dive into the bay, I asked the captain for the air gun I had used on the hunting trip.
“Guns? What for? You will not need a gun. Here, this knife has a strong blade, and will be much more useful for you.”
We then dove into the water and were soon on the bottom of the ocean floor. At about seven o’clock in the morning, we came to a cave where we found millions of pearl oysters. We were not allowed to ex-amine these wonders, as the captain continued on his path, and we were to follow. After walking through that cave, we entered a deeper cave where the captain pointed to a gigantic oyster, almost eight feet wide. I walked up to examine this wonder of the sea, and would estimate the oyster to weigh nearly 600 pounds. Captain Nemo then walked closer, put his knife between the two shells, so it would not close, and pulled out a pearl the size of a coconut He then returned the prized pearl to the oyster shell where it would continue to grow. I estimated the value of that pearl to be nearly 500,000 pounds at least.
I thought we would now return to the boat, but the captain ges-tured for us to hide behind a rock near him. He then pointed to some-thing moving through the water nearby. I thought perhaps a shark was coming, but it was a man, an Indian fisherman, diving for pearls. His boat was above where he would place his findings before quickly div-ing back into the water for more oysters. We watched him for several minutes before we noticed a shark nearby. Suddenly, the man saw the shark, and I could see terror in his eyes. The shark swam towards him quickly, and the man was hit by the shark’s tail, and fell to the ocean floor. Then, the shark came back with his jaws open. Captain Nemo suddenly stood up with the knife in his hand, and walked straight to the gigantic monster. He waited with calm confidence for the shark to come. The battle began, during which, the captain threw his knife into the shark several times. The water was soon red with the blood of the shark.
I wanted to help the captain, but my fear forced me to remain be-hind the rock where I was. It soon appeared that Captain Nemo was soon going to lose this battle. Suddenly, however, Ned Land jumped to rescue the captain, throwing his spear into the heart of the shark. Blood filled the water. Captain Nemo immediately went to the fisherman to carry him to his boat, hoping to wake him. I feared, however, that he had been killed after being hit by the shark’s powerful tail.
Happily, the man was soon awake, but looked confused and terri-fied when looking at the four of us in our sea suits and helmets. Captain Nemo then placed a purse of pearls in the man’s hand and we dove into the water to return to the Nautilus.

blade (n.)刀刃，刀片
coconut (n.)椰子
prized (adj.)贵重的，珍贵的

 

CHAPTER FOUR

The Red Sea

The next day, the 30th of January, I could no longer see land. We had sailed 16,220 miles from our starting point in the Japanese Seas, We were now sailing in the Persian Gulf.
I began to notice that with each passing day, Ned Land seemed to become a bit more depressed, being forced away from the delights of land that he missed so dearly. He often came to ask me where we were going, but I knew very little of the captain’s plans.
“We are going where our captain takes us, Master Ned.”
“He cannot take us far, then,” said the Canadian. “The Persian Gulf has no opening. We will soon have to turn back.”
“Then, we will come out again, Master Land.”
Soon enough, we ended our journey in the Persian Gulf, and by the 7th of February, we were sailing in the Red Sea, a narrow pathway, commonly used by ships going between Europe and Asia. The Red Sea was named for its mysterious color, often appearing to be the color red.
By the 9th of February, I decided that I must speak to the captain about his plans, as we would soon be forced to return to the ocean; the Red Sea had no opening into the Mediterranean Sea until years after submarine adventure.
“In two days, Professor Aronnax.” he explained, “we shall be in the Mediterranean Sea.”
“The Mediterranean!” I exclaimed.
“Yes, sir, does that surprise you?”
“I am surprised to hear that we will be there in two days. I do not understand how the Nautilus is able to go around the continent of Afri-ca to arrive in the Mediterranean in two days!”
“Who told you we will sail around the coast of Africa, sir?”
“Well, unless the Nautilus sails on land —”
“Or below it, Professor Aronnax,” replied Captain Nemo quietly. “There is a small piece of land separating the Red Sea from the Medi-terranean Sea. I have found a small tunnel of water under this bit of land that separates Europe and Africa, which I have sailed through. I have named this tunnel, the Arabian Tunnel, which I have passed through several times. While in the Mediterranean, I noticed that several types of fish are identical in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, realizing then that there must be a connection between the two seas. Eventually, I found this great tunnel, connecting the two seas,”

Persian Gulf 波斯湾:阿拉伯海的一个海湾,位于阿拉伯半岛和伊朗西南部之间,自古以
来就是一条重要的商业航线。
depressed (adj.)情绪低落的,沮丧的
Opening (n.)开口，孔道
pathway (n.)航线，航迹
tunnel (n.)隧道，地道
identical (adj.)同一的，同样的

 
CHAPTER FIVE
The Arabian Tunnel
The next evening, the 10th of February, the Nautilus was floating on the surface of the sea when Ned Land noticed a giant sea animal, similar to a whale, floating a mile away.
“Do you see that?” he cried with excitement.
“If you had a spear right now, Master Land, would you want to hunt that animal?” asked the captain.
“I certainly would, captain.”
“Well, I will allow you to try, but you must be careful. Sometimes, if those animals know they are being hunted, they disappear under wa-ter, then turn over the hunter’s boat.”
Ned Land, Conseil and I then stepped into the boat with five other men from the Nautilus. We were quickly near the great sea animal, waiting for Ned to throw his spear. Soon enough, Ned threw his spear, but the animal escaped under the waves.
“I missed!” Ned cried. “I missed hitting it!”
“No,” I said, “it is wounded — look at the blood, but your weapon did not stay in his body.”
“My spear!” cried Ned Land.
We then saw the sea monster at the surface again, and it continued swimming quickly. We followed for an hour. Suddenly, however, the animal disappeared underwater, then attempted to crash onto the boat, but Ned was prepared for this attack. He threw his spear into the sea monster’s heart, and it was dead. This giant weighed nearly 10,000 pounds. Several men had to help lift the sea animal onto the platform.
The next day, the 11th of February, the Nautilus remained under-water until close to ten o’clock in the evening. We would be on the sur-face of the water for a short time to refill our air supply before returning under the water to enter the Arabian Tunnel. The captain would direct the Nautilus through the mysterious tunnel. The submarine entered the tunnel boldly. We heard the strange sound of the Red Sea’s waters, which moved toward the Mediterranean quickly. I watched the captain carefully. I was full of anxiety, afraid we might crash in that under-ground tunnel of water.
At thirty-five minutes past ten, the captain turned to me.
“The Mediterranean!” he said with a smile.
In less than twenty minutes, the Nautilus had passed under the small piece of land, the Isthmus of Suez, which separates Europe from Africa.
giant (adj.)庞大的，巨大的
boldly (adv.)勇敢地，大胆地
Isthmus (n.)地峡:连接两大块陆地的狭长地区。
Suez 苏伊士 :埃及西北部一城市，位于苏伊士湾的顶端，苏伊士运河的最南端。 
CHAPTER SIX
Captain Nemo’s Fortune
The next day, the 12th of February, the Nautilus went to the surface. I went to the platform early in the morning. Ned and Conseil joined me at seven o’clock.
“Well, Professor,” Ned said cheerfully, “can you tell me where we are now?”
“We are floating on the surface of the Mediterranean, friend Ned. Look, there is the Egyptian coast,” I told him eagerly.
“Certainly, you are right, sir,” he said after looking at the coast for a few moments. “Now, let us talk of another affair, hut we must not let others hear us,” Ned continued.
I knew Ned Land wished to speak about our plans for escaping that submarine.
“Well, what would you like to tell us?” I asked as we three sat down together.
“Well, we are now in Europe, and before we are taken to some un-known land, we should attempt to escape from the Nautilus immediate-ly.”
I did not feel any desire to leave the captain, but I also realized that my companions were rather anxious to leave the Nautilus to continue their lives, particularly Ned Land. Thanks to the captain and his inven-tion, I was adding a great deal to my ocean studies, and rewriting my book of the ocean depths. Would I ever have another opportunity like this? No, certainly not!
“Friend Ned, please tell me honestly, are you tired of being onboard? Do you regret finding the Nautilus?”
After a few moments of silence, the Canadian responded, “I do not regret this journey under the seas, but I will be glad to be finished with it.”
“It will end, Ned.”
“Where and when?”
“I do not know when and where. Perhaps in six months our trip will be over, having gone through all the seas of the earth.”
“Well, sir, can you tell me where we will be in six months,” the Canadian asked, looking bothered.
“Perhaps China; you know how quickly the Nautilus sails through the water.”
“Professor Aronnax,” replied the Canadian, “your arguments are terrible. You do not know where we will be in six months. We are here, and we must take our opportunity.”
I could not say anything. I understood his reasons, and had no ar-gument left.
“Sir,” continued Ned, “if the captain decided today to allow you to leave the Nautilus, would you leave?”
“I do not know,” I answered.
“And if he gave you this choice today, and would never again al-low you such a choice, would you accept?” Ned continued.
“Friend Ned, we know that the captain would never allow us such opportunities. We must wait for the first opportunity to escape from the Nautilus.” I responded.
“That is a wise decision. Professor Aronnax!”
“But we must escape on our first attempt because if we fail, we shall never have another opportunity at escaping, and the captain will never forgive us.”
“Yes, this is true,” replied the Canadian. “But, if we do find the opportunity, whether in two days or two years, we must take it.”
“Agreed!”
“Yes, we must wait for the Nautilus to sail near the coast, then we can escape with the submarine’s boat.”
“I must tell you that I believe this will never happen, as the captain is careful never to sail near the coasts. He must also understand that we may attempt to escape.”
“We shall see,” said Ned Land, refusing to believe me.
“And now, Ned Land,” I said, “we must stop here. The day you are ready to leave, tell us, and we will follow you.”
In the days following this conversation, the Nautilus was usually underwater and far from the European coast Did Captain Nemo distrust us in these seas? Or did he wish to hide his invention from the many ships going through those waters?
One evening, I was writing in the sitting room when I looked out the thick glass windows to see a man in the water.
“A man has lost his boat! He must be saved!” I told the captain.
The captain said nothing, but looked at the man for a few mo-ments.
“Do not worry,” said Captain Nemo. “It is Nicholas. He is well known in these islands for being an excellent diver. He lives more in the water than out of it.”
“You know him, Captain?”
“Why not, Professor Aronnax?”
After saying this, he went to a chest filled with gold. He counted the pieces carefully before replacing the gold in the chest. I estimated the gold to be worth nearly 200,000 English pounds. He called two of his men to come fetch the chest. We then returned to the surface of the water where I heard the heavy chest being loaded on to the boat. After a short time, the boat returned to the Nautilus and again sunk under the surface of the water.
That night, I could not sleep. I knew there was a connection to the mysterious swimmer and the chest of gold. Where were these riches going? Who was communicating with Captain Nemo on land?
The next day, I told this story to Conseil and Ned. My companions were as surprised as I was.
“But where does he take that fortune?” asked Ned Land.
None of us knew.

cheerfully (adv.)愉快地,高兴地
bothered (adj.)烦恼的，烦扰的
argument (n.)论据，论点
distrust (v.)不信任，怀疑
chest (n.)箱，柜
replace (v.)重置，取代.重新放置 

 
CHAPTER SEVEN
The Mediterranean in Forty-Eight Hours
During our short time in the Mediterranean Sea, the captain did not appear once. I estimated that we traveled nearly six hundred leagues in forty-eight hours. Starting on the morning of the 16th of February from the Greek coast, we had crossed into the Atlantic Ocean on the morning of the 18th of February. I realized during this journey through the Med-iterranean that this trip was not pleasant for the captain. He had too many terrible memories from that area. On that land, he had not had the independence he now had with his Nautilus.
We were traveling at nearly twenty-five miles an hour, the Nautilus’ top speed. Ned Land was quite upset about such a quick journey through these familiar waters. We were now unable to attempt an escape. To leave the Nautilus at such a high speed would be as bad as jumping from a train moving at the same speed.
One afternoon, Conseil and I were observing the thick coral of the ocean that made up a large land mass underwater. This region was actu-ally a land separating Europe from northern Africa, though it was many feet below the surface.
“What if some explosion within the center of the earth should one day raise these land masses about the waves?” Conseil asked.
“It is not probable, Conseil. This will never happen because the heat at the center of the earth is slowly cooling. In the first days of the world, there were many explosions on earth coming from the heat at the center of the earth, but now the temperatures at the center are cooling with every century, which will eventually die. Every plant and animal of the earth will die with it, as well.”
“But the sun can heat the earth.”
“The sun does not provide us with enough heat, Conseil. Can the sun’s heat give heat to a dead body?”
“No, I don’t believe so.”
“Well, my friend, this earth will one day be like a dead body. Nothing will be able to live here; it’ll become like the moon, which has lost its heat quite a long time ago.”
“In how many centuries?”
“In hundreds of thousands of years, my boy.”
“Then,” said Conseil, “we will have time to finish our journey, if Ned allows us to.”
independence (n.)独立，自主
coral (n.)珊瑚
land mass 陆块，地块
actually (adv.)实际地
explosion (n.)爆炸.诳发
eventually (adv.)最后,终于 
CHAPTER EIGHT
Vigo Bay
The Atlantic! This body of water covers nearly twenty-five million square miles, with a length of nine thousand miles and average width of nearly two thousand seven hundred miles. So many of the world’s great rivers: the St. Lawrence, the Mississippi, the Amazon, the Loire, and the Rhine all empty into that great ocean.
After sailing nearly ten thousand leagues in three and a half months, a greater difference than the circle of the earth, we’re now in the great Atlantic Ocean? Where were we going?
I went to the platform after we rose to the surface for new air, and was followed by Conseil and Ned Land. The sea was quite windy, and it was almost impossible to remain standing on the platform. So, we re-turned to the inside of the Nautilus soon after.
I returned to my room, but the Canadian, looking anxious, fol-lowed me. During our rapid trip through the Mediterranean, Ned Land had had no opportunity to plan an escape, and now looked quite dis-appointed.
“Friend Ned,” said I, “you must not worry. We will soon arrive at the coast of Portugal, and France and England are not far away. We can easily leave the Nautilus there.”
After a few moments of silence, he spoke, “We must leave to-night.”
I was quite shocked to hear such words.
“We agreed to wait for an opportunity,” continued the Canadian, “and the opportunity has arrived. Tonight, we will only be a few miles from the Spanish coast. Tonight, at nine o’clock, Captain Nemo should be in his room. The submarine’s crew and engineers are not able to see us. You will wait for me in the library where I will come meet you. So, all is ready, till tonight.”
“The sea is bad.”
“Yes, I know,” replied the Canadian, “but this may be our only opportunity. The boat is strong and we are only a few miles from land. We must go; this may be our only opportunity. I will see you tonight.”
A moment later, the Canadian was gone. I spent the rest of the day thinking about the escape we would soon be taking. I knew I must leave, as I had promised Ned Land. I would go with him. A confusing day I spent onboard that day, desiring to be on land again, but unhappy to leave the wonderful Nautilus, therefore allowing my submarine studies to be incomplete.
I wondered what Captain Nemo would have thought of our plans, if he had known. What would he do if he discovered our plans? I had no reason to complain about him. We had certainly been treated like honored guests onboard his Nautilus. I had not seen the captain in sev-eral days. Would I see him before our departure? I wished it, and I feared it at the same time. The hours of this day moved too slowly for my impatience.
My dinner was served in my room as usual. I ate very little, as I was too worried to eat. I finished my meal at seven o’clock. One hun-dred and twenty minutes later, I was to meet Ned Land. I walked around my room, hoping to calm myself, but I only became more anxious. I worried that we might fail in our escape.
Soon enough, I prepared for our escape, dressed warmly and walked into the library to wait for Ned Land and Conseil. At this mo-ment, the door to the sitting room opened, and Captain Nemo appeared.
“Ah, sir!” he said cheerfully. “I have been looking for you. Do you know the history of Spain?”
After a few moments of silence, I spoke. “I know very little of it.”
“Well, let me tell you, and you will be able to answer a question that you certainly were not able to answer before.”
“I will listen, Captain,” I said, as I was still too shocked at seeing him to say anything else.
“In 1702, many riches were sent from the king of France to the Spain as a gift. Unfortunately, however, the ship carrying the riches was lost in Vigo Bay, and was never found,” he said before stopping to look at me.
“Well?” I asked.
“Well, Professor Aronnax,” replied Captain Nemo, “we are in that Vigo Bay, and now you must decide if you would like to search for this mysterious ship.”
Tire captain then took me into the sitting room, and we could see this ship that had carried the riches from France. Captain Nemo’s men were carrying out the treasures and returning them to the Nautilus. I then realized Captain Nemo’s method of obtaining his riches.
“Did you know, sir,” he asked with a smile, “that the sea contained such riches?”
“I knew,” I answered, “that these riches are worth nearly two mil-lion pounds.”
“Yes, but for the government to remove the money, the cost would be more than its worth. I, however, simply have to come here and pick up what others have lost. There are thousands of other spots containing such fortunes. Can you now understand where my fortune comes from?”
” I understand, Captain, but I do feel pity for those who could dearly use a part of this fortune to live on.”
“Do you think, sir, that these riches are lost because I gather them?” he exclaimed. “Do you believe that I do not think of those who suffer in the world? Do you not understand?”
Captain Nemo stopped after speaking these words, perhaps think-ing that he had spoken too much. I believed that although he had left human society, he still pitied those who suffered in such a society. And I then understood who were to receive those millions.

the Loire 卢瓦尔河，发源于赛文山脉，经中央高原，西流注入大西洋的比斯开港,是法国
最长的河流。
the Rhine 莱茵河:西欧的一条河流，由瑞士东部的两条支流汇合而形成，向北及西北穿
过德国及荷兰到北海的两叉口流出，流经约1,319公里(820英里)。
confusing (n.)令人迷惑的，使人感到窗烟
incomplete (adj.)不完全的，不完整的
departure (n.)启程，出发，离开
obtain (v.)获得，得到
live on 继续活着
suffer (v.)受痛苦，受损害
 

 
CHAPTER NINE
A Continent Disappeared
The next morning, the 19th of February, I saw the Canadian enter my room. I expected his visit. He looked very disappointed.
“Well, sir?” said he.
“Well, Ned, yesterday we were unlucky,” I told him. I then explained the discovery I made the previous night about the captain’s great fortune.
“Well, another time we must succeed. Perhaps tonight,” answered the Canadian calmly.
“In what direction are we going now?” I asked.
“I do not know,” replied Ned.
I quickly dressed and went to the sitting room, where I could see our direction. We were heading southwest, away from Europe, perhaps were going to the southern point of Africa. I then went to the platform. Ned was already there. We could no longer see land. Now, we had no way to escape. I cannot explain the anger Ned Land felt at that moment.
I, however, was not too sorry. I was able to continue my work, although I did feel great pity for my companion. the Canadian, who longed to be on land so dearly.
That night at eleven o’clock, Captain Nemo came to see me, which rather surprised me.
“Professor Aronnax,” he said, “you have visited the depths of the ocean by daylight, but would you like to explore the ocean bottom in the darkness?”
“Yes, I would.”
“I must tell you, the path is difficult, and we shall have to walk a long distance, and must climb a mountain.”
“I am ready to follow you, Captain,” I responded, eager for this new journey.
Near midnight, Captain Nemo and I were in our suits and helmets on the bottom of the ocean. The waters were dark, and we had not brought our electric lanterns, as the captain informed me they would be useless. He then pointed into the distance. Faraway, I saw a reddish spot shining brightly, though I did not know where it was coming from.
As we walked, I heard a strange sound about our heads, and soon realized it was rain, showering above us, but we were nearly 150 fath-oms below. The reddish light I had seen was becoming brighter as we continued our walk. I realized that the light was coming from a fire on the opposite side of an 800-foot-high mountain under the water.
Two hours after leaving the Nautilus, we had reached the top of that incredible mountain. We began to walk down the other side, and I saw in the valley below, an ancient city underwater. The reddish color was an explosion coming through the hole in the top of a mountain; such mountains are called volcanoes. This particular volcano was shooting out hot liquid through the top, but was still underwater, therefore no fire was seen.
Where was I? I must find out. I must speak, but Captain Nemo then stopped me with a gesture, then picked up a piece of stone, and began writing one word in the sand — ATLANTIS.
There are many stories told about this city of Atlantis. Most have heard legends of this famous city, though no one knew if it truly existed. This ancient city was supposedly on an island near Greece, but fell into the ocean after a terrible explosion from a volcano on its island. And now, I had come to this incredible sight. We stood there for an hour looking at the incredible ancient city. After some time, however, we re-turned to the Nautilus, though I was still shocked at having seen that legendary place.
dearly (adv.)深深她，深挚地
daylight (n.)日光，白天，白昼
reddish (adj.)微红的，略带红色的
shower (v.)下阵雨
volcano (n.)火山
Legend (n.)传奇，传说
ancient (adj.)远古的,古老的
supposedly (adv.)根据推测，大概 
CHAPTER TEN
The Underwater Coal Mines
The next day, the 20th of February, I awoke quite late, after my underwater journey to the ancient city. After waking, I quickly went to the sitting room to see the direction of the Nautilus. I discovered we were still moving south, going nearly twenty miles an hour. That after-noon, I went to my room to rest for a short time, but surprisingly did not awaken till the next morning at eight o’clock. I immediately went to the platform, and was shocked to be in total darkness. I was sure it was morning, but there was darkness all around us. The captain then ex-plained that we were underground.
“Underground!” I exclaimed. “And the Nautilus is still floating?”
“It always floats. Wait a few minutes, then the lanterns will show you where we are,” the captain said calmly. I then discovered that we were inside a mountain, which was once a volcano, shooting fire-hot liquid out of its top, but was now dead. The captain had found a hole in the side of the mount deep under the waters of the ocean to enter into the center of the volcano.
“But, Captain,” I asked, “why have you come here? The Nautilus needs no port. It is continually moving through the ocean, why have we stopped?”
“We have stopped, Professor Aronnax,” the captain explained, “because the Nautilus needs chemicals coming from coal to make its electricity. The inside of this volcano provides such coal in its great coal mines. In this spot, the sea covers a great coal mine, which I use to power my Nautilus.”
That day, my companions and I searched the inside of that myste-rious volcano, while the crew of the Nautilus loaded coal onto the sub-marine.

fire-hot (adj.)火热的
port (n.)港口，口岸

 
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Sargasso Sea
The next day, we left to sail closer to North America. We were soon in the calm Sargasso Sea, whose waters are always quiet. The surface of this mysterious water was covered with thick sea plants, which had caused problems for many ships traveling through the area. The Nauti-lus, however, traveled under the sea plants. The name “Sargasso” comes from the Spanish word, “sargazzo,” describing a type of sea plant. These plants, coming from many different parts of the ocean, collect together in the calmest part of the sea, the Sargasso, which moves in a circle, continually collecting various sea plants. I was able to examine this carefully, where most ships are unable to pass through.
All the day of the 22nd of February, we passed through the Sar-gasso Sea By the next day, we had crossed the mysterious Sargasso Sea For the next nineteen days, from the 23rd of February to the 12th of March, the Nautilus traveled through the Atlantic Ocean, sailing to-wards South America. I believed the captain planned to sail around the southern tip of South America, a frightening place for ships, with great winds, common storms, and icy temperatures. The Nautilus, however, would not have such worries on that dangerous path. Ned Land was in fear that we would not soon near land. In these large seas, we would be unable to survive leaving the Nautilus.
During those nineteen days, I rarely saw the captain, but often no-ticed his books left open in the library, books particularly about natural history. I saw that he had read through my book, writing notes as he read, often disagreeing with my opinions. During this time, we attempted to find the bottom of the ocean, but were unable to at many points along our way. We traveled nearly four thousand leagues under the water, and still could not find the bottom. At nearly three thousand leagues under the surface, we saw the last of the living animals and plants, below that level, we saw nothing but water. As we reached four thousand leagues, the iron coverings of the Nautilus began to shake, and we were no longer able to go further into the ocean depths.
“What a situation!” I exclaimed. “We are going deep into the earth’s ocean depths, where other men have never been! Captain, look at these incredible rocks and caves where life is no longer possible! What unknown sights are here! How can we remember such amazing views?”
“You are able to remember these sights with a photograph. We are able to take pictures of these sights,” the captain explained.
I could not say anything, as I was shocked to hear the captain’s idea. A few moments later, a large object was carried into the sitting room. A short time later, we had a fantastic picture of the ocean bottom.
“Now we must return to the surface, as the Nautilus is under a great deal of pressure at this moment. Hold on to something,” he ad-vised, but in just a moment, the submarine shot upward. In four minutes, we had gone four leagues and were again on the surface of the water.

collect together 收集，搜集
tip (n.)尖端，顶端
survive (v.)幸存，存活
rarely (n.)很少地，罕见地
particularly (adv.)特别她，特殊地
fantastic (adj.)奇异的.美好的
 

 
CHAPTER TWELVE
Whales
During the nights of the 13th and 14th of March, the Nautilus was again sailing south. I guessed that after reaching the southern tip of South America, the captain would sail to the west into the Pacific Ocean, therefore completing a world tour. He did not return to the Pacific, however, but rather continued going south. Where was he going? To the South Pole? I now worried that the captain’s great courage would lead us into a terrible situation, as Ned Land had feared. For some time, the Canadian had not spoken of his escape plans. Now, he was almost silent. His time on the submarine was not an exciting adventure, as he longed to be on land again. When he met the captain, I could see anger in his eyes and feared that he might become violent soon. On the 14th of March, he and Conseil came to speak to me.
“How many men do you believe to be onboard the Nautilus?” Ned Land asked me.
“I do not know, my friend,” I responded. “Certainly at least ten men.”
“Well, could you estimate the number of men onboard the subma-rine by calculating the size of the Nautilus?” Con sei I suggested.
“Well, you need to figure out the total amount of air used by one person, then find out how much air can be held onboard,” I explained. “I estimate, then, there could be 625 men onboard, to breathe in the submarine’s air supply in twenty-four hours.”
“Six hundred and twenty-five!” exclaimed Ned Land.
“That is far too many for three men,” whispered Conseil. I then re-alized that Ned had wished to take over the ship, therefore allowing him to return to land. We, however, did not know how many men were onboard.
“Professor,” continued Conseil, “I must tell you that poor Ned misses everything he cannot have. We must understand him. He has no desire to learn about the mysteries under the surface of the water. He desires to return to his life where he had freedom.”
I understood that the Canadian could not bear living in such a manner much longer, but we still had no way of escaping, as we were rather far from land.
The next morning, as we were standing on the platform watching the ocean, we saw a group of whales swimming nearby. This sighting only upset poor Ned, as he remembered his days as a whale catcher; the days when he was free.
“Ah!” exclaimed the Canadian, “if I was onboard a whaling ship, I would be meeting those whales with pleasure. But now, I have no free-dom from this submarine. They are coming closer!”
Immediately, Ned stepped back into the submarine to look for the captain to tell him of his desire to go whale catching.
“Will you allow me an opportunity to catch one of the whales, sir,” he asked the captain,
“For what reason,” asked the captain, “only to destroy them? We have no need for them onboard right now.”
“But, sir,” continued the Canadian, “you allowed us to follow a whale in the Red Sea.”
“That was to supply the ship with food. Here it would be simply killing. I do not agree with such things. Fishermen are taking all the whales from the sea because they are selfish. Soon there will be none left.”
The captain was right. The terrible selfishness of the fishermen will one day take all the lives of the whales. Ned Land said nothing more, but felt a great deal of anger towards the captain.

for some time 一段时间
violent (adj.)武力的，暴力的
calculate (v.)计算，考虑
bear (v.)日受，容忍
selfish (adj.)自私的，只顾自己的 (n.)selfishness

 
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Iceberg
The Nautilus continued sailing to the south with great speed. Did he wish to reach the South Pole? I did not think so, as every other ex-pedition before the Nautilus had failed. In addition, the season was now becoming colder, as the 13th of March in the north corresponds to the 13th of September in the south, including the South Pole. For a number of days, the Nautilus remained on the surface of the water, and we soon saw large blocks of ice floating by. The closer we sailed to the south, the more floating islands of ice we saw, but the Nautilus sailed between the great masses of ice quite easily.
On the 15th of March, the captain told me that on a nearby piece of land, there were once a great number of seals living there, but selfish English and American whale catchers had killed all, both young and old. Therefore, no life existed in that region any longer; now there was nothing but silence and death.
As we sailed closer to the South Pole, I noticed more islands of ice in the water, making our path quite difficult. I often saw no exit for the submarine, but Captain Nemo would then find a new path through the icy water.
On the 16th of March, however, the ice islands blocked our path. This did not frighten the captain, however, as he continued to throw the Nautilus at the islands of ice, hoping to escape. On the 18th of March, however, after many attempts at escaping the ice, the captain realized the submarine was trapped.
“Well, sir, perhaps we are having difficulty with movement, but I know the Nautilus will be able to move further to the south.”
“Further to the south?” I asked, looking at the captain.
“Yes, sir, it shall go to the South Pole.”
I then asked the captain if he had ever traveled to the South Pole with the Nautilus before.
“No, sir,” he replied, “but we will discover it together. Where oth-ers have failed, I will not. The Nautilus will go further south. Yes, we will go under the water to reach the South Pole.”
I then understood his plans. If the surface of the sea was frozen, the lower depths still flow with running water, allowing us to continue our journey. During our journey, I saw icebergs nearly three hundred feet above the water, meaning that their depth below the water could be nearly nine hundred feet, but the Nautilus could easily travel under such depths.
“The only difficulty,” explained the captain “is remaining under-water for several days without being able to return to the surface for air.”
I now trusted the captain, and strongly believed we could reach the South Pole. I was eager to begin our journey, as was the captain. Soon enough, we were nine hundred feet below the surface, floating under the iceberg. The Nautilus went below that, however, sinking to nearly four hundred fathoms.
“We shall pass it,” said Conseil.
“I believe we shall,” I said eagerly.
The Nautilus was then moving at twenty-six miles an hour. If our speed continued, we would be at the South Pole in forty hours.
The next morning, the 19th of March, we were near the South Pole, and sailing towards the surface, as well. We were going to the surface at the South Pole! No! We then crashed into the bottom of the iceberg, still quite thick. There was now over three thousand feet of ice above us, one thousand above the surface of the water. Several times that day, the Nautilus attempted to break the surface, but failed. That night, the situa-tion had not changed. I could not sleep that night, worrying about our frightening situation under the depths of the icy water. At three in the morning, I awoke to see that the lower surface of the iceberg was only fifty feet deep. We were only separated from the surface by one hundred fifty feet of ice.
That day at six in the morning, the 19th of March, the captain came into the sitting room with an eager look on his face.
“The sea is open!” he exclaimed.

iceberg (n.)冰山，流冰
block (n.)块，片
seal (n.)海豹
trap (v.)使(某人)陷入困境
frightening (adj.)令人害怕的，引起突然惊恐的
 

 
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The South Pole
I immediately ran to the platform. Yes, the sea was open! I saw a great number of birds in the air and various types of fish under those waters. The thermometer showed three degrees centigrade.
We decided to step onto the icy land. I allowed the captain the first steps on this new region.
“Sir,” said the captain, “the reason I choose to step onto this land is because no other man has ever stepped here,” he explained. He then walked onto the icy ground, which was made up of mainly reddish, sandy stone, which had come from the explosions of volcanoes millions of years ago.
The next day, the 20th of March, Conseil and I explored the region, discovering a great many seals living on the South Pole, as well as a number of other mysterious animals.

centigrade (n.)摄氏度
mainly (adv.)主要地；大部分地
sandy (adj.)沙的，含沙的，沙质的
explore (vt.&vi.)探究，探索；考察

 
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Accident or Incident?
On the 22nd of March, at six in the morning, we began to prepare for our departure. We soon began sinking to escape the thick ice. That night, however, I was awoken by a great shock when a nearby iceberg turned over, throwing the Nautilus deeper into the ocean before it rose again only to crash into the iceberg again. During these violent crashes, I was thrown into the middle of my room, trying to find something in the room to hold onto.
I immediately went into the sitting room where Conseil and Ned looking around at the paintings and collections that had been thrown all over the room during the violent movements of the Nautilus.
“What is the matter?” I asked.
“I came to ask you, sir,” replied Conseil.
“Oh no!” exclaimed the Canadian. “I know what is happening! The Nautilus has been hit, and I do not believe it can escape from this.”
“But,” I asked, “has it come to the surface of the sea’
“We do not know,” said Conseil.
I soon discovered that the Nautilus was still at a depth of 180 fathoms below the surface. “What does that mean?” I exclaimed.
“We must ask Captain Nemo,” said Conseil.
“But where shall we find him?” said Ned Land.
“Follow me, I said to my companions. I then took them to the cen-ter staircase to wait, as I thought the captain must be in the pilot’s room directing the submarine. I then decided we should wait there for the captain to return. We waited there for twenty minutes. He finally walked down the staircase, but did not see us. His face, usually so calm, looked quite anxious now. Finally, he turned towards me.
“An incident, Captain?”
“No, sir, an accident this time.”
“Serious?”
“Perhaps. The Nautilus is trapped. Not by our own mistakes, but by nature. We may challenge human laws, but we cannot resist nature’s laws.”
I did not understand Captain Nemo’s reason for making this speech.
“What is the cause of this accident, sir?” I asked.
“A mountain of ice has turned over,” he replied. “The water at the bottom of the mountain became warmer than the top, as the Nautilus’ electricity wanned the water at the bottom, forcing the center point in the iceberg to rise, therefore allowing it to turn over. As the ice turned, it hit the Nautilus, then throwing it onto another island of ice, where it is lying on its side. The Nautilus is unable to move.”
The captain then decided to empty the storage rooms of water, al-lowing the submarine to rise. This was done, and ten minutes later, we were rising to the surface. Soon enough, we realized that we were trapped on both sides by sheets of ice nearly twenty feet thick, and our passageway going either up or down was blocked, as well, from thick ice.
“We must go back again, through the southern opening, as that wall of ice is the thinnest,” I told my companions, hoping to appear more confident than I felt.
I then went from the sitting room to the library, and sat down on the sofa, attempting to read to calm myself. After I began reading a book nearby, Conseil came in to join me.
“Is what you are reading very interesting, sir?” he asked.
“Very interesting!” I replied.
“It should be, it is your own book.”
“My book?”
I looked at the cover and saw the words, Great Submarine Depths; I was so nervous about our situation that I had not realized my own writing.
“Stay here, my friends,” said I. “Let us stay here together until we are out of this situation.”
Many hours passed, but we were still more than nine hundred feet below the surface. The Nautilus was attempting to return to the south, hoping to break through the ice in that direction. The captain came to speak to us after some time.
“Our path is blocked southward, as well. The iceberg has moved, and now all openings are closed.”

turn over 打翻，翻转
pilot’s room 驾驶室
challenge (v.)挑战，对抗
center point 中心点，主点
passageway (n.)通道，出入口
Great Submarine Depths 大海深处的奥秘
block (v.)阻碍，妨碍
southward (adv.)向南地，南行地

 
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Want of Air
Therefore, around the Nautilus in every direction was a wall of thick ice. We were prisoners of the iceberg. I watched the captain, who still remained calm.
“Gentlemen,” he said quietly, “there are two ways of dying in this situation. The first is to be crushed, and the second is to die without air. Our air supplies will only last for the next two days. Therefore, we have forty-eight hours to attempt an escape from this ice.”
The captain then explained that his men would begin attacking the iceberg with axes on the thinnest side. Ned Land then offered his help, and he was soon dressed in a diving suit and helmet, ready to enter the icy waters. Captain Nemo entered the water, as well, to create an open-ing for the submarine. I went to the sitting room to watch them work, anxious as each moment passed. Before beginning, they used an in-strument to discover which of the walls was the thinnest. They discov-ered that the side walls were nearly forty-five feet thick, while the ceil-ing was the iceberg itself. The bottom wall, however, was just thirty feet thick, and so decided to dig through this wall. They began immediately and worked for the next two hours before returning. The next crew went out to work; Conseil and I joined them.
When I returned to the Nautilus, I realized there was quite a dif-ference in air between the inside of the submarine and the air I received from the tank I carried as I worked removing the wall of ice. I then dis-covered that the poisonous gas was filling the air of the Nautilus, as we breathed out. We had not had new air in forty-eight hours.
After working for twelve hours, we had only removed three feet of the wall. To finish this work, we would need five nights and four days to complete the digging, but we only had enough air for two days! And perhaps we would still be buried under another iceberg, after being freed from this one. Our situation was terrible, but each man was deter-mined to do his duty until his death.
During the night, another block of ice was removed, taking away another three-foot thick square. The next morning, however, I noticed that the edges were again freezing, making the hole much smaller. Cap-tain Nemo had noticed this problem, as well, but there was no way to stop the freezing. During the day, I worked a great deal, as I was greatly relieved to be allowed to leave the terrible air of the Nautilus. While working, I was able to breathe the pure air, therefore improving my health until I would again be forced to return to the Nautilus.
The next day, March 26th I continued my work. The side walls and the lower surface were looking thicker.
“Professor Aronnax, we must attempt something else, or we shall all soon die,” the captain said to me that day.
“Yes, but what can we do?” I asked.
After a few moments of silence, he exclaimed, “Boiling water! Yes, if we use the water boilers inside to raise the temperature on the wall, we will be able to remove the ice faster.”
“Let us try it,” I told him.
We then used the machines that were used to make drinking water from seawater to warm the wall of ice outside the Nautilus. Late that night, the water was raised to one degree centigrade, therefore allowing the sheet of ice to melt somewhat.
The next day, March 27th, we removed eighteen feet of ice, only twelve feet left. The remaining work should take nearly forty-eight hours, though we only had a bit of air left. I could not breathe or move, as the air had become quite poisonous My brave Conseil, though, showed great courage during this time. We continued to work, and breathed in the pure air as we did.
The next day we worked with great energy, leaving six feet left to remove. But the air inside the submarine was nearly empty. I felt great pain in my head and chest. My companions felt the same. On that day, our sixth after being imprisoned by the ice, the captain decided he would attempt to crash through the remaining ice to escape to the sur-face.
We waited and listened for the Nautilus to move. Suddenly, the submarine moved towards the last bit of ice, which cracked, and the Nautilus sank. Then, after a few moments, we were sailing towards the surface quickly, going full speed. Meanwhile, I was in the sitting room, hardly able to breathe. I soon was breathing pure air; I then looked over to see Ned and Conseil, my two brave friends, allowing me the last of the air from the tanks. I looked at the clock; it was eleven in the morn-ing. It was the 28th of March. Where was Captain Nemo? Were he and his companions dead? Then, I felt the Nautilus burst through another sheet of ice. The door to the platform was ripped open and we were breathing fresh air.

crush (v.)压垮，粉碎，使变形
axe (n.)斧头
relieved (adj.)放心的，宽慰的
boiler (n.)锅炉，热水器
melt (v.)融化，熔化
somewhat (adv.)梢微，有点，有些
imprison (v.)监禁,关押
crack (v.)开裂，破裂，爆裂
rip (v.)撕裂，撕破
 

 
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
From Cape Horn to the Amazon
I could not remember how I reached the platform; perhaps the Ca-nadian had carried me there. But I breathed the sweet sea air, and was energized.
“Ah!” said Conseil, “how delightful this air is!”
The first words I spoke were words of thankfulness to my two companions who had saved me.
The Nautilus was then moving quite rapidly, and by March 31st we passed the southern tip of South America, Cape Hom, a point greatly feared by sailors, with its icy cold temperatures and terrible storms.
Captain Nemo did not appear after our accident at the South Pole. On April 1st, I was pleased to see that the Nautilus was remaining near the South American coast, rather than disappearing into the middle of the sea.
By the 3rd of April, we had continued following the coast, and were just fifty-six miles off the coast of Uruguay. We had then sailed nearly 16,000 miles from our starting point in the seas of Japan. At eleven o’clock in the morning, we were near the coast of Brazil, but Ned Land was quite disappointed to see that we were moving at a terri-bly quick speed, much too fast to flee from the Nautilus.
For several days, we continued at this high speed underwater. On the 11th of April, however, the Nautilus rose to the surface near the opening of the Amazon River, which has a width of several leagues when it reaches the ocean.

energize (v.)使活跃，给予精力
delightful (adj.)令人榆快的，令人高兴的
thankfulness (n.)感谢，感激
Uruguay 乌拉圭:南美洲东南部的国家，临近大西洋和拉普拉他河。
flee (v.)逃跑，逃走

 
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The Squids
For several days, the Nautilus stayed away from the American coast. The Canadian was quite upset. He had been hoping we could es-cape using the boat, but we were now too far away from the American coast to survive the long boat journey.
For six months now, we had been prisoners onboard the Nautilus. We had traveled 17,000 leagues, and all believed our journey should come to an end. We could not hope that the captain would free us, so we must escape. Besides, since our terrible situation at the South Pole, the captain had become more upset, much less cheerful than in the past. He seemed to avoid me. I rarely saw him. In the past, he was delighted to explain the wonders of the sea to me, but now he was never in the sitting room. Why had he changed? I now had the knowledge to rewrite my book, and wished to again be in my country, though the daily ob-servations of the sea animals was quite fascinating!
On April 20th, we were near the islands of the Bahamas, in the Caribbean Sea. That day, I was in the sitting room, observing the vari-ous sea animals when I felt a shock just before the Nautilus stopped. Just a few moments later, Captain Nemo came into the room, followed by one of his men. I had not seen him for quite some time. He seemed tired and dull.
Have a collection of squids stopped our movement?” I asked as he came into the room.
“Yes, and we are going to fight the giant squids,” he answered boldly.
“Man to beast?”
“Yes, the squids have stopped the motor of the submarine. That is the reason we have stopped.”
“Our air guns do not work against these giant squids, so we must attack them with axes.”
“And the spear, sir,” said the Canadian, “if you will accept my help.”
“I will accept it,” answered the captain.
We then followed the captain to the central staircase. There about ten men with axes met us, ready to attack. Conseil and I took two axes; Ned Land grabbed his spear. The Nautilus was now on the surface of the water. One of the men began to open the door to the platform when a giant squid’s arm reached into the door. Captain Nemo quickly rushed over with his ax to cut the arm. Another arm then came down and grabbed one of Captain Nemo’s men, who was carried out. We hurried after him. The poor man then began screaming, “Help! Help!” I was shocked to hear these words spoken in French. This unhappy man was a fellow countryman, and was soon lost below the surface with the giant squid. The crew fought with their axes, as did Conseil, Ned, and I.
I felt great emotion and terror for that poor countryman, who was carried into the depths of the ocean by a terrible sea monster. After the battle was over, Captain Nemo, covered with blood, looked out at the sea that had taken his friend, and tears began falling down his cheeks.

fascinating (adj.)迷人的，吸引人的
Bahamas 巴哈马:大西洋沿岸的一个岛国,位于佛罗里达和古巴东部,大约包含700个岛
屿和小岛以及大量的珊瑚礁。
Caribbean Sea 加勒比海:大西洋西部一海湾，被中南美洲和西印度群岛环绕。
dull (adj.)沮丧的，无精打采的
collection (n.)一堆（无用物）
countryman (n.)国人，同胞
emotion (n.)情绪，情感，感情
terror (n.)惊骇，恐怖

 
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The Gulf Stream
None of us can ever forget that horrible battle on the 20th of April I have written and rewritten that terrible event, so no one will ever for-get that terrible incident. I have read the story to Conseil and Ned Land, who have said that the story is correct.
I also said that Captain Nemo cried while watching the waves after the great battle with the giant squids. He felt a great deal of pain. It was the second companion he had lost since our arrival onboard, and what a terrible death! That poor friend, crushed, thrown, drowned by the terri-ble arms of a giant squid. He will not rest peacefully with his comrades in the coral cemetery! In that man’s last attempt at being rescued, he had returned to his mother language of French, desperate in his last mo-ments alive.
Captain Nemo entered his room and I saw him no more for quite some time. He was the soul of his invention, and it floated with no di-rection for the next ten days, as its captain was too upset to take control. Finally, on the 1st of May, the Nautilus continued its path north. We were then following the world’s largest river to sea, the Gulf Stream. This underwater river flows in the middle of the Atlantic with its own speed, fish, and temperature. Other waters do not mix with this great sea river. The Nautilus was now flowing in this river.
By the 8th of May, we were near the coast of North Carolina. The width of the Gulf Stream at coast is nearly seventy-five miles, and its depth is over six hundred feet. The Nautilus still traveled randomly. Its captain seemed to have abandoned it. I thought that we could possibly escape now. Indeed, the coastal cities nearby would be easy to get to, perhaps New York or Boston. It was now a favorable opportunity, though we were still nearly thirty miles away from the American coast. In addition, the weather was very bad. We were near the coast with the worst winds and storms.
“Professor,” Ned Land said to me one day, “this journey must end. I must leave this submarine. Captain Nemo will soon leave land, and I will not follow him to the North Pole! I would rather throw myself into the sea! I will not stay here!”
“Well, Ned, do you wish me to speak with Captain Nemo about his plans for us?”
“Yes, sir.”
That evening, I went to Captain Nemo’s room. I knocked on the door twice, but I heard nothing. I then carefully opened the door. The captain was there. He quickly looked up at me, saying, “What do you want?”
“To speak to you, Captain.”
“But I am busy. Please leave me.”
“Sir,” I said coldly, “I have come to speak to you about an im-portant matter.”
Before I could continue, the captain showed me a document writ-ten in several languages. “It contains my findings during my studies of the sea. I have signed it with my name, as well as explained the history of my life. The last survivor of the Nautilus will throw this into the sea.”
“But Captain, you cannot be sure that anyone will reach this doc-ument,” I explained.
“What did you come to speak to me about,” he asked, disregarding my comment.
“I came to speak to you about our freedom, as my companions and I have lived on the Nautilus for over seven months.”
“Professor Aronnax, I will explain to you one last time that who-ever enters the Nautilus must never leave it. Now, please leave me, and never ask me such a question again.”
I explained this conversation to my companions, and we decided that, though the weather was bad, we must leave as soon as possible.
“We will escape near the coast of New York. We must escape!” ex-claimed Ned Land.
Soon after, however, the weather became quite frightening, and we realized a hurricane was coining soon.

cemetery (n.)墓地
desperate (adj.)不顾一切的,拼死的，令人绝望的
north Carolina 北卡罗来纳:美国东南濒临大西洋的州。
randomly (adj.)随便地，未加计划地
abandon (v.)放弃，抛弃
coastal (adj.)海岸的，沿海的
favorable (adj.)合适的，有帮助的
disregard (v.)不理会，忽视
whoever (pron.)无论谁
hurricane (n.)飓风

 
CHAPTER TWENTY
A Long Journey
After the great storm that had thrown the Nautilus through the sea, we were now far northeast of the North American eastern coast. Poor Ned now refused to leave his room, just as the captain had done himself. Conseil and I, however, never left each other.
Near the end of May, I was surprised to see the Nautilus sail to-wards European waters. After having shown the Canadian the North American coast, was the captain now going to show me the coast of France?
On the 30th of May, we were near the western coast of England. I rarely saw the captain, but when I did see him, he seemed more de-pressed than ever. What could sadden him? Was it the closeness to his home country’s coast?
The next day, the 1st of June, the Nautilus continued moving south, looking for a particular spot in the ocean. I was on the platform when I heard the captain declare, “It is here.”
I did not know what he was speaking of, but I was soon to find out. The Nautilus then sunk beneath the waters, and I saw an old ship that had sunk many years before. What was this ship?
In a slow voice, I heard Captain Nemo speak. “This French ship arrived here on the 1st of June, 1794, for a battle with England. Unfor-tunately, the ship lost the great battle, but the 356 sailors decided they would rather drown with the ship than lose the battle. When the ship sank, the sailors were cheering, ‘Long live France!’”
“The Avenger,” I exclaimed.
“Yes, sir, the Avenger! A good name,” said Captain Nemo.

avenger (n.)复仇者
 

 
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
An Underwater Tomb
The way the captain had described the ship, first coldly, but then with great emotion, was curious to me. He had spoken the word, Avenger, with great pride and passion. Perhaps I was never to know this man’s former life, but I did know this troubled captain had a terrible ha-tred for something that would never end.
The Nautilus then rose to the surface, just before I heard a loud sound. I looked at the captain, but he did not move. I went to the plat-form. Conseil and Ned were already there.
“That sound was a gunshot,” said Ned.
I then saw a great ship coming towards the Nautilus.
“That is a war ship coming towards us, but I do not know what na-tion it comes from,” Ned explained.
If Captain Nemo allowed that ship to come near him, there was a chance we could be rescued.
“If that ship travels within a mile of us, I am throwing myself in the sea, and I will tell you that you should do the same,” the Canadian de-clared.
Just a few minutes after, we heard more gun shots as the ship be-gan attacking us. “But,” I exclaimed, “Surely they can see there are men standing here!”
“Perhaps that is the reason they are firing,” replied Ned. “They must know the stories from the Abraham Lincoln, when I struck it with a spear. They must be again searching for this Nautilus, more dangerous than a giant sea monster.”
The ship continued to shoot, but Captain Nemo did nothing. Ned then attempted to signal the ship to tell them we were not enemies, but the ship continued to shoot.
“Fool!” exclaimed Captain Nemo. “You will soon be hit with their weapons.”
Captain Nemo looked terrible when he came to the platform. His face was deadly pale and he did not speak, but rather screamed, throw-ing his arms at the Canadian.
The captain then forced us to return to the inside of the Nautilus.
“Go down, you and your companions, go down!”
“Sir,” I exclaimed, “are you going to attack that ship?”
“Sir, I am going to sink that ship. The attack has begun, so go down now,” the captain said coldly.
We had to obey. About fifteen sailors surrounded the captain, looking with hatred toward the attacking ship. I heard the captain de-clare that he would not sink the ship in the waters where the Avenger lay. He then circled the ship several times, then led it out to sea.
Night arrived. The Nautilus was silent. I decided I should leave when the ship comes close enough; perhaps we would be able to warn its passengers about the terrible enemy waiting nearby.
On the 2nd of June at five o’clock in the morning, the ship began following the Nautilus, but the submarine slowed down, and I knew it would soon attack.
Ned was determined, Conseil was calm, I was nervous. The Nauti-lus went under the waters, and I knew it would attack the ship at the bottom, which would force the ship to sink rapidly, killing most onboard the ship, I immediately ran to the sitting room. The captain was there. He was looking sadly through the windows.
I then watched as the ship sank with all its passengers. I saw peo-ple’s lives end in those waters, as they drowned, sinking to the bottom with their ship.
I turned to Captain Nemo, the terrible avenger, and full of hatred. He was still watching through the glass. When the ship was at the bot-tom of the sea, I continued to watch him.
On the wall with the other paintings was one of a young woman and two little children. Captain Nemo looked at them for a few mo-ments, put his arms up towards them, and began to cry.

hatred (n.)仇恨，憎恨
gunshot (n.)火炮的单发，射击，炮击
surely (adv.)无疑，确实，一定
deadly (adv.)如死一般地

 
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The Last Words of Captain Nemo
The metal doors closed and the sitting room was dark and silent. The Nautilus was now going north. Where were we going? To the north or south? Where was this man escaping to after such a terrible event? I could not speak. I felt terror for Captain Nemo. Whatever terrible suf-fering he had experienced in his life was no reason to punish the hun-dreds of men he just sent to the bottom of the ocean.
That night, I could not sleep, as I continued to think about the ter-rible sight of the hundreds of men drowning in front of my eyes. We were moving through the sea quickly at twenty-five miles an hour.
For the next twenty days, I did not see the captain. I no longer saw Ned Land, either, as he had become quite depressed, never speaking a word. Conseil, therefore, watched over him carefully. One night, how-ever, I was awoken to Ned Land whispering, “We are going to escape.”
I sat up.
“When shall we go?” I asked.
“Tomorrow night. Land is in sight. I do not know what country, but we shall go.” Ned exclaimed.
“Yes, Ned, yes. We will go tonight!’” I told him,
“The sea is bad and the wind is strong”
“I will follow you,” I said.
“But, if they find out my plans, I will defend myself. I will be forced to kill them.”
I promised the Canadian I would do the same.
“I will meet you at ten o’clock tonight,” he said before leaving the room.
I dressed myself in the warmest clothes I had and waited. At half past nine, I heard the captain crying. He was in the sitting room. I had to go through the sitting room to go meet Ned! I must not wait. I had to go. I opened the door carefully. The captain did not see me. I walked by quietly. As I was ready to open the door to go meet Ned and Conseil, I heard the captain stand up. As I heard him walking, I heard him whis-pering.
“God! Enough! I have suffered enough!”
I then quickly ran to the library, exclaiming, “Let us go!” to my companions as we went. We immediately went to the boat, and were returning to the surface of the water. There was a terrible storm at the time, however. The captain had sailed the Nautilus directly into the middle of the storm, which we were now struggling to leave.
What a situation to be in! We were silent with fear.
“We must hold on,” said Ned. Then, my head struck the side of the boat, and I no longer remember the storm.
suffering (n.)苦楚，受难 
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Conclusion
Then, our voyage came to an end. I do not know how we survived that terrible storm, but when I woke up, I was lying in a fisherman’s hut on the coast of Norway. At that moment, I could not return to France, as communication between the north of Norway and the south was limited.
Shall this story be believed? I do not know. And it does not matter. I now know that I have crossed 20,000 leagues in that submarine, dur-ing which I made many discoveries. But what has happened to the Nau-tilus? Was it destroyed in the great storm? Does Captain Nemo still live? And does he continue attacking ships, or did he stop after that terrible sight?
Will we one day find his documents with the history of his life? Shall I ever know the name of this man?
I hope so. And I also hope that his powerful submarine was not destroyed in that terrible storm, where so many ships have been lost. If Captain Nemo is still alive, I hope his curiosity in the wonders of the sea will kill the anger in his heart.
Have I not understood it myself? Have I not lived ten months of this unnatural life? The two men who know that secret — Captain Nemo and Myself.

unnatural (adj.)反常的