From this time forward, our reason, our judgment5, our human ingenuity6, have nothing to do with the course of events. We are about to become the plaything of the great phenomena7 of the earth!
At six o'clock we were all up and ready. The dreaded8 moment was arriving when we were about to seek an opening into the interior of the earth by means of gunpowder9. What would be the consequences of breaking through the crust of the earth?
I begged that it might be my duty to set fire to the mine. I looked upon it as an honor. This task once performed, I could rejoin my friends upon the raft, which had not been unloaded. As soon as we were all ready, we were to sail away to some distance to avoid the consequences of the explosion, the effects of which would certainly not be concentrated in the interior of the earth.
The slow match we calculated to burn for about ten minutes, more or less, before it reached the chamber10 in which the great body of powder was confined. I should therefore have plenty of time to reach the raft and put off to a safe distance.
I prepared to execute my self-allotted task—not, it must be confessed, without considerable emotion.
After a hearty11 repast, my uncle and the hunter-guide embarked12 on board the raft, while I remained alone upon the desolate13 shore.
I was provided with a lantern which was to enable me to set fire to the wick of the infernal machine.
"Go, my boy," said my uncle, "and Heaven be with you. But come back as soon as you can. I shall be all impatience14."
"Be easy on that matter," I replied, "there is no fear of my delaying on the road."
Having said this, I advanced toward the opening of the somber15 gallery. My heart beat wildly. I opened my lantern and seized the extremity16 of the wick.
The Professor, who was looking on, held his chronometer17 in his hand.
"Are you ready?" cried he.
"Quite ready."
"Well, then, fire away!"
I hastened to put the light to the wick, which crackled and sparkled, hissing18 and spitting like a serpent; then, running as fast as I could, I returned to the shore.
"Get on board, my lad, and you, Hans, shove off," cried my uncle.
By a vigorous application of his pole Hans sent us flying over the water. The raft was quite twenty fathoms19 distant.
It was a moment of palpitating interest, of deep anxiety. My uncle, the Professor, never took his eyes off the chronometer.
"Only five minutes more," he said in a low tone, "only four, only three."
My pulse went a hundred to the minute. I could hear my heart beating.
What happened after that? As to the terrific roar of the explosion, I do not think I heard it. But the form of the rocks completely changed in my eyes—they seemed to be drawn22 aside like a curtain. I saw a fathomless23, a bottomless abyss, which yawned beneath the turgid waves. The sea, which seemed suddenly to have gone mad, then became one great mountainous mass, upon the top of which the raft rose perpendicularly24.
We were all thrown down. In less than a second the light gave place to the most profound obscurity. Then I felt all solid support give way not to my feet, but to the raft itself. I thought it was going bodily down a tremendous well. I tried to speak, to question my uncle. Nothing could be heard but the roaring of the mighty25 waves. We clung together in utter silence.
Despite the awful darkness, despite the noise, the surprise, the emotion, I thoroughly26 understood what had happened.
Beyond the rock which had been blown up, there existed a mighty abyss. The explosion had caused a kind of earthquake in this soil, broken by fissures27 and rents. The gulf28, thus suddenly thrown open, was about to swallow the inland sea which, transformed into a mighty torrent29, was dragging us with it.
One hour, two hours—what more I cannot say, passed in this manner. We sat close together, elbow touching31 elbow, knee touching knee! We held one another's hands not to be thrown off the raft. We were subjected to the most violent shocks, whenever our sole dependence32, a frail33 wooden raft, struck against the rocky sides of the channel. Fortunately for us, these concussions34 became less and less frequent, which made me fancy that the gallery was getting wider and wider. There could be now no doubt that we had chanced upon the road once followed by Saknussemm, but instead of going down in a proper manner, we had, through our own imprudence, drawn a whole sea with us!
These ideas presented themselves to my mind in a very vague and obscure manner. I felt rather than reasoned. I put my ideas together only confusedly, while spinning along like a man going down a waterfall. To judge by the air which, as it were, whipped my face, we must have been rushing at a perfectly35 lightning rate.
To attempt under these circumstances to light a torch was simply impossible, and the last remains36 of our electric machine, of our Ruhmkorff coil, had been destroyed during the fearful explosion.
I was therefore very much confused to see at last a bright light shining close to me. The calm countenance37 of the guide seemed to gleam upon me. The clever and patient hunter had succeeded in lighting38 the lantern; and though, in the keen and thorough draft, the flame flickered39 and vacillated and was nearly put out, it served partially40 to dissipate the awful obscurity.
The gallery into which we had entered was very wide. I was, therefore, quite right in that part of my conjecture41. The insufficient42 light did not allow us to see both of the walls at the same time. The slope of waters, which was carrying us away, was far greater than that of the most rapid river of America. The whole surface of the stream seemed to be composed of liquid arrows, darted43 forward with extreme violence and power. I can give no idea of the impression it made upon me.
The raft, at times, caught in certain whirlpools, and rushed forward, yet turned on itself all the time. How it did not upset I shall never be able to understand. When it approached the sides of the gallery, I took care to throw upon them the light of the lantern, and I was able to judge of the rapidity of motion by looking at the projecting masses of rock, which as soon as seen were again invisible. So rapid was our progress that points of rock at a considerable distance one from the other appeared like portions of transverse lines, which enclosed us in a kind of net, like that of a line of telegraphic wires.
I believe we were now going at a rate of not less than a hundred miles an hour.
My uncle and I looked at one another with wild and haggard eyes; we clung convulsively to the stump44 of the mast, which, at the moment when the catastrophe45 took place, had snapped short off. We turned our backs as much as possible to the wind, in order not to be stifled46 by a rapidity of motion which nothing human could face and live.
And still the long monotonous47 hours went on. The situation did not change in the least, though a discovery I suddenly made seemed to complicate48 it very much.
When we had slightly recovered our equilibrium49, I proceeded to examine our cargo50. I then made the unsatisfactory discovery that the greater part of it had utterly disappeared.
I became alarmed, and determined51 to discover what were our resources. My heart beat at the idea, but it was absolutely necessary to know on what we had to depend. With this view, I took the lantern and looked around.
Of all our former collection of nautical52 and philosophical53 instruments, there remained only the chronometer and the compass. The ladders and ropes were reduced to a small piece of rope fastened to the stump of the mast. Not a pickax, not a crowbar, not a hammer, and, far worse than all, no food—not enough for one day!
Seated gloomily on the raft, clasping the stump of the mast mechanically, I thought of all I had read as to sufferings from starvation.
I remembered everything that history had taught me on the subject, and I shuddered55 at the remembrance of the agonies to be endured.
Maddened at the prospects56 of enduring the miseries57 of starvation, I persuaded myself that I must be mistaken. I examined the cracks in the raft; I poked58 between the joints59 and beams; I examined every possible hole and corner. The result was—simply nothing!
Our stock of provisions consisted of nothing but a piece of dry meat and some soaked and half-moldy biscuits.
I gazed around me scared and frightened. I could not understand the awful truth. And yet of what consequence was it in regard to any new danger? Supposing that we had had provisions for months, and even for years, how could we ever get out of the awful abyss into which we were being hurled60 by the irresistible61 torrent we had let loose?
Why should we trouble ourselves about the sufferings and tortures to be endured from hunger when death stared us in the face under so many other swifter and perhaps even more horrid62 forms?
It was very doubtful, under the circumstances in which we were placed, if we should have time to die of inanition.
But the human frame is singularly constituted.
I know not how it was; but, from some singular hallucination of the mind, I forgot the real, serious, and immediate63 danger to which we were exposed, to think of the menaces of the future, which appeared before us in all their naked terror. Besides, after all, suggested Hope, perhaps we might finally escape the fury of the raging torrent, and once more revisit the glimpses of the moon, on the surface of our beautiful Mother Earth.
How was it to be done? I had not the remotest idea. Where were we to come out? No matter, so that we did.
One chance in a thousand is always a chance, while death from hunger gave us not even the faintest glimpse of hope. It left to the imagination nothing but blank horror, without the faintest chance of escape!
I had the greatest mind to reveal all to my uncle, to explain to him the extraordinary and wretched position to which we were reduced, in order that, between the two, we might make a calculation as to the exact space of time which remained for us to live.
It was, it appeared to me, the only thing to be done. But I had the courage to hold my tongue, to gnaw64 at my entrails like the Spartan65 boy. I wished to leave him all his coolness.
At this moment, the light of the lantern slowly fell, and at last went out!
The wick had wholly burnt to an end. The obscurity became absolute. It was no longer possible to see through the impenetrable darkness! There was one torch left, but it was impossible to keep it alight. Then, like a child, I shut my eyes, that I might not see the darkness.
After a great lapse66 of time, the rapidity of our journey increased. I could feel it by the rush of air upon my face. The slope of the waters was excessive. I began to feel that we were no longer going down a slope; we were falling. I felt as one does in a dream, going down bodily—falling; falling; falling!
I felt that the hands of my uncle and Hans were vigorously clasping my arms.
Suddenly, after a lapse of time scarcely appreciable67, I felt something like a shock. The raft had not struck a hard body, but had suddenly been checked in its course. A waterspout, a liquid column of water, fell upon us. I felt suffocating68. I was being drowned.
Still the sudden inundation69 did not last. In a few seconds I felt myself once more able to breathe. My uncle and Hans pressed my arms, and the raft carried us all three away.
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收听单词发音
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1
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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5
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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7
phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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8
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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9
gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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10
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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11
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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12
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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13
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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14
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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15
somber
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| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
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16
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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chronometer
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| n.精密的计时器 | |
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18
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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19
fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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20
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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21
crumble
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| vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁 | |
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22
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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23
fathomless
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| a.深不可测的 | |
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24
perpendicularly
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| adv. 垂直地, 笔直地, 纵向地 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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26
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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27
fissures
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| n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 )；裂伤；分歧；分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 ) | |
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28
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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29
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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30
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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31
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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32
dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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33
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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34
concussions
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| n.震荡( concussion的名词复数 )；脑震荡；冲击；震动 | |
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35
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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36
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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38
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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39
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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41
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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42
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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43
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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44
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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45
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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46
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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47
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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48
complicate
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| vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂 | |
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49
equilibrium
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| n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静 | |
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50
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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51
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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52
nautical
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| adj.海上的，航海的，船员的 | |
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53
philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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54
prelude
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| n.序言，前兆，序曲 | |
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55
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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56
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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57
miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
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58
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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59
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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60
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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61
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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62
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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63
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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64
gnaw
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| v.不断地啃、咬；使苦恼，折磨 | |
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65
spartan
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| adj.简朴的，刻苦的；n.斯巴达；斯巴达式的人 | |
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66
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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67
appreciable
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| adj.明显的，可见的，可估量的，可觉察的 | |
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68
suffocating
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| a.使人窒息的 | |
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69
inundation
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| n.the act or fact of overflowing | |
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