CAPTAIN NEMO stood up. I followed him. Contrived1 at the rear of the dining room, a double door opened, and I entered a room whose dimensions equaled the one I had just left.
It was a library. Tall, black-rosewood bookcases, inlaid with copperwork, held on their wide shelves a large number of uniformly bound books. These furnishings followed the contours of the room, their lower parts leading to huge couches upholstered in maroon3 leather and curved for maximum comfort. Light, movable reading stands, which could be pushed away or pulled near as desired, allowed books to be positioned on them for easy study. In the center stood a huge table covered with pamphlets, among which some newspapers, long out of date, were visible. Electric light flooded this whole harmonious4 totality, falling from four frosted half globes set in the scrollwork of the ceiling. I stared in genuine wonderment at this room so ingeniously laid out, and I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Captain Nemo," I told my host, who had just stretched out on a couch, "this is a library that would do credit to more than one continental5 palace, and I truly marvel6 to think it can go with you into the deepest seas."
"Where could one find greater silence or solitude7, professor?" Captain Nemo replied. "Did your study at the museum afford you such a perfect retreat?"
"No, sir, and I might add that it's quite a humble8 one next to yours. You own 6,000 or 7,000 volumes here . . ."
"12,000, Professor Aronnax. They're my sole remaining ties with dry land. But I was done with the shore the day my Nautilus submerged for the first time under the waters. That day I purchased my last volumes, my last pamphlets, my last newspapers, and ever since I've chosen to believe that humanity no longer thinks or writes. In any event, professor, these books are at your disposal, and you may use them freely."
I thanked Captain Nemo and approached the shelves of this library. Written in every language, books on science, ethics9, and literature were there in abundance, but I didn't see a single work on economics-- they seemed to be strictly10 banned on board. One odd detail: all these books were shelved indiscriminately without regard to the language in which they were written, and this jumble12 proved that the Nautilus's captain could read fluently whatever volumes he chanced to pick up.
Among these books I noted13 masterpieces by the greats of ancient and modern times, in other words, all of humanity's finest achievements in history, poetry, fiction, and science, from Homer to Victor Hugo, from Xenophon to Michelet, from Rabelais to Madame George Sand. But science, in particular, represented the major investment of this library: books on mechanics, ballistics, hydrography, meteorology, geography, geology, etc., held a place there no less important than works on natural history, and I realized that they made up the captain's chief reading. There I saw the complete works of Humboldt, the complete Arago, as well as works by Foucault, Henri Sainte-Claire Deville, Chasles, Milne-Edwards, Quatrefages, John Tyndall, Faraday, Berthelot, Father Secchi, Petermann, Commander Maury, Louis Agassiz, etc., plus the transactions of France's Academy of Sciences, bulletins from the various geographical14 societies, etc., and in a prime location, those two volumes on the great ocean depths that had perhaps earned me this comparatively charitable welcome from Captain Nemo. Among the works of Joseph Bertrand, his book entitled The Founders15 of Astronomy even gave me a definite date; and since I knew it had appeared in the course of 1865, I concluded that the fitting out of the Nautilus hadn't taken place before then. Accordingly, three years ago at the most, Captain Nemo had begun his underwater existence. Moreover, I hoped some books even more recent would permit me to pinpoint16 the date precisely17; but I had plenty of time to look for them, and I didn't want to put off any longer our stroll through the wonders of the Nautilus.
"Sir," I told the captain, "thank you for placing this library at my disposal. There are scientific treasures here, and I'll take advantage of them."
"This room isn't only a library," Captain Nemo said, "it's also a smoking room."
"A smoking room?" I exclaimed. "Then one may smoke on board?"
"Surely."
"In that case, sir, I'm forced to believe that you've kept up relations with Havana."
"None whatever," the captain replied. "Try this cigar, Professor Aronnax, and even though it doesn't come from Havana, it will satisfy you if you're a connoisseur18."
I took the cigar offered me, whose shape recalled those from Cuba; but it seemed to be made of gold leaf. I lit it at a small brazier supported by an elegant bronze stand, and I inhaled19 my first whiffs with the relish20 of a smoker21 who hasn't had a puff22 in days.
"It's excellent," I said, "but it's not from the tobacco plant."
"Right," the captain replied, "this tobacco comes from neither Havana nor the Orient. It's a kind of nicotine-rich seaweed that the ocean supplies me, albeit23 sparingly. Do you still miss your Cubans, sir?"
"Captain, I scorn them from this day forward."
"Then smoke these cigars whenever you like, without debating their origin. They bear no government seal of approval, but I imagine they're none the worse for it."
"On the contrary."
Just then Captain Nemo opened a door facing the one by which I had entered the library, and I passed into an immense, splendidly lit lounge.
It was a huge quadrilateral with canted corners, ten meters long, six wide, five high. A luminous24 ceiling, decorated with delicate arabesques25, distributed a soft, clear daylight over all the wonders gathered in this museum. For a museum it truly was, in which clever hands had spared no expense to amass26 every natural and artistic27 treasure, displaying them with the helter-skelter picturesqueness28 that distinguishes a painter's studio.
Some thirty pictures by the masters, uniformly framed and separated by gleaming panoplies29 of arms, adorned30 walls on which were stretched tapestries31 of austere32 design. There I saw canvases of the highest value, the likes of which I had marveled at in private European collections and art exhibitions. The various schools of the old masters were represented by a Raphael Madonna, a Virgin33 by Leonardo da Vinci, a nymph by Correggio, a woman by Titian, an adoration34 of the Magi by Veronese, an assumption of the Virgin by Murillo, a Holbein portrait, a monk35 by Velazquez, a martyr36 by Ribera, a village fair by Rubens, two Flemish landscapes by Teniers, three little genre37 paintings by Gerard Dow, Metsu, and Paul Potter, two canvases by Gericault and Prud'hon, plus seascapes by Backhuysen and Vernet. Among the works of modern art were pictures signed by Delacroix, Ingres, Decamps, Troyon, Meissonier, Daubigny, etc., and some wonderful miniature statues in marble or bronze, modeled after antiquity's finest originals, stood on their pedestals in the corners of this magnificent museum. As the Nautilus's commander had predicted, my mind was already starting to fall into that promised state of stunned38 amazement39.
"Professor," this strange man then said, "you must excuse the informality with which I receive you, and the disorder40 reigning41 in this lounge."
"Sir," I replied, "without prying42 into who you are, might I venture to identify you as an artist?"
"A collector, sir, nothing more. Formerly43 I loved acquiring these beautiful works created by the hand of man. I sought them greedily, ferreted them out tirelessly, and I've been able to gather some objects of great value. They're my last mementos44 of those shores that are now dead for me. In my eyes, your modern artists are already as old as the ancients. They've existed for 2,000 or 3,000 years, and I mix them up in my mind. The masters are ageless."
"What about these composers?" I said, pointing to sheet music by Weber, Rossini, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Meyerbeer, Hérold, Wagner, Auber, Gounod, Victor Massé, and a number of others scattered45 over a full size piano-organ, which occupied one of the wall panels in this lounge.
"These composers," Captain Nemo answered me, "are the contemporaries of Orpheus, because in the annals of the dead, all chronological46 differences fade; and I'm dead, professor, quite as dead as those friends of yours sleeping six feet under!"
Captain Nemo fell silent and seemed lost in reverie. I regarded him with intense excitement, silently analyzing47 his strange facial expression. Leaning his elbow on the corner of a valuable mosaic48 table, he no longer saw me, he had forgotten my very presence.
I didn't disturb his meditations49 but continued to pass in review the curiosities that enriched this lounge.
After the works of art, natural rarities predominated. They consisted chiefly of plants, shells, and other exhibits from the ocean that must have been Captain Nemo's own personal finds. In the middle of the lounge, a jet of water, electrically lit, fell back into a basin made from a single giant clam50. The delicately festooned rim11 of this shell, supplied by the biggest mollusk51 in the class Acephala, measured about six meters in circumference52; so it was even bigger than those fine giant clams53 given to King Fran?ois I by the Republic of Venice, and which the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris has made into two gigantic holy-water fonts.
Around this basin, inside elegant glass cases fastened with copper2 bands, there were classified and labeled the most valuable marine54 exhibits ever put before the eyes of a naturalist55. My professorial glee may easily be imagined.
The zoophyte branch offered some very unusual specimens57 from its two groups, the polyps and the echinoderms. In the first group: organ-pipe coral, gorgonian coral arranged into fan shapes, soft sponges from Syria, isis coral from the Molucca Islands, sea-pen coral, wonderful coral of the genus Virgularia from the waters of Norway, various coral of the genus Umbellularia, alcyonarian coral, then a whole series of those madrepores that my mentor58 Professor Milne-Edwards has so shrewdly classified into divisions and among which I noted the wonderful genus Flabellina as well as the genus Oculina from Réunion Island, plus a "Neptune's chariot" from the Caribbean Sea--every superb variety of coral, and in short, every species of these unusual polyparies that congregate59 to form entire islands that will one day turn into continents. Among the echinoderms, notable for being covered with spines60: starfish, feather stars, sea lilies, free-swimming crinoids, brittle61 stars, sea urchins62, sea cucumbers, etc., represented a complete collection of the individuals in this group.
An excitable conchologist would surely have fainted dead away before other, more numerous glass cases in which were classified specimens from the mollusk branch. There I saw a collection of incalculable value that I haven't time to describe completely. Among these exhibits I'll mention, just for the record: an elegant royal hammer shell from the Indian Ocean, whose evenly spaced white spots stood out sharply against a base of red and brown; an imperial spiny64 oyster65, brightly colored, bristling66 with thorns, a specimen56 rare to European museums, whose value I estimated at 20,000 francs; a common hammer shell from the seas near Queensland, very hard to come by; exotic cockles from Senegal, fragile white bivalve shells that a single breath could pop like a soap bubble; several varieties of watering-pot shell from Java, a sort of limestone67 tube fringed with leafy folds and much fought over by collectors; a whole series of top-shell snails68--greenish yellow ones fished up from American seas, others colored reddish brown that patronize the waters off Queensland, the former coming from the Gulf70 of Mexico and notable for their overlapping71 shells, the latter some sun-carrier shells found in the southernmost seas, finally and rarest of all, the magnificent spurred-star shell from New Zealand; then some wonderful peppery-furrow shells; several valuable species of cythera clams and venus clams; the trellis wentletrap snail69 from Tranquebar on India's eastern shore; a marbled turban snail gleaming with mother-of-pearl; green parrot shells from the seas of China; the virtually unknown cone72 snail from the genus Coenodullus; every variety of cowry used as money in India and Africa; a "glory-of-the-seas," the most valuable shell in the East Indies; finally, common periwinkles, delphinula snails, turret73 snails, violet snails, European cowries, volute snails, olive shells, miter shells, helmet shells, murex snails, whelks, harp63 shells, spiky74 periwinkles, triton snails, horn shells, spindle shells, conch shells, spider conchs, limpets, glass snails, sea butterflies-- every kind of delicate, fragile seashell that science has baptized with its most delightful75 names.
Aside and in special compartments76, strings77 of supremely78 beautiful pearls were spread out, the electric light flecking them with little fiery79 sparks: pink pearls pulled from saltwater fan shells in the Red Sea; green pearls from the rainbow abalone; yellow, blue, and black pearls, the unusual handiwork of various mollusks from every ocean and of certain mussels from rivers up north; in short, several specimens of incalculable worth that had been oozed80 by the rarest of shellfish. Some of these pearls were bigger than a pigeon egg; they more than equaled the one that the explorer Tavernier sold the Shah of Persia for 3,000,000 francs, and they surpassed that other pearl owned by the Imam of Muscat, which I had believed to be unrivaled in the entire world.
Consequently, to calculate the value of this collection was, I should say, impossible. Captain Nemo must have spent millions in acquiring these different specimens, and I was wondering what financial resources he tapped to satisfy his collector's fancies, when these words interrupted me:
"You're examining my shells, professor? They're indeed able to fascinate a naturalist; but for me they have an added charm, since I've collected every one of them with my own two hands, and not a sea on the globe has escaped my investigations81."
"I understand, captain, I understand your delight at strolling in the midst of this wealth. You're a man who gathers his treasure in person. No museum in Europe owns such a collection of exhibits from the ocean. But if I exhaust all my wonderment on them, I'll have nothing left for the ship that carries them! I have absolutely no wish to probe those secrets of yours! But I confess that my curiosity is aroused to the limit by this Nautilus, the motor power it contains, the equipment enabling it to operate, the ultra powerful force that brings it to life. I see some instruments hanging on the walls of this lounge whose purposes are unknown to me. May I learn--"
"Professor Aronnax," Captain Nemo answered me, "I've said you'd be free aboard my vessel82, so no part of the Nautilus is off-limits to you. You may inspect it in detail, and I'll be delighted to act as your guide."
"I don't know how to thank you, sir, but I won't abuse your good nature. I would only ask you about the uses intended for these instruments of physical measure--"
"Professor, these same instruments are found in my stateroom, where I'll have the pleasure of explaining their functions to you. But beforehand, come inspect the cabin set aside for you. You need to learn how you'll be lodged83 aboard the Nautilus."
I followed Captain Nemo, who, via one of the doors cut into the lounge's canted corners, led me back down the ship's gangways. He took me to the bow, and there I found not just a cabin but an elegant stateroom with a bed, a washstand, and various other furnishings.
I could only thank my host.
"Your stateroom adjoins mine," he told me, opening a door, "and mine leads into that lounge we've just left."
I entered the captain's stateroom. It had an austere, almost monastic appearance. An iron bedstead, a worktable, some washstand fixtures84. Subdued85 lighting86. No luxuries. Just the bare necessities.
Captain Nemo showed me to a bench.
"Kindly87 be seated," he told me.
I sat, and he began speaking as follows:
尼摩船长站起来，我在他后面跟着，餐厅后部的两扇：门打开了。我走进一个房间，大小跟我刚才走出的那饭厅差不多。
这是图书室。图书室的四壁摆着高大的紫檀木嵌铜丝的书架，架上一层一层的隔板上放满了装潢统一的书籍。架子下面摆着一排蒙着栗色兽皮的长沙发；沙发的曲度正合适，坐上去很舒服。沙发旁边有可以随意移来移去的轻巧的活动书案，人们可以把书放在上面看。图书室中央放一张大桌子，上面摆满了许多小册子，其中有些是过时的报纸。半嵌在拱形天花板上的四个磨沙玻璃球发出柔和的电光，浸浴着这和谐的整体。我看了这所布置十分精致的图书室，心中十分赞美，我几乎都不敢信任我自己的眼睛。
“尼摩船长，”我对刚在沙发上躺下的主人说，“这样一个图书室，就是放在大陆上的宫廷中也足以自豪，我一想到它可以跟着您到海底的最深处，真不禁要眉飞色舞，十分高兴起来。”
“教授，试问哪里还可以找出比这里更隐僻更静溢的地方来？”尼摩船长答，“您的自然博物馆的工作室能供给您这样一个安静舒适的环境吗？”
“没有，先生，我还得说，我的工作室跟这比较起来，显然是太寒酸了。您这室中有六七千本书呢……”
“阿龙纳斯先生，共有一万二千本。这是我跟陆地上的唯一联系。但从我的诺第留斯号第一次潜入水底的那一天起，对我来说，人世就完结了。这一天，我买了我最后一批书，最后一批小册子，最后几份日报，从那时候起，我就认为，人类没有什么思想，也没有什么著作了.教授，这些书随您的便，您可以自由使用。”
我谢谢尼摩船长。我走近书架。各种文字的科学、哲学和文学书籍，架上多的是；可是我就没看到一本关于政治经济学的书籍，这类书籍似乎完全被剔出去了。说来也奇怪，所有的书不管哪种文字的，都随便混在一起，．没有醒目的分类，很显然，诺第留斯号的船长随手拿一本书都可以流利地读下去。
这些书籍中间，我看到有古代和近代大师的杰作——这些都是人类在史学、诗歌和科学方面多年积累的成果，从荷马到维克多·雨果①，从翟诺芬②到米歇列③，从拉伯雷到乔治·桑夫人。，都应有尽有。特别科学书籍，是这所图书室最珍贵的部分，机械学、弹道学、海洋绘图学、气象学、地理学、地质学等等书籍所占的位置不下于自然科学的书籍，我明白这些都是船长研究的重点。我看见架上有韩波尔⑤全集、阿拉哥全集，以及傅戈尔⑤、亨利·圣·克利·德维尔夏斯尔③、密尔·爱德华③、卡特法日、邓达尔、法拉第、白尔特洛＠、薛希修道院长＠、别台曼③、莫利少校、阿加昔斯②等人的著作；科学院的论文，各国地理学会的会刊等等也有。我写的那两本书也放在明显的位置上，我能得到尼摩船长的相当宽大的接待，大概就是由于这两本书。在伯特兰③的著作中间，他的那部《天文学的创始人），竟使我推算出这只船制造的确实日期；我知道这部书是于1865年出版，由此可以断定，诺第留斯号下水是在这一个时期之后。这样说来，尼摩船长开始他的海底生活，至多不过三年。我很希望有更新近的书籍可以让我确定这个日期：但我想，我会有时间来做这种研究工作的；我不愿再耽误游览诺第留斯号船上的奇迹。
“先生，”我对船长说，“我多谢您把这些图书让我随便使用。这是科学的宝库，我在这里一定能得到许多益处。，
“这里不仅是图书室."尼摩船长说，“同时又是吸烟室."
“吸烟室吗？”我喊，“船上也抽烟吗？”
“当然也抽烟."
“先生，那么，我不能不想您是跟哈瓦那有来往的了。”
“一点没有来往."船长回答，“阿龙纳斯先生，这支雪前，您抽抽看，这虽然不是从哈瓦那来的，但如果您是行家，您一定会满意的。”
我接过他给我的雪茄烟，形状有点像哈瓦那制的伦敦式雪茄，烟叶也似乎是上等的金色烟叶. 我在一根漂亮的铜托子上的小火盆上把烟点起来。爱吸烟的人两天来不抽烟，一拿起烟来，就觉浑身愉快，我尽情地吸了几口。我说：
“好极了，但不是烟草。”
“对，”船长回答，“这种烟草不是从哈瓦那来的，也不是从东方来的。这是海里供给我的一种富有烟精的海藻，这种海藻的数量并不多。先生，您抽不到哈瓦那制的雪前烟不觉得遗憾吗？”
“船长，从今天起我就看不起那些烟了。”
“那您就随便抽吧！用不着讨论这些烟的来历了。它们没有受过任何烟草管理局的检查，但我想质量也并不见得就差些。”
“正相反，很好。”
这时候，尼摩船长打开一扇门，这门跟我进入图书室的闩相对，我走进了宽敞华丽的客厅。
这客厅是一个长方形的大房间，长十米，宽六米，高五米，夭花板饰有淡淡的图案花纹，装在天花板上的灯球射出明亮柔和的光线，照耀着陈列在这博物馆中的奇珍异宝。因为这客厅实际上是一所博物馆，一只智慧的妙手把自然界和艺术上的一切珍奇都聚在这里，使它带着一个画家工作室所特有的那种富有艺术性的凌乱。
四周的墙壁悬挂着图案壁毯，壁毯上点缀着三十来幅名画，画框子都是一式一样的，每幅画之间隔以闪闪发亮的武器饰物。我看见其中有不少名贵的作品，大部分我在欧洲私人的收藏馆中，或在图画展览会上曾经欣赏过。历代各家大师的作品挂在这里的有：拉斐尔①的一幅圣母，达，芬奇③的一幅圣女，戈列治③的一幅少女，狄提恩④的一幅妇人，维郎尼斯⑤的一幅膜拜图，缨利罗⑤的一幅圣母升天图，贺尔拜因①的一幅肖像，委拉斯开兹③的一幅修士，里贝拉②的一幅殉教者，鲁本斯③的一幅节日欢宴图，狄尼埃②父子的两幅佛兰德风景，居拉都。、米苏。、包台尔派的三幅“世态画”，叶利哥②和普吕东⑤的两幅油画巴久生＠和魏宜＠的几幅海景图。在近代的作品中，有签署德拉克洛瓦①、安格尔③，德甘③、杜罗扬④、梅索尼”埃⑤、，多宾宜③等名字的油画、还有一些模仿古代最美典型的缩小铜像和石像，摆在这所华美博物馆角落的座架上。诺第留斯号船长所预言的那种惊奇的情况已经开始控制我、的心灵了。
“教授，”这个古怪人说，“请您原谅我这样毫不客气地在这里接待您，请您原谅这所客厅乱七八糟的没有秩序."
“船长，我并不想知道您是什么人，但我现在可以猜测您是一位艺术家吧？”
“先生，我至多不过是一个业余爱好者。我从前喜欢收藏人类双手创造出来的这些最美的作品。我当时是一个热烈的接触，一个不倦的追求家，因此收集了一些价值很高的美术品。这些东西是已经死亡的陆地——对我来说——所留下的最后纪念品了。在我看来，你们的那些近代的美术家也已经是古代的了，他们都已经有两三千年了，所以在我心中，也不把他们分为古代的和现代的。名家大师是没有时代的呀。”
“这些音乐家又怎样呢？”我指着韦伯、罗西尼③、莫扎特③、贝多芬②、海顿③、梅衣比尔。、海罗尔⑤、瓦格：纳⑤、奥比、古诺③以及其他许多人的乐谱说，这些乐谱杂乱地放在一座大型钢琴上面，钢琴占着客厅的一方格的地位。
尼摩船长回答我：“这些音乐家是俄尔甫斯＠的同时代人，因为在死者的记忆中，年代的差别消灭了——教授，我跟您的长眠在地下六英尺深的朋友们一样，我本来是死了！”
尼摩船长默不作声，他好像掉在深沉的幻想中。我激动地看着他，默默地分析他脸上的表情。他胳膊时靠在一张嵌花的桌子上，他一点也不看着我，似乎忘记了我在他面前。
我不敢打乱他的默想，我继续观看厅里的那些珍品。
除了艺术作品以外，自然界罕见的产品也占很重要的地位。这些东西主要是植物、贝壳，以及海中的其他产品，大约都是尼摩船长个人的发现。在大厅中间，有一个喷泉。水受电光的照耀，重又落在单由一片大贝壳制成的环形水池中。这个最大的无头软体类动物的贝壳，从它镶有精细花纹的边缘上量，周边约有六米长；这贝壳比威尼斯共和国送给佛朗索瓦一世①的那些美丽贝壳还要大得多，巴黎圣修佩斯教堂曾用这种贝壳做了两个巨大的圣水池。
在这环形水池周围，红铜架子的玻璃柜中，最珍贵的海产物品都分了类，并贴着标签，这些都是一个生物学家很难得看见的东西。作为教授的我所感到的喜悦，是谁都不难想象到的。
植虫动物门的两类，腔肠类和棘皮类，在柜中有根奇异的品种。在腔肠类中，有管状珊瑚，扇形矾花，叙利亚的柔软侮绵，摩鹿加群岛的海木贼，磷光珊瑚，挪威海中很好看的逗点珊瑚，各式各样的伞形珊瑚，八枚珊瑚虫，我的老师密尔·爱德华很清楚地分为许多种的整组的石蚕（这里面，我看见有很美丽的扇形石蚕）：波旁岛的眼形珊瑚，安的列斯群岛的“海神之车”，各种各样的美丽珊瑚，以及所有一切稀奇古怪的腔肠类动物；这些动物集合起来，能构成整个的海岛，这些岛将来有一天会结合成为大陆。在外表多刺的棘皮类中，有海盘车、海星球、五角星、慧星球、流盘星、海渭、海参等，作为这一类动物的整套标本摆在这里。
一位神经稍微锐敏一点的贝壳类专家，到了另一些陈列软体类动物标本的玻璃柜面前，一定要高兴得发昏了。我这里看见的这一套标本，简直是无价之宝，时间不允许我一一加以描写。在这些珍品中，我仅仅为了备忘起见举出数种：首先是美丽的印度洋的王槌贝，贝身上的规律白点衬着红棕色的底子，鲜明突出。其次，棘皮王风，颜色鲜艳，全身长着棘刺，是欧洲博物馆中罕有的品种）我估计它的价值为两万法郎。其次，新荷兰岛海中的普通糙贝，这种贝很不容易捕获。其次，塞内加尔岛的奇异唇贝，这贝的两片脆酥白壳好像是肥皂泡，一吹就要消散似的。其次，几种爪哇伪喷水壶形贝，这种贝像是边缘有叶状皱纹的石灰质的管子，最为爱好贝壳的人所欢迎。其次，整整一组的洼贝，有些是青黄色，从美洲海中打来的, 另一些是棕储色，是新荷兰岛海中繁殖的，后一种产自墨西哥湾，壳作鳞次柿比形, 最为突出，前一种是从南冰洋中采取的星状贝。这组中最稀罕的、最好看的是新西兰的马刺形贝。又其次，好看的带硫磺质的版形贝，珍贵的西德列和维纳斯优美贝，上阑格巴沿海的格子花盘贝，螺钿光辉的细纹蹄贝，中国海的绿色帆贝，锥形贝类中差不多没人知道的圆锥贝，印度和非洲作为货币使用的各种各类的磁贝，东印度群岛最珍贵的贝壳——“海的光荣’’。最后是纽丝螺、燕子螺、金字塔形螺、海介蛤、卵形贝、螺旋贝、僧帽贝、铁盔贝、朱红贝、油螺、竖琴螺、岩石螺、法螺、化石螺、纺锤螺、袖形贝、带翼贝、笠形贝、硝子贝、棱形贝，这些精美脆酥的烷贝，科学家把最美丽的名词作为它们的名字。
另外，在特殊的格子中，摆着最美丽的串珠，被电光照得发出星星的火花，其中有从红海的尖角螺中取出来的玫瑰红色珠，有蝶形海耳螺的青色珠，有黄色珠，蓝色珠，黑色珠，以及各海洋中各种软体动物，北方海中蚌蛤类的新奇产品。最后是价值不可估计的宝珠，那是从最稀罕的珍珠贝中取出来的。其中有的比鸽蛋大，它们的价值要超过旅行家达成尼埃①卖给波斯国王得价三百万的那颗珍珠，就是和我认为世界上独一无二的、马斯加提②教长的另一颗珍珠比较起来，它们还是贵重得多。
所以，要估计出这全部物品的价值，可以说是不可能的。尼摩船长一定花了数百万金钱来购买这些珍宝，我心里想，他从哪里弄来这笔款子，来满足他收藏家的欲望呢，我正想的时候，被下面的诺打断了：
“教授，您在看我的贝壳吗？当然，这些贝壳会使一位生物学家发生浓厚的兴趣：但在我来说，却另有一种乐趣，就是因为这些东西是我自己亲手！次集起来的，地球上没有一处海能躲过我的搜寻。”
“我了解，船长，我了解您在这样稀世宝藏当中走动的时候所感到的喜悦。您是亲手把自己的财宝收集起来的人。欧洲没有一所博物馆能有您这样的关于海洋产物的珍贵收藏。我对于这些收藏固然尽情赞美，可是，对于装载它的这只船，我不知道更要怎样来赞美呢！我并不想完全知道您的秘密！不过，我得承认，这艘诺第留斯号，它内部的动力，使它行动的机器，赋予它生命的强大原动力，所有这一切，都引起我的最大好奇心。我看见在这个客厅的墙壁上挂着许多仪器，它们的用处我完全不懂得，我是不是可以知道呢？……”
“阿龙纳斯先生，”尼摩船长回答我，“我跟您说过了，您在我船上是自由的，因此，诺第留斯号的任何一部分您都可以去看。所以，您可以详细参观它，我很高兴，能作您的向导。”
“我不知道怎么感谢您才好，先生，但我不能妄用您的美意，随便乱问，我单单想问那些物理仪器是作什么用的。……”
“教授，这样的一些仪器，我的房子里也有，到我房中的时候，我一定给您讲解它们的用处.现在请先去参观一下给您留下的舱房。 您应该知道您在诺第留斯号船上住得怎么样。”
我跟在尼摩船长后面，从容厅的一个门穿出，又回到过值中。他领我向船前头走去，我在那里看到的，不仅仅是一个舱房，并且是有床、有梳洗台和各种家具的一个漂亮的房间。
我不能不十分感谢我的主人。
“您的房间紧挨着我的房间，”他一边打开门，一边对我说，“我的房间跟我们刚离开的客厅相通。”
我走进船长的房间里。房间内部朴实整齐，有点像隐士住的，房中有一张铁床，一张办公台和一些梳洗用具。淡淡的灯光照着内部。里面没有什么讲究的东西。只有一些必需品。
尼摩船长指着一把椅子，对我说：
“请坐。”
我坐下，他对我说了下面的一些话。
收听单词发音 |
1
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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maroon
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| v.困住，使（人）处于孤独无助之境；n.逃亡黑奴；孤立的人；酱紫色，褐红色；adj.酱紫色的，褐红色的 | |
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harmonious
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| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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ethics
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| n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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jumble
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| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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founders
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| n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) | |
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pinpoint
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| vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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connoisseur
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| n.鉴赏家，行家，内行 | |
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inhaled
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| v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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smoker
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| n.吸烟者，吸烟车厢，吸烟室 | |
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puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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albeit
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| conj.即使；纵使；虽然 | |
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luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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arabesques
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| n.阿拉伯式花饰( arabesque的名词复数 )；错综图饰；阿拉伯图案；阿拉贝斯克芭蕾舞姿（独脚站立，手前伸，另一脚一手向后伸） | |
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amass
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| vt.积累，积聚 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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picturesqueness
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panoplies
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| n.全套礼服( panoply的名词复数 )；盛装；全副甲胄；雄伟的阵式 | |
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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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tapestries
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| n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 )；绣帷，织锦v.用挂毯（或绣帷）装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 ) | |
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austere
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| adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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martyr
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| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
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genre
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| n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格 | |
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stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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mementos
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| 纪念品，令人回忆的东西( memento的名词复数 ) | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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chronological
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| adj.按年月顺序排列的，年代学的 | |
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47
analyzing
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| v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析 | |
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mosaic
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| n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的 | |
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meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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50
clam
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| n.蛤，蛤肉 | |
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51
mollusk
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| n.软体动物 | |
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52
circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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53
clams
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| n.蛤；蚌，蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.（在沙滩上）挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 ) | |
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54
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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naturalist
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| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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56
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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57
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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58
mentor
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| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
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congregate
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| v.(使)集合，聚集 | |
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60
spines
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| n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 )；脊椎；（动植物的）刺；书脊 | |
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61
brittle
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| adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的 | |
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62
urchins
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| n.顽童( urchin的名词复数 )；淘气鬼；猬；海胆 | |
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63
harp
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| n.竖琴；天琴座 | |
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64
spiny
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| adj.多刺的，刺状的；n.多刺的东西 | |
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oyster
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| n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人 | |
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66
bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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67
limestone
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| n.石灰石 | |
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68
snails
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| n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 ) | |
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69
snail
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| n.蜗牛 | |
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70
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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71
overlapping
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| adj./n.交迭（的） | |
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72
cone
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| n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果 | |
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73
turret
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| n.塔楼，角塔 | |
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spiky
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| adj.长而尖的，大钉似的 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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76
compartments
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| n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层 | |
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strings
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| n.弦 | |
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78
supremely
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| adv.无上地，崇高地 | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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oozed
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的过去式和过去分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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81
investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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fixtures
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| （房屋等的）固定装置( fixture的名词复数 )； 如（浴盆、抽水马桶）； 固定在某位置的人或物； （定期定点举行的）体育活动 | |
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85
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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