Next morning we awoke half frozen by the sharp keen air, but with the light of a splendid sun. I rose from my granite2 bed and went out to enjoy the magnificent spectacle that lay unrolled before me.
I stood on the very summit of the southernmost of Snæfell's peaks. The range of the eye extended over the whole island. By an optical law which obtains at all great heights, the shores seemed raised and the centre depressed3. It seemed as if one of Helbesmer's raised maps lay at my feet. I could see deep valleys intersecting each other in every direction, precipices4 like low walls, lakes reduced to ponds, rivers abbreviated5 into streams. On my right were numberless glaciers6 and innumerable peaks, some plumed7 with feathery clouds of smoke. The undulating surface of these endless mountains, crested8 with sheets of snow, reminded one of a stormy sea. If I looked westward9, there the ocean lay spread out in all its magnificence, like a mere10 continuation of those flock-like summits. The eye could hardly tell where the snowy ridges11 ended and the foaming12 waves began.
I was thus steeped in the marvellous ecstasy13 which all high summits develop in the mind; and now without giddiness, for I was beginning to be accustomed to these sublime15 aspects of nature. My dazzled eyes were bathed in the bright flood of the solar rays. I was forgetting where and who I was, to live the life of elves and sylphs, the fanciful creation of Scandinavian superstitions16. I felt intoxicated17 with the sublime pleasure of lofty elevations18 without thinking of the profound abysses into which I was shortly to be plunged19. But I was brought back to the realities of things by the arrival of Hans and the Professor, who joined me on the summit.
My uncle pointed20 out to me in the far west a light steam or mist, a semblance21 of land, which bounded the distant horizon of waters.
"Greenland!" said he.
"Greenland?" I cried.
"Yes; we are only thirty-five leagues from it; and during thaws22 the white bears, borne by the ice fields from the north, are carried even into Iceland. But never mind that. Here we are at the top of Snæfell and here are two peaks, one north and one south. Hans will tell us the name of that on which we are now standing23."
The question being put, Hans replied:
"Scartaris."
My uncle shot a triumphant24 glance at me.
The crater of Snæfell resembled an inverted26 cone27, the opening of which might be half a league in diameter. Its depth appeared to be about two thousand feet. Imagine the aspect of such a reservoir, brim full and running over with liquid fire amid the rolling thunder. The bottom of the funnel28 was about 250 feet in circuit, so that the gentle slope allowed its lower brim to be reached without much difficulty. Involuntarily I compared the whole crater to an enormous erected29 mortar31, and the comparison put me in a terrible fright.
"What madness," I thought, "to go down into a mortar, perhaps a loaded mortar, to be shot up into the air at a moment's notice!"
But I did not try to back out of it. Hans with perfect coolness resumed the lead, and I followed him without a word.
In order to facilitate the descent, Hans wound his way down the cone by a spiral path. Our route lay amidst eruptive rocks, some of which, shaken out of their loosened beds, rushed bounding down the abyss, and in their fall awoke echoes remarkable32 for their loud and well-defined sharpness.
In certain parts of the cone there were glaciers. Here Hans advanced only with extreme precaution, sounding his way with his iron-pointed pole, to discover any crevasses33 in it. At particularly dubious34 passages we were obliged to connect ourselves with each other by a long cord, in order that any man who missed his footing might be held up by his companions. This solid formation was prudent35, but did not remove all danger.
Yet, notwithstanding the difficulties of the descent, down steeps unknown to the guide, the journey was accomplished36 without accidents, except the loss of a coil of rope, which escaped from the hands of an Icelander, and took the shortest way to the bottom of the abyss.
At mid-day we arrived. I raised my head and saw straight above me the upper aperture37 of the cone, framing a bit of sky of very small circumference38, but almost perfectly39 round. Just upon the edge appeared the snowy peak of Saris, standing out sharp and clear against endless space.
At the bottom of the crater were three chimneys, through which, in its eruptions40, Snæfell had driven forth41 fire and lava42 from its central furnace. Each of these chimneys was a hundred feet in diameter. They gaped43 before us right in our path. I had not the courage to look down either of them. But Professor Liedenbrock had hastily surveyed all three; he was panting, running from one to the other, gesticulating, and uttering incoherent expressions. Hans and his comrades, seated upon loose lava rocks, looked at him with as much wonder as they knew how to express, and perhaps taking him for an escaped lunatic.
Suddenly my uncle uttered a cry. I thought his foot must have slipped and that he had fallen down one of the holes. But, no; I saw him, with arms outstretched and legs straddling wide apart, erect30 before a granite rock that stood in the centre of the crater, just like a pedestal made ready to receive a statue of Pluto44. He stood like a man stupefied, but the stupefaction soon gave way to delirious45 rapture46.
"Axel, Axel," he cried. "Come, come!"
I ran. Hans and the Icelanders never stirred.
"Look!" cried the Professor.
And, sharing his astonishment47, but I think not his joy, I read on the western face of the block, in Runic characters, half mouldered48 away with lapse49 of ages, this thrice-accursed name:
[At this point a Runic text appears]
"Arne Saknussemm!" replied my uncle. "Do you yet doubt?"
I made no answer; and I returned in silence to my lava seat in a state of utter speechless consternation50. Here was crushing evidence.
How long I remained plunged in agonizing51 reflections I cannot tell; all that I know is, that on raising my head again, I saw only my uncle and Hans at the bottom of the crater. The Icelanders had been dismissed, and they were now descending52 the outer slopes of Snæfell to return to Stapi.
Hans slept peaceably at the foot of a rock, in a lava bed, where he had found a suitable couch for himself; but my uncle was pacing around the bottom of the crater like a wild beast in a cage. I had neither the wish nor the strength to rise, and following the guide's example I went off into an unhappy slumber53, fancying I could hear ominous54 noises or feel tremblings within the recesses55 of the mountain.
Thus the first night in the crater passed away.
The next morning, a grey, heavy, cloudy sky seemed to droop56 over the summit of the cone. I did not know this first from the appearances of nature, but I found it out by my uncle's impetuous wrath57.
I soon found out the cause, and hope dawned again in my heart. For this reason.
Of the three ways open before us, one had been taken by Saknussemm. The indications of the learned Icelander hinted at in the cryptogram58, pointed to this fact that the shadow of Scartaris came to touch that particular way during the latter days of the month of June.
That sharp peak might hence be considered as the gnomon of a vast sun dial, the shadow projected from which on a certain day would point out the road to the centre of the earth.
Now, no sun no shadow, and therefore no guide. Here was June 25. If the sun was clouded for six days we must postpone59 our visit till next year.
My limited powers of description would fail, were I to attempt a picture of the Professor's angry impatience60. The day wore on, and no shadow came to lay itself along the bottom of the crater. Hans did not move from the spot he had selected; yet he must be asking himself what were we waiting for, if he asked himself anything at all. My uncle spoke61 not a word to me. His gaze, ever directed upwards62, was lost in the grey and misty63 space beyond.
On the 26th nothing yet. Rain mingled64 with snow was falling all day long. Hans built a hut of pieces of lava. I felt a malicious65 pleasure in watching the thousand rills and cascades66 that came tumbling down the sides of the cone, and the deafening67 continuous din14 awaked by every stone against which they bounded.
My uncle's rage knew no bounds. It was enough to irritate a meeker68 man than he; for it was foundering69 almost within the port.
But Heaven never sends unmixed grief, and for Professor Liedenbrock there was a satisfaction in store proportioned to his desperate anxieties.
The next day the sky was again overcast70; but on the 29th of June, the last day but one of the month, with the change of the moon came a change of weather. The sun poured a flood of light down the crater. Every hillock, every rock and stone, every projecting surface, had its share of the beaming torrent71, and threw its shadow on the ground. Amongst them all, Scartaris laid down his sharp-pointed angular shadow which began to move slowly in the opposite direction to that of the radiant orb72.
My uncle turned too, and followed it.
At noon, being at its least extent, it came and softly fell upon the edge of the middle chimney.
"There it is! there it is!" shouted the Professor.
"Now for the centre of the globe!" he added in Danish.
I looked at Hans, to hear what he would say.
"Forward!" replied my uncle.
It was thirteen minutes past one.
点击收听单词发音
1 devoured | |
吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 ); 耗尽; 津津有味地看; 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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2 granite | |
adj.花岗岩,花岗石 | |
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3 depressed | |
adj.沮丧的,抑郁的,不景气的,萧条的 | |
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4 precipices | |
n.悬崖,峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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5 abbreviated | |
adj. 简短的,省略的 动词abbreviate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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6 glaciers | |
冰河,冰川( glacier的名词复数 ) | |
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7 plumed | |
饰有羽毛的 | |
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8 crested | |
adj.有顶饰的,有纹章的,有冠毛的v.到达山顶(或浪峰)( crest的过去式和过去分词 );到达洪峰,达到顶点 | |
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9 westward | |
n.西方,西部;adj.西方的,向西的;adv.向西 | |
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10 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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11 ridges | |
n.脊( ridge的名词复数 );山脊;脊状突起;大气层的)高压脊 | |
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12 foaming | |
adj.布满泡沫的;发泡 | |
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13 ecstasy | |
n.狂喜,心醉神怡,入迷 | |
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14 din | |
n.喧闹声,嘈杂声 | |
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15 sublime | |
adj.崇高的,伟大的;极度的,不顾后果的 | |
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16 superstitions | |
迷信,迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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17 intoxicated | |
喝醉的,极其兴奋的 | |
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18 elevations | |
(水平或数量)提高( elevation的名词复数 ); 高地; 海拔; 提升 | |
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19 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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20 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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21 semblance | |
n.外貌,外表 | |
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22 thaws | |
n.(足以解冻的)暖和天气( thaw的名词复数 );(敌对国家之间)关系缓和v.(气候)解冻( thaw的第三人称单数 );(态度、感情等)缓和;(冰、雪及冷冻食物)溶化;软化 | |
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23 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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24 triumphant | |
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的 | |
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25 crater | |
n.火山口,弹坑 | |
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26 inverted | |
adj.反向的,倒转的v.使倒置,使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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27 cone | |
n.圆锥体,圆锥形东西,球果 | |
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28 funnel | |
n.漏斗;烟囱;v.汇集 | |
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29 ERECTED | |
adj. 直立的,竖立的,笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立,建立 | |
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30 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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31 mortar | |
n.灰浆,灰泥;迫击炮;v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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32 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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33 crevasses | |
n.破口,崩溃处,裂缝( crevasse的名词复数 ) | |
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34 dubious | |
adj.怀疑的,无把握的;有问题的,靠不住的 | |
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35 prudent | |
adj.谨慎的,有远见的,精打细算的 | |
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36 accomplished | |
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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37 aperture | |
n.孔,隙,窄的缺口 | |
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38 circumference | |
n.圆周,周长,圆周线 | |
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39 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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40 eruptions | |
n.喷发,爆发( eruption的名词复数 ) | |
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41 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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42 lava | |
n.熔岩,火山岩 | |
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43 gaped | |
v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 );张开,张大 | |
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44 Pluto | |
n.冥王星 | |
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45 delirious | |
adj.不省人事的,神智昏迷的 | |
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46 rapture | |
n.狂喜;全神贯注;着迷;v.使狂喜 | |
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47 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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48 mouldered | |
v.腐朽( moulder的过去式和过去分词 );腐烂,崩塌 | |
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49 lapse | |
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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50 consternation | |
n.大为吃惊,惊骇 | |
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51 agonizing | |
adj.痛苦难忍的;使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦;折磨(agonize的ing形式) | |
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52 descending | |
n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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53 slumber | |
n.睡眠,沉睡状态 | |
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54 ominous | |
adj.不祥的,不吉的,预兆的,预示的 | |
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55 recesses | |
n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 );(工作或业务活动的)中止或暂停期间;学校的课间休息;某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 );将(墙)做成凹形,在(墙)上做壁龛;休息,休会,休庭 | |
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56 droop | |
v.低垂,下垂;凋萎,萎靡 | |
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57 wrath | |
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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58 cryptogram | |
n.密码 | |
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59 postpone | |
v.延期,推迟 | |
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60 impatience | |
n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
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61 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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62 upwards | |
adv.向上,在更高处...以上 | |
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63 misty | |
adj.雾蒙蒙的,有雾的 | |
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64 mingled | |
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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65 malicious | |
adj.有恶意的,心怀恶意的 | |
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66 cascades | |
倾泻( cascade的名词复数 ); 小瀑布(尤指一连串瀑布中的一支); 瀑布状物; 倾泻(或涌出)的东西 | |
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67 deafening | |
adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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68 meeker | |
adj.温顺的,驯服的( meek的比较级 ) | |
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69 foundering | |
v.创始人( founder的现在分词 ) | |
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70 overcast | |
adj.阴天的,阴暗的,愁闷的;v.遮盖,(使)变暗,包边缝;n.覆盖,阴天 | |
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71 torrent | |
n.激流,洪流;爆发,(话语等的)连发 | |
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72 orb | |
n.太阳;星球;v.弄圆;成球形 | |
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73 tranquil | |
adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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