CHAPTER XXXI. PREPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY

 The next morning I awoke feeling perfectly¹ well. I thought a bathe would do me good, and I went to plunge² for a few minutes into the waters of this mediterranean³ sea, for assuredly it better deserved this name than any other sea.

 

I came back to breakfast with a good appetite. Hans was a good caterer⁴ for our little household; he had water and fire at his disposal, so that he was able to vary our bill of fare now and then. For dessert he gave us a few cups of coffee, and never was coffee so delicious.

 

"Now," said my uncle, "now is the time for high tide, and we must not lose the opportunity to study this phenomenon."

 

"What! the tide!" I cried. "Can the influence of the sun and moon be felt down here?"

 

"Why not? Are not all bodies subject throughout their mass to the power of universal attraction? This mass of water cannot escape the general law. And in spite of the heavy atmospheric⁵ pressure on the surface, you will see it rise like the Atlantic itself."

 

At the same moment we reached the sand on the shore, and the waves were by slow degrees encroaching on the shore.

 

"Here is the tide rising," I cried.

 

"Yes, Axel; and judging by these ridges⁶ of foam⁷, you may observe that the sea will rise about twelve feet."

 

"This is wonderful," I said.

 

"No; it is quite natural."

 

"You may say so, uncle; but to me it is most extraordinary, and I can hardly believe my eyes. Who would ever have imagined, under this terrestrial crust, an ocean with ebbing⁸ and flowing tides, with winds and storms?"

 

"Well," replied my uncle, "is there any scientific reason against it?"

 

"No; I see none, as soon as the theory of central heat is given up." "So then, thus far," he answered, "the theory of Sir Humphry Davy is confirmed."

 

"Evidently it is; and now there is no reason why there should not be seas and continents in the interior of the earth."

 

"No doubt," said my uncle; "and inhabited too."

 

"To be sure," said I; "and why should not these waters yield to us fishes of unknown species?"

 

"At any rate," he replied, "we have not seen any yet."

 

"Well, let us make some lines, and see if the bait will draw here as it does in sublunary regions."

 

"We will try, Axel, for we must penetrate⁹ all secrets of these newly discovered regions."

 

"But where are we, uncle? for I have not yet asked you that question, and your instruments must be able to furnish the answer."

 

"Horizontally, three hundred and fifty leagues from Iceland."

 

"So much as that?"

 

"I am sure of not being a mile out of my reckoning."

 

"And does the compass still show south-east?"

 

"Yes; with a westerly deviation¹⁰ of nineteen degrees forty-five minutes, just as above ground. As for its dip, a curious fact is coming to light, which I have observed carefully: that the needle, instead of dipping towards the pole as in the northern hemisphere, on the contrary, rises from it."

 

"Would you then conclude," I said, "that the magnetic pole is somewhere between the surface of the globe and the point where we are?"

 

"Exactly so; and it is likely enough that if we were to reach the spot beneath the polar regions, about that seventy-first degree where Sir James Ross has discovered the magnetic pole to be situated¹¹, we should see the needle point straight up. Therefore that mysterious centre of attraction is at no great depth."

 

I remarked: "It is so; and here is a fact which science has scarcely suspected."

 

"Science, my lad, has been built upon many errors; but they are errors which it was good to fall into, for they led to the truth."

 

"What depth have we now reached?"

 

"We are thirty-five leagues below the surface."

 

"So," I said, examining the map, "the Highlands of Scotland are over our heads, and the Grampians are raising their rugged¹² summits above us."

 

"Yes," answered the Professor laughing. "It is rather a heavy weight to bear, but a solid arch spans over our heads. The great Architect has built it of the best materials; and never could man have given it so wide a stretch. What are the finest arches of bridges and the arcades¹³ of cathedrals, compared with this far reaching vault¹⁴, with a radius¹⁵ of three leagues, beneath which a wide and tempest-tossed ocean may flow at its ease?"

 

"Oh, I am not afraid that it will fall down upon my head. But now what are your plans? Are you not thinking of returning to the surface now?"

 

"Return! no, indeed! We will continue our journey, everything having gone on well so far."

 

"But how are we to get down below this liquid surface?"

 

"Oh, I am not going to dive head foremost. But if all oceans are properly speaking but lakes, since they are encompassed¹⁶ by land, of course this internal sea will be surrounded by a coast of granite¹⁷, and on the opposite shores we shall find fresh passages opening."

 

"How long do you suppose this sea to be?"

 

"Thirty or forty leagues; so that we have no time to lose, and we shall set sail to-morrow."

 

I looked about for a ship.

 

"Set sail, shall we? But I should like to see my boat first."

 

"It will not be a boat at all, but a good, well-made raft."

 

"Why," I said, "a raft would be just as hard to make as a boat, and I don't see—"

 

"I know you don't see; but you might hear if you would listen. Don't you hear the hammer at work? Hans is already busy at it."

 

"What, has he already felled the trees?"

 

"Oh, the trees were already down. Come, and you will see for yourself."

 

After half an hour's walking, on the other side of the promontory¹⁸ which formed the little natural harbour, I perceived Hans at work. In a few more steps I was at his side. To my great surprise a half-finished raft was already lying on the sand, made of a peculiar¹⁹ kind of wood, and a great number of planks²⁰, straight and bent²¹, and of frames, were covering the ground, enough almost for a little fleet.

 

"Uncle, what wood is this?" I cried.

 

"It is fir, pine, or birch, and other northern coniferae, mineralised by the action of the sea. It is called surturbrand, a variety of brown coal or lignite, found chiefly in Iceland."

 

"But surely, then, like other fossil wood, it must be as hard as stone, and cannot float?"

 

"Sometimes that may happen; some of these woods become true anthracites; but others, such as this, have only gone through the first stage of fossil transformation²². Just look," added my uncle, throwing into the sea one of those precious waifs.

 

The bit of wood, after disappearing, returned to the surface and oscillated to and fro with the waves.

 

"Are you convinced?" said my uncle.

 

"I am quite convinced, although it is incredible!"

 

By next evening, thanks to the industry and skill of our guide, the raft was made. It was ten feet by five; the planks of surturbrand, braced²³ strongly together with cords, presented an even surface, and when launched this improvised²⁴ vessel²⁵ floated easily upon the waves of the Liedenbrock Sea.

1 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

2 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

3 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

4 caterer   

n. 备办食物者，备办宴席者

参考例句：

• My wife went to a lot of trouble; she called a caterer. 我太太花了很多心血，她找了专办派对的人来。
• The wedding reception has been organized by an outside caterer. 婚宴由外界的饮食公司承办。

5 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

6 ridges   

n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊

参考例句：

• The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
• Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上，这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。

7 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

8 ebbing   

（指潮水）退( ebb的现在分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落

参考例句：

• The pain was ebbing. 疼痛逐渐减轻了。
• There are indications that his esoteric popularity may be ebbing. 有迹象表明，他神秘的声望可能正在下降。

9 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

10 deviation   

n.背离，偏离；偏差，偏向；离题

参考例句：

• Deviation from this rule are very rare.很少有违反这条规则的。
• Any deviation from the party's faith is seen as betrayal.任何对党的信仰的偏离被视作背叛。

11 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

12 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

13 arcades   

n.商场( arcade的名词复数 )；拱形走道（两旁有商店或娱乐设施）；连拱廊；拱形建筑物

参考例句：

• Clothes are on sale in several shopping arcades these days. 近日一些服装店的服装正在大减价。 来自轻松英语会话---联想4000词(下)
• The Plaza Mayor, with its galleries and arcades, is particularly impressive. 市长大厦以其别具风格的走廊和拱廊给人留下十分深刻的印象。 来自互联网

14 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

15 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

16 encompassed   

v.围绕( encompass的过去式和过去分词 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• The enemy encompassed the city. 敌人包围了城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I have encompassed him with every protection. 我已经把他保护得严严实实。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

17 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

18 promontory   

n.海角；岬

参考例句：

• Genius is a promontory jutting out of the infinite.天才是茫茫大地突出的岬角。
• On the map that promontory looks like a nose,naughtily turned up.从地图上面，那个海角就像一只调皮地翘起来的鼻子。

19 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

20 planks   

（厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点

参考例句：

• The house was built solidly of rough wooden planks. 这房子是用粗木板牢固地建造的。
• We sawed the log into planks. 我们把木头锯成了木板。

21 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

22 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

23 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

25 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。