I knew quite well that according to the best received theories the mineral covering of the globe is never at absolute rest; the changes brought about by the chemical decomposition6 of its component7 parts, the agitation8 caused by great liquid torrents9, and the magnetic currents, are continually tending to disturb it—even when living beings upon its surface may fancy that all is quiet below. A phenomenon of this kind would not have greatly alarmed me, or at any rate it would not have given rise to dreadful apprehensions11.
But other facts, other circumstances, of a peculiar12 nature, came to reveal to me by degrees the true state of the case. There came incessant13 and continuous explosions. I could only compare them to the loud rattle14 of a long train of chariots driven at full speed over the stones, or a roar of unintermitting thunder.
Then the disordered compass, thrown out of gear by the electric currents, confirmed me in a growing conviction. The mineral crust of the globe threatened to burst up, the granite15 foundations to come together with a crash, the fissure16 through which we were helplessly driven would be filled up, the void would be full of crushed fragments of rock, and we poor wretched mortals were to be buried and annihilated17 in this dreadful consummation.
"What are you in a fright about now?" was the calm rejoinder. "What is the matter with you?"
"The matter? Look at those quaking walls! look at those shivering rocks. Don't you feel the burning heat? Don't you see how the water boils and bubbles? Are you blind to the dense19 vapours and steam growing thicker and denser20 every minute? See this agitated21 compass needle. It is an earthquake that is threatening us."
My undaunted uncle calmly shook his head.
"Do you think," said he, "an earthquake is coming?"
"I do."
"Well, I think you are mistaken."
"What! don't you recognise the symptoms?"
"Of an earthquake? no! I am looking out for something better."
"What can you mean? Explain?"
"I believe we are," said the indomitable Professor with an air of perfect self-possession; "and it is the best thing that could possibly happen to us under our circumstances."
The best thing! Was my uncle stark24 mad? What did the man mean? and what was the use of saying facetious25 things at a time like this?
"What!" I shouted. "Are we being taken up in an eruption? Our fate has flung us here among burning lavas26, molten rocks, boiling waters, and all kinds of volcanic28 matter; we are going to be pitched out, expelled, tossed up, vomited29, spit out high into the air, along with fragments of rock, showers of ashes and scoria, in the midst of a towering rush of smoke and flames; and it is the best thing that could happen to us!"
"Yes," replied the Professor, eyeing me over his spectacles, "I don't see any other way of reaching the surface of the earth."
I pass rapidly over the thousand ideas which passed through my mind. My uncle was right, undoubtedly30 right; and never had he seemed to me more daring and more confirmed in his notions than at this moment when he was calmly contemplating31 the chances of being shot out of a volcano!
In the meantime up we went; the night passed away in continual ascent32; the din5 and uproar33 around us became more and more intensified34; I was stifled35 and stunned36; I thought my last hour was approaching; and yet imagination is such a strong thing that even in this supreme37 hour I was occupied with strange and almost childish speculations38. But I was the victim, not the master, of my own thoughts.
It was very evident that we were being hurried upward upon the crest39 of a wave of eruption; beneath our raft were boiling waters, and under these the more sluggish40 lava27 was working its way up in a heated mass, together with shoals of fragments of rock which, when they arrived at the crater41, would be dispersed42 in all directions high and low. We were imprisoned43 in the shaft or chimney of some volcano. There was no room to doubt of that.
But this time, instead of Snæfell, an extinct volcano, we were inside one in full activity. I wondered, therefore, where could this mountain be, and in what part of the world we were to be shot out.
I made no doubt but that it would be in some northern region. Before its disorders44 set in, the needle had never deviated45 from that direction. From Cape46 Saknussemm we had been carried due north for hundreds of leagues. Were we under Iceland again? Were we destined47 to be thrown up out of Hecla, or by which of the seven other fiery48 craters49 in that island? Within a radius50 of five hundred leagues to the west I remembered under this parallel of latitude51 only the imperfectly known volcanoes of the north-east coast of America. To the east there was only one in the 80th degree of north latitude, the Esk in Jan Mayen Island, not far from Spitzbergen! Certainly there was no lack of craters, and there were some capacious enough to throw out a whole army! But I wanted to know which of them was to serve us for an exit from the inner world.
Towards morning the ascending53 movement became accelerated. If the heat increased, instead of diminishing, as we approached nearer to the surface of the globe, this effect was due to local causes alone, and those volcanic. The manner of our locomotion54 left no doubt in my mind. An enormous force, a force of hundreds of atmospheres, generated by the extreme pressure of confined vapours, was driving us irresistibly55 forward. But to what numberless dangers it exposed us!
Soon lurid56 lights began to penetrate57 the vertical58 gallery which widened as we went up. Right and left I could see deep channels, like huge tunnels, out of which escaped dense volumes of smoke; tongues of fire lapped the walls, which crackled and sputtered59 under the intense heat.
"See, see, my uncle!" I cried.
"Well, those are only sulphureous flames and vapours, which one must expect to see in an eruption. They are quite natural."
"But suppose they should wrap us round."
"But they won't wrap us round."
"But we shall be stifled."
"We shall not be stifled at all. The gallery is widening, and if it becomes necessary, we shall abandon the raft, and creep into a crevice60."
"But the water—the rising water?"
"There is no more water, Axel; only a lava paste, which is bearing us up on its surface to the top of the crater."
The liquid column had indeed disappeared, to give place to dense and still boiling eruptive matter of all kinds. The temperature was becoming unbearable61. A thermometer exposed to this atmosphere would have marked 150°. The perspiration62 streamed from my body. But for the rapidity of our ascent we should have been suffocated63.
But the Professor gave up his idea of abandoning the raft, and it was well he did. However roughly joined together, those planks64 afforded us a firmer support than we could have found anywhere else.
About eight in the morning a new incident occurred. The upward movement ceased. The raft lay motionless.
"What is this?" I asked, shaken by this sudden stoppage as if by a shock.
"It is a halt," replied my uncle.
"Is the eruption checked?" I asked.
"I hope not."
I rose, and tried to look around me. Perhaps the raft itself, stopped in its course by a projection65, was staying the volcanic torrent10. If this were the case we should have to release it as soon as possible.
But it was not so. The blast of ashes, scorix, and rubbish had ceased to rise.
"Has the eruption stopped?" I cried.
"Ah!" said my uncle between his clenched66 teeth, "you are afraid. But don't alarm yourself—this lull67 cannot last long. It has lasted now five minutes, and in a short time we shall resume our journey to the mouth of the crater."
As he spoke68, the Professor continued to consult his chronometer69, and he was again right in his prognostications. The raft was soon hurried and driven forward with a rapid but irregular movement, which lasted about ten minutes, and then stopped again.
"Very good," said my uncle; "in ten minutes more we shall be off again, for our present business lies with an intermittent70 volcano. It gives us time now and then to take breath."
This was perfectly52 true. When the ten minutes were over we started off again with renewed and increased speed. We were obliged to lay fast hold of the planks of the raft, not to be thrown off. Then again the paroxysm was over.
I have since reflected upon this singular phenomenon without being able to explain it. At any rate it was clear that we were not in the main shaft of the volcano, but in a lateral71 gallery where there were felt recurrent tunes72 of reaction.
How often this operation was repeated I cannot say. All I know is, that at each fresh impulse we were hurled73 forward with a greatly increased force, and we seemed as if we were mere74 projectiles75. During the short halts we were stifled with the heat; whilst we were being projected forward the hot air almost stopped my breath. I thought for a moment how delightful76 it would be to find myself carried suddenly into the arctic regions, with a cold 30° below the freezing point. My overheated brain conjured77 up visions of white plains of cool snow, where I might roll and allay78 my feverish79 heat. Little by little my brain, weakened by so many constantly repeated shocks, seemed to be giving way altogether. But for the strong arm of Hans I should more than once have had my head broken against the granite roof of our burning dungeon80.
I have therefore no exact recollection of what took place during the following hours. I have a confused impression left of continuous explosions, loud detonations81, a general shaking of the rocks all around us, and of a spinning movement with which our raft was once whirled helplessly round. It rocked upon the lava torrent, amidst a dense fall of ashes. Snorting flames darted82 their fiery tongues at us. There were wild, fierce puffs83 of stormy wind from below, resembling the blasts of vast iron furnaces blowing all at one time; and I caught a glimpse of the figure of Hans lighted up by the fire; and all the feeling I had left was just what I imagine must be the feeling of an unhappy criminal doomed84 to be blown away alive from the mouth of a cannon85, just before the trigger is pulled, and the flying limbs and rags of flesh and skin fill the quivering air and spatter the blood-stained ground.
点击收听单词发音
1 frenzied | |
a.激怒的;疯狂的 | |
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2 spun | |
v.纺,杜撰,急转身 | |
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3 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
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4 intoxicated | |
喝醉的,极其兴奋的 | |
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5 din | |
n.喧闹声,嘈杂声 | |
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6 decomposition | |
n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃 | |
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7 component | |
n.组成部分,成分,元件;adj.组成的,合成的 | |
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8 agitation | |
n.搅动;搅拌;鼓动,煽动 | |
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9 torrents | |
n.倾注;奔流( torrent的名词复数 );急流;爆发;连续不断 | |
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10 torrent | |
n.激流,洪流;爆发,(话语等的)连发 | |
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11 apprehensions | |
疑惧 | |
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12 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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13 incessant | |
adj.不停的,连续的 | |
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14 rattle | |
v.飞奔,碰响;激怒;n.碰撞声;拨浪鼓 | |
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15 granite | |
adj.花岗岩,花岗石 | |
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16 fissure | |
n.裂缝;裂伤 | |
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17 annihilated | |
v.(彻底)消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 );使无效;废止;彻底击溃 | |
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18 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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19 dense | |
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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20 denser | |
adj. 不易看透的, 密集的, 浓厚的, 愚钝的 | |
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21 agitated | |
adj.被鼓动的,不安的 | |
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22 eruption | |
n.火山爆发;(战争等)爆发;(疾病等)发作 | |
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23 shaft | |
n.(工具的)柄,杆状物 | |
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24 stark | |
adj.荒凉的;严酷的;完全的;adv.完全地 | |
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25 facetious | |
adj.轻浮的,好开玩笑的 | |
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26 lavas | |
n.(火山喷发的)熔岩( lava的名词复数 );(熔岩冷凝后的)火山岩 | |
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27 lava | |
n.熔岩,火山岩 | |
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28 volcanic | |
adj.火山的;象火山的;由火山引起的 | |
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29 vomited | |
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30 undoubtedly | |
adv.确实地,无疑地 | |
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31 contemplating | |
深思,细想,仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 ); 注视,凝视; 考虑接受(发生某事的可能性); 深思熟虑,沉思,苦思冥想 | |
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32 ascent | |
n.(声望或地位)提高;上升,升高;登高 | |
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33 uproar | |
n.骚动,喧嚣,鼎沸 | |
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34 intensified | |
v.(使)增强, (使)加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35 stifled | |
(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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36 stunned | |
adj. 震惊的,惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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37 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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38 speculations | |
n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 );思考;投机活动;推断 | |
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39 crest | |
n.顶点;饰章;羽冠;vt.达到顶点;vi.形成浪尖 | |
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40 sluggish | |
adj.懒惰的,迟钝的,无精打采的 | |
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41 crater | |
n.火山口,弹坑 | |
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42 dispersed | |
adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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43 imprisoned | |
下狱,监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44 disorders | |
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 );凌乱;骚乱;(身心、机能)失调 | |
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45 deviated | |
v.偏离,越轨( deviate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
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47 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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48 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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49 craters | |
n.火山口( crater的名词复数 );弹坑等 | |
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50 radius | |
n.半径,半径范围;有效航程,范围,界限 | |
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51 latitude | |
n.纬度,行动或言论的自由(范围),(pl.)地区 | |
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52 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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53 ascending | |
adj.上升的,向上的 | |
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54 locomotion | |
n.运动,移动 | |
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55 irresistibly | |
adv.无法抵抗地,不能自持地;极为诱惑人地 | |
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56 lurid | |
adj.可怕的;血红的;苍白的 | |
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57 penetrate | |
v.透(渗)入;刺入,刺穿;洞察,了解 | |
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58 vertical | |
adj.垂直的,顶点的,纵向的;n.垂直物,垂直的位置 | |
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59 sputtered | |
v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的过去式和过去分词 );发劈啪声;喷出;飞溅出 | |
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60 crevice | |
n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝;缺口 | |
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61 unbearable | |
adj.不能容忍的;忍受不住的 | |
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62 perspiration | |
n.汗水;出汗 | |
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63 suffocated | |
(使某人)窒息而死( suffocate的过去式和过去分词 ); (将某人)闷死; 让人感觉闷热; 憋气 | |
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64 planks | |
(厚)木板( plank的名词复数 ); 政纲条目,政策要点 | |
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65 projection | |
n.发射,计划,突出部分 | |
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66 clenched | |
v.紧握,抓紧,咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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67 lull | |
v.使安静,使入睡,缓和,哄骗;n.暂停,间歇 | |
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68 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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69 chronometer | |
n.精密的计时器 | |
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70 intermittent | |
adj.间歇的,断断续续的 | |
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71 lateral | |
adj.侧面的,旁边的 | |
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72 tunes | |
n.曲调,曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 );调整;(给收音机、电视等)调谐;使协调 | |
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73 hurled | |
v.猛投,用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 );大声叫骂 | |
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74 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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75 projectiles | |
n.抛射体( projectile的名词复数 );(炮弹、子弹等)射弹,(火箭等)自动推进的武器 | |
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76 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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77 conjured | |
用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 ); 祈求,恳求; 变戏法; (变魔术般地) 使…出现 | |
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78 allay | |
v.消除,减轻(恐惧、怀疑等) | |
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79 feverish | |
adj.发烧的,狂热的,兴奋的 | |
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80 dungeon | |
n.地牢,土牢 | |
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81 detonations | |
n.爆炸 (声)( detonation的名词复数 ) | |
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82 darted | |
v.投掷,投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 );向前冲,飞奔 | |
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83 puffs | |
n.吸( puff的名词复数 );(烟斗或香烟的)一吸;一缕(烟、蒸汽等);(呼吸或风的)呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧 | |
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84 doomed | |
命定的 | |
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85 cannon | |
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮 | |
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