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首页 » 英文科幻小说 » Five Thousand Miles Underground29章节 » CHAPTER XVIII CAUGHT BY A STRANGE PLANT
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CHAPTER XVIII CAUGHT BY A STRANGE PLANT
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 “Washington is in trouble!” exclaimed Mr. Henderson. Followed by the two boys he ran to where the colored man stood in a stooping position over a small pile of stones.
 
“What is it? Has something bit you?” asked the scientist, as he came up on the run.
 
“No, but I can’t git this stone up!” Washington said. “Look at what a little stone it is, but I can’t lift it. Something must have happened to me. Maybe some one put th’ evil eye on me! Maybe I’m bewitched!”
 
“Nonsense!” exclaimed the professor, “what did you want the stone for?”
 
“Nothin’ in particular,” replied Washington, still tugging2 away at the stone, which was the size of his head. “I was just goin’ t’ throw it at a big bird, but when I went to lift it this little stone 'peared t’ be glued fast.”
 
Washington moved aside to give Mr. Henderson a chance to try to pick up the piece of rock. As the scientist grasped it a look of surprise came over his features:
 
“This is most remarkable3!” he exclaimed. “I can’t budge4 it. I wonder if a giant magnet is holding it down.”
 
He tugged5 and tugged until he was red in the face. Then he beckoned6 to the two boys, and they came to his aid. There was barely room for them all to each get one hand on the rock, and then, only after a powerful tug1 did it come up. Almost instantly it dropped back to the earth.
 
“This is remarkable!” the professor said. “I wonder if the other stones are the same.”
 
He tried several others, and one and all resisted his efforts. It was only the small stones he was able to lift alone, and these, he said, were so weighty that it would have been a task to throw them any distance.
 
“The water and the stones are strangely heavy in this land,” he said. “I wonder what other queer things we shall see.”
 
“I saw a bird a little while ago, when I went to pick up that stone,” observed Washington.
 
“What kind was it?” asked the inventor.
 
“I don’t know, only it was about as big as an eagle.”
 
The travelers wandered about a quarter of a mile from the ship. They avoided the tall grass and the lofty nodding flowers that seemed to grow in regular groves7, and kept to places where they could walk with comparative freedom.
 
“Have you formed any idea, Professor, as to the nature of this country?” asked Mark, who liked to get at the bottom of things.
 
“I have, but it is only a theory,” Mr. Henderson answered. “I believe we are on a sort of small earth that is inside the larger one we live on. This sphere floats in space, just as our earth does and we have passed through the void that lies between our globe and this interior one. I think this new earth is about a quarter the size of ours and in some respects the same. In others it is vastly different.
 
“But we will not think of those things now. We must see what our situation is, whether we are in any danger, and must look to repairing our ship. There will be time enough for other matters later.”
 
The travelers were walking slowly along, noting the strange things on every side. As they advanced the vegetation seemed to become more luxuriant, as if nature had tried to out-do herself in providing beautiful flowers and plants. The changing lights added to the beauty and weirdness8 of the scene.
 
The plain was a rolling one, and here and there were small hills and hollows. As the travelers topped a rise Jack9, who was in advance, called out:
 
“Oh what queer plants! They are giant Jacks-in-the-pulpit!”
 
The others hastened forward to see what the boy had discovered. Jack was too eager to wait, and pressed on. The hill which sloped away from the top of the little plateau on which he stood, was steeper than he had counted on. As he leaned forward he lost his balance and toppled, head foremost, down the declivity10, rolling over.
 
“Look out!” cried Mark, who had almost reached his comrade’s side.
 
The scene that confronted the travelers was a strange one. Before them in a sort of hollow, were scores of big plants, shaped somewhat like a Jack-in-the-pulpit, or a big lily, with a curved top or flap to it.
 
The plants were about eight feet tall, three feet across the top, and the flap or covering was raised about two feet. They were nodding and swaying in the wind on their short stems.
 
“He’s headed right for one of them!” Mr. Henderson exclaimed. “I hope he’ll not fall into one of the openings.”
 
“Is there any danger?” asked Mark.
 
“I’m afraid there is,” the inventor added. “Those plants are a variety of the well-known pitcher11 plant, or fly-trap, as they are sometimes called. In tropical countries they grow to a large size, but nothing like these. They are filled, in the cup, with a sort of sticky, sweet mixture, and this attracts insects. When one enters the cup the top flap folds over, and the hapless insect is caught there. The plant actually devours12 it, nature providing a sort of vegetable digestive apparatus13. These giant plants are the same, and they seem large enough to take in a man, to say nothing of Jack!”
 
With anxious faces the adventurers turned to watch the fate of their comrade. Jack was slipping, sliding and rolling down the hill. He could not seem to stop, though he was making desperate efforts to do so. He was headed straight for one of the largest of the terrible plants.
 
In vain, as he saw what was in front of him, did he try to change the course of his involuntary voyage. Over and over he rolled, until, at length, he struck a little grassy14 hummock15, bounced into the air, and right into the opening of a monster pitcher plant.
 
“It has him!” cried Mark. “We must save him! Come on everyone!”
 
He raced down the hill, while the others came closely after him. They reached the plant into which Jack had bounced. The flap, or top piece, had closed down, tightly over the unfortunate boy.
 
“Quick! We must save him or he will be smothered16 to death or drowned in the liquid the cup contains!” Mr. Henderson exclaimed. “Attack the plant with anything you can find!”
 
“Let’s cut through the side of the flower-cup!” suggested Mark. “That seems softer than the stem.”
 
His idea was quickly put into operation. Andy’s long hunting knife came in very handy. While the sides of the long natural cup were tough, the knife made an impression on them, and, soon, a small door or opening had been cut in the side of the pitcher plant, large enough to enable a human body to pass through.
 
When the last fibre had been severed17 by Andy, who was chosen to wield18 the knife because of his long practice as a hunter, there was a sudden commotion19 within the plant. Then a dark object, dripping water, made a spring and landed almost at the feet of the professor.
 
It was Jack, and a sorry sight he presented. He was covered from head to foot with some sticky substance, which dripped from all over him.
 
With hasty movements he cleared the stuff from his eyes and mouth, and spluttered:
 
“It’s a good thing you cut me out when you did. I couldn’t have held on much longer!”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 tug 5KBzo     
v.用力拖(或拉);苦干;n.拖;苦干;拖船
参考例句:
  • We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
  • The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
2 tugging 1b03c4e07db34ec7462f2931af418753     
n.牵引感v.用力拉,使劲拉,猛扯( tug的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉,样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
  • She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他,一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句
3 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
参考例句:
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
4 budge eSRy5     
v.移动一点儿;改变立场
参考例句:
  • We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来,但它连动都没动一下。
  • She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。
5 tugged 8a37eb349f3c6615c56706726966d38e     
v.用力拉,使劲拉,猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
  • A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 beckoned b70f83e57673dfe30be1c577dd8520bc     
v.(用头或手的动作)示意,召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
  • The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 groves eb036e9192d7e49b8aa52d7b1729f605     
树丛,小树林( grove的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The early sun shone serenely on embrowned groves and still green fields. 朝阳宁静地照耀着已经发黄的树丛和还是一片绿色的田地。
  • The trees grew more and more in groves and dotted with old yews. 那里的树木越来越多地长成了一簇簇的小丛林,还点缀着几棵老紫杉树。
8 weirdness 52f61ae314ff984344d402963b23d61f     
n.古怪,离奇,不可思议
参考例句:
  • The weirdness of the city by night held her attention. 夜间城市的古怪景象吸引了她的注意力。
  • But that's not the end of the weirdness feasible in evolutionary systems. 然而这还不是进化系统居然可行的最怪异的地方呐。
9 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
10 declivity 4xSxg     
n.下坡,倾斜面
参考例句:
  • I looked frontage straightly,going declivity one by one.我两眼直视前方,一路下坡又下坡。
  • He had rolled down a declivity of twelve or fifteen feet.他是从十二尺或十五尺高的地方滚下来的。
11 pitcher S2Gz7     
n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐;(棒球)投手
参考例句:
  • He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
  • Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。
12 devours b540beb8d5eec2b2213f0a7074b7692f     
吞没( devour的第三人称单数 ); 耗尽; 津津有味地看; 狼吞虎咽地吃光
参考例句:
  • If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. 若有人想要害他们,就有火从他们口中出来,烧灭仇敌。
  • It eats away parts of his skin; death's firstborn devours his limbs. 他本身的肢体要被吞吃,死亡的长子要吞吃他的肢体。
13 apparatus ivTzx     
n.装置,器械;器具,设备
参考例句:
  • The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
  • They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。
14 grassy DfBxH     
adj.盖满草的;长满草的
参考例句:
  • They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
  • Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。
15 hummock XdCzX     
n.小丘
参考例句:
  • He crawled up a small hummock and surveyed the prospect.他慢腾腾地登上一个小丘,看了看周围的地形。
  • The two young men advanced cautiously towards the hummock.两个年轻人小心翼翼地向小丘前进。
16 smothered b9bebf478c8f7045d977e80734a8ed1d     
(使)窒息, (使)透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 ); 覆盖; 忍住; 抑制
参考例句:
  • He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
  • The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。
17 severed 832a75b146a8d9eacac9030fd16c0222     
v.切断,断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 );断,裂
参考例句:
  • The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 wield efhyv     
vt.行使,运用,支配;挥,使用(武器等)
参考例句:
  • They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
  • People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里,人民可以行使权力。
19 commotion 3X3yo     
n.骚动,动乱
参考例句:
  • They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵,引起了一阵骚乱。
  • Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间,整条街道变得一片混乱。


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