1 Icebound

Frankenstein

《弗兰肯斯坦》

Chapter 1 Icebound In the treacherous waters close to the North Pole, explorer Captain Walton peered over the side of his ship. Only a thin channel of water separated it from the ice. "Drop the anchor," he ordered his crew. "It's too dangerous to continue... I hope conditions improve soon," he added, under his breath. He knew that if the ice kept thickening, it would crush the ship into matchsticks. Would he ever reach the Pole?

在北极附近险象环生的海面上，探险家沃尔顿船长从他的船舷向外张望。 只有一条薄薄的水渠把它和冰隔开。 “抛锚，”他命令他的船员。 “继续下去太危险了…… 我希望情况能尽快好转，”他低声补充道。 他知道，如果冰继续变厚，它会把船压成火柴棍。 他能到达南极吗？

The captain gazed into the distance, wondering what mysteries lay ahead. Suddenly, he blinked. A dog sled had appeared on the horizon. "Where did that come from?" wondered Walton, staring. "And who is that driving it? He hardly even looks human!" The sled raced north over the ice and was lost to view. That night, the sailors were kept awake by eerie noises as ice creaked and rubbed against the ship. By dawn, they saw they were completely surrounded by icebergs -and one carried another dog sled. This time, the driver was definitely a human. But he was a pitiful sight, thin and nearly frozen, and most of his dogs were dead.

船长凝视着远方，不知道前面有什么神秘的东西。 突然，他眨了眨眼睛。一只狗拉的雪橇出现在地平线上。 “这是从哪儿来的？”沃尔顿瞪着眼睛纳闷。 “开这车的是谁？” 他简直不像人！”雪橇在冰上向北飞驰，看不见了。 那天晚上，水手们被冰摩擦着船发出的吱吱作响的怪异声音弄得睡不着觉。 黎明时分，他们发现自己完全被冰山包围了——其中一个还拉着另一个狗拉的雪橇。 这一次，司机绝对是人类。 但他的样子很可怜，瘦得几乎冻僵了，他的大多数狗都死了。

Walton and his crew helped the stranger on board and into a cabin, where they brought him warm blankets and hot soup. He was barely alive, but the next night, when he had recovered a little, he began to tell the captain his story. "My name," he said, "is Victor Frankenstein, and I have suffered greatly. It all began long ago, during my studies..." As darkness fell and the ice closed in, Captain Walton was held spellbound by Frankenstein's terrible tale...

沃尔顿和他的船员帮助这位陌生人上了船，进了一个船舱，给他拿来了热毯子和热汤。 他奄奄一息，但第二天晚上，当他恢复了一点，他开始告诉船长他的故事。 “我的名字，”他说，“是维克多·弗兰肯斯坦，我受了很大的苦。 这一切都是很久以前开始的，在我读书的时候……” 夜幕降临，冰雪覆盖，沃尔顿船长被弗兰肯斯坦的可怕故事迷住了。