1 Monster or Man

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Retold the Jules Verne original

《海底两万里》重述儒勒·凡尔纳的原著

PART I CHAPTER 1 Monster or Man the year 1866 will always be remembered for a strange event. For months, sailors around the world were reporting an odd sight. Each of them saw something that was faster and bigger than any sea animal. Sometimes it even looked like it was lit up! The object had been seen by too many people to say that it wasn't real. The mystery did indeed exist.

第一章人与妖1866年将因一件怪事而永远被人铭记。 几个月来，世界各地的水手都在报告一个奇怪的景象。 他们每个人都看到了比任何海洋动物都快、都大的东西。 有时它甚至看起来像被点燃了一样！这个物体被太多人见过，所以不能说它不是真的。 这个谜团确实存在。

In April of 1867, a large ship was hit by the beast. The accident scared everyone. Finally people wanted to find this monster who ruled the seas. It was at this time that I first heard about it. I had spent the last six months doing research in the United States. I was studying the ocean and sea life. My work was very respected by other scientists. People wanted to hear what I thought about the beast. I could only think of two choices. This thing could be a monster that we had never heard of, or it could be some kind of ship. I didn't think anyone could have built such a ship without others knowing about it. After learning everything I could about this strange object, I decided that it must be some new sea creature. After all, how do we know what lives deep within the ocean waters? We can only guess. Maybe the appearance of this creature was no more than an accident.

1867年4月，一艘大船被这只野兽撞了。 这次事故吓坏了每个人。 最后，人们想找到这个统治海洋的怪物。 我就是在这个时候第一次听说这件事的。 我花了六个月的时间在美国做研究。 我在研究海洋和海洋生物。 我的工作受到了其他科学家的尊重。 人们想听听我对野兽的看法。 我只能想到两种选择。 这东西可能是我们从未听说过的怪物，也可能是某种船。 我不认为有人能在别人不知道的情况下建造这样一艘船。 我尽我所能地了解了这个奇怪的东西之后，我断定它一定是某种新的海洋生物。 毕竟，我们怎么知道海洋深处生活着什么呢？ 我们只能猜测。也许这种生物的出现只不过是一个意外。

After much thought, I formed an answer. The animal must be a narwhal, or unicorn of the sea. But it would be much bigger than a usual narwhal. No, this one would be ten times that size. And its horn would be six times stronger. Moving at just twenty miles per hour, the beast would become a monster that could control the waters and anything in them. Word of the beast spread around the world quickly. It was decided that a large ship should set out in search of the beast. The Abraham Lincoln left as soon as possible. But just when we were ready to meet the monster, the monster disappeared. Two months went by without anyone seeing it. The Abraham Lincoln returned without news. Finally word came from a steamer leaving San Francisco. The monster had been seen! The Abraham Lincoln was to set sail once again. It was just three hours before the boat was ready that I received a letter:

经过深思熟虑，我想出了一个答案。 这种动物一定是独角鲸，或者是海里的独角兽。 但它比一般的独角鲸要大得多。 不，这个是那个的十倍大。 它的角会比现在强壮六倍。 以每小时20英里的速度移动，这只野兽将成为一个可以控制水和水中一切的怪物。 野兽的消息很快传遍了世界。 大家决定派一艘大船去寻找这只野兽。 林肯号尽快离开了。 但就在我们准备去见怪物的时候，怪物消失了。 两个月过去了，没有人看到它。 亚伯拉罕·林肯号回来了，没有消息。 最后，从一艘驶离旧金山的轮船传来了消息。 怪物被看见了！林肯号又要起航了。 就在船准备好前三个小时，我收到了一封信：

To Mr. Aronnax, Professor of the Museum of Paris Sir: If you would like to join the Abraham Lincoln on this journey, the Government of the United States would be happy to have you. Commander Farragut has a cabin ready for you. Sincerely yours, J. B. Hobson Secretary of Marine I put down the letter. I now knew that I must hunt down the monster. I forgot how tired I was. I didn't give a thought to my friends or my work. I just wanted to leave and begin my search. Conseil, my servant, came with me on all my travels. I liked him and he liked me. He never asked where we were going or how long we would stay. Besides this, he was a healthy young man. I could count on him to help me load and

对巴黎博物馆教授阿龙纳斯先生：先生：如果您愿意和林肯号一起旅行，美国政府很乐意接待您。 法拉古舰长为您准备了一间船舱。 你诚挚的，J. B.霍布森海军部长我放下信。 我现在知道我必须追捕那个怪物。 我忘了我有多累。我没有考虑我的朋友和工作。 我只是想离开，开始寻找。 康塞尔，我的仆人，一直跟着我。 我喜欢他，他也喜欢我。 他从来没问过我们要去哪里，也没问过我们要待多久。 除此之外，他还是个健康的年轻人。 我可以指望他帮我装东西

lift things. With Conseil's help, I packed my bags. Upon arriving at the Abraham Lincoln, I met the man in charge of the trip. "I am Pierre Aronnax," I said. I held out my hand to shake his. "Are you Commander Farragut?" I asked. The man bowed and smiled. "Your cabin is ready for you." I followed him, looking at the ship as we passed each part. It was a good boat in which to begin looking for the creature. The Abraham Lincoln could go very quickly. Of course, it would never be as fast as the monster. The rooms on board, including my cabin, would be fine for the next several days. A crowd of people at the dock sent us off. They cheered and wished us luck in finding the beast. The boat soon reached high speed and we pushed full steam into the dark waters of the Atlantic.

电梯的事情。在康塞尔的帮助下，我收拾行李。 一到林肯号，我就见到了这次旅行的负责人。 “我是皮埃尔·阿龙纳斯。”我说。 我伸出手和他握手。 “您是法拉古舰长吗？”我问。 那人鞠躬微笑。“您的船舱已经为您准备好了。” 我跟在他后面，每经过一个地方，我都看着那艘船。 这是一艘开始寻找这种生物的好船。 林肯号可以跑得很快。 当然，它永远不会像怪物一样快。 船上的房间，包括我的舱房在内，在接下来的几天里都没问题。 码头上的一群人送我们离开。 他们欢呼着祝我们好运，找到了那头野兽。 船很快就达到了很高的速度，我们在大西洋黑暗的海水中全速前进。