海底兩萬里 第3期 第1章 飛走的暗礁(3)

　　Similar events were likewise observed in Pacific seas, on July 23 of the same year, by the Christopher Columbus from the West India & Pacific Steam Navigation Co.

　　同年7月23日，西印度-太平洋汽船公司的克利斯托巴爾哥郎號，在太平洋上也碰到這樣的事。

　　Consequently, this extraordinary cetacean could transfer itself from one locality to another with startling swiftness,

　　喜金孫總督號看見這怪物以后三天，克利斯托巴爾哥郎號在相距七百里的地方也看見了它，

　　since within an interval of just three days, the Governor Higginson and the Christopher Columbus had observed it at two positions on the charts separated by a distance of more than 700 nautical leagues.

　　由此可知，這個奇特的鯨魚類動物能以掠人的速度從這一處轉(zhuǎn)移到另一處。

　　Fifteen days later and 2,000 leagues farther,

　　十五天以后，在離上面說的地點有兩千里遠(yuǎn)的地方，

　　the Helvetia from the Compagnie Nationale and the Shannon from the Royal Mail line,

　　國營輪船公司的海爾維地亞號和皇家郵船公司的山農(nóng)號，

　　running on opposite tacks in that part of the Atlantic lying between the United States and Europe,

　　在美國和歐洲之間的大西洋海面上相遇的時候，

　　respectively signaled each other that the monster had been sighted in latitude 42 degrees 15' north and longitude 60 degrees 35' west of the meridian of Greenwich.

　　在北緯42度15分、西經(jīng)60度35分的地方，同時看到了這個大怪物。

　　From their simultaneous observations, they were able to estimate the mammal's minimum length at more than 350 English feet;

　　根據(jù)兩船同時觀察得到的結(jié)果，估計這只哺乳動物的長度至少有三百五十多英尺，

　　this was because both the Shannon and the Helvetia were of smaller dimensions, although each measured 100 meters stem to stern.

　　因為山農(nóng)號和海爾維地亞號兩船連起來，都還比它短，兩船從頭至尾只有一百米長。

　　Now then, the biggest whales, those rorqual whales that frequent the waterways of the Aleutian Islands,

　　可是，最長的鯨魚，像常常出役于阿留申群島的久闌馬克島和翁居里克島附近海面的那些鯨魚，

　　have never exceeded a length of 56 meters-if they reach even that

　　也只不過是五十六米，而比這再長的，從來就沒有過。