I was mulling this over when the captain approached, cool and calm, forever in control of himself, looking neither alarmed nor annoyed.
我正在這樣想的時候,尼摩船長很冷靜,好像一點也不激動,一點也不失望地走近前來,他總是那樣胸有成竹。
An accident? I said to him.
出了什么事故嗎?我對他說。
No, an incident, he answered me.
不,是偶然的事件。他回答我。
But an incident, I replied, that may oblige you to become a resident again of these shores you avoid!
是偶然的事件,我又說,但它或者要使您重新做您不愿意做的陸上居民呢!
Captain Nemo gave me an odd look and gestured no. Which told me pretty clearly that nothing would ever force him to set foot on a land mass again. Then he said:
尼摩船長拿奇異的眼光注視我,做一個否定的手勢。這就足夠清楚地對我說明,沒有什么東西能夠再強(qiáng)迫他又回到陸地上去。一會兒他又對我說:
No, Professor Aronnax, the Nautilus isn't consigned to perdition. It will still carry you through the midst of the ocean's wonders. Our voyage is just beginning, and I've no desire to deprive myself so soon of the pleasure of your company.
阿龍納斯先生,諾第留斯號現(xiàn)在還沒有損壞呢。它仍然可以送您去看海洋的秘密。我們的海底旅行僅僅是一個開端呢,我很榮幸能夠陪伴您,我不愿讓旅行這樣快就結(jié)束了。
Even so, Captain Nemo, I went on, ignoring his ironic turn of phrase, the Nautilus has run aground at a moment when the sea is full. Now then, the tides aren't strong in the Pacific, and if you can't unballast the Nautilus, which seems impossible to me, I don't see how it will float off.
尼摩船長,我并沒有注意他這一句話的諷刺語氣,我又說,但諾第留斯號是在高潮來的時候擱淺了。一般說來,太平洋的潮水上漲時是不高的,如果您不能把諾第留斯號浮起來—在我看來這是不可能的—那我就看不到它有什么法子,能夠離開暗礁,重回大海。
You're right, professor, the Pacific tides aren't strong, Captain Nemo replied. But in the Torres Strait, one still finds a meter-and-a-half difference in level between high and low seas. Today is January 4, and in five days the moon will be full. Now then, I'll be quite astonished if that good-natured satellite doesn't sufficiently raise these masses of water and do me a favor for which I'll be forever grateful.
太平洋的潮水漲得不高,教授,您說得對,尼摩船長回答我,但是托列斯海峽,高潮和低潮之間,仍然有一米半的差別。今天是1月4日,過五天月亮就圓了。如果這個討人喜歡的月球,不掀起足夠的水量,不給我出一把力做我只想由它來做的這件好事,我才十分奇怪呢!