海底兩萬里 第475期 第29章 缺少空氣(5)
he captain understood and gave me a signal to follow him. We returned on board. My diving suit removed, I went with him to the lounge."Professor Aronnax," he told me, "this calls for heroic measures, or we'll be sealed up in this solidified water as if it were cement.""Yes!" I said. "But what can we do?""Oh," he exclaimed, "if only my Nautilus were strong enough to stand that much pressure without being crushed!""Well?" I asked, not catching the captain's meaning.
船長明白我的意思，做個手勢，要我跟著他走。我們回到船上。我的潛水衣脫下后，我隨他到客廳中?！鞍埣{斯先生，”他對我說，“我們要使用些特殊奇妙的方法，不然的話，我們就要被封在這凝固的冰中，像被封在洋灰中那樣?！薄皩Γ 蔽艺f，“但怎么辦呢？”“啊！”他喊道，“我的諾第留斯號是不是有足夠力量，可以支持這種壓力，不至被壓扁呢？”“那么將怎樣呢？”我問。我不明白船長的意思。
Don't you understand, he went on, "that the congealing of this water could come to our rescue? Don't you see that by solidifying, it could burst these tracts of ice imprisoning us, just as its freezing can burst the hardest stones? Aren't you aware that this force could be the instrument of our salvation rather than our destruction?""Yes, captain, maybe so. But whatever resistance to crushing the Nautilus may have, it still couldn't stand such dreadful pressures, and it would be squashed as flat as a piece of sheet iron."
“您不明白這水的凍結(jié)作用可以幫助我們！您沒有看見因?yàn)樗哪蹋梢哉ㄩ_那困住我們的冰場，就像它在冰凍的時候，它可以炸開最堅硬的石頭那樣！您沒有覺得它并不是毀滅人的力量，而是拯救人的力量！”“對，船長，或者是這樣。但是，不管諾第留斯號有怎樣的抵抗力，它不可能支持那種大得怕人的壓力，”它要被壓扁，像一片鋼葉了?！?/p>
I know it, sir. So we can't rely on nature to rescue us, only our own efforts. We must counteract this solidification. We must hold it in check. Not only are the side walls closing in, but there aren't ten feet of water ahead or astern of the Nautilus. All around us, this freeze is gaining fast.
“先生，我知道這點(diǎn)。那么，我們不能指望大自然的幫助，要完全依靠我們自己了。那就得反抗這種凝固作用，就得消除它。不單是兩側(cè)的冰壁愈來愈緊了，而且諾第留斯號的前頭或后面也沒有剩下十英尺水了。凝固作用是從各方面向我們進(jìn)攻了?！?/p>
How long, I asked, "will the oxygen in the air tanks enable us to breathe on board?"The captain looked me straight in the eye."After tomorrow," he said, "the air tanks will be empty!"I broke out in a cold sweat. But why should I have been startled by this reply? On March 22 the Nautilus had dived under the open waters at the pole. It was now the 26th. We had lived off the ship's stores for five days! And all remaining breathableair had to be saved for the workmen. Even today as I write these lines, my sensations are so intense that aninvoluntary terror sweeps over me, and my lungs still seem short of air!
儲藏庫中的空氣，可以我們在船上呼吸多少時候？"我問船長跟我面面相覷地說“后天，儲藏庫就空了！”我出了一身冷汗。不過，對他的回答我還用得著詫異嗎？3月22日，諾第留斯號潛入南極流暢的水底下。今天是26，五天以來，我們生活的空氣就完全依靠船上的儲藏了！而這留下可以呼吸的空氣又要保留給工作人員。就是我現(xiàn)在寫這些事件的時候，我的印象還是十分深刻，我全身發(fā)生一種自然而然的恐怖，好像我的肺葉中是沒有空氣了！
Meanwhile, motionless and silent, Captain Nemo stood lost in thought. An idea visibly crossed his mind. But he seemed to brush it aside. He told himself no. At last these words escaped his lips:"Boiling water!" he muttered."Boiling water?" I exclaimed."Yes, sir. We're shut up in a relatively confined area. If the Nautilus's pumps continually injected streams of boiling water into this space, wouldn't that raise its temperature and delay its freezing?""It's worth trying!" I said resolutely."So let's try it, professor."
可是，尼摩船長在那里思考，一言不發(fā)，站著不動。顯然是他心中有了一個主意。但他好像又不接受。他自己給了否定的答復(fù)。后來，他嘴里說出這話來，他低聲說：“開水？”我問?！笆堑?，先生。我們是被關(guān)在一個相當(dāng)窄的空間里面。開水噴射，不斷從諾第留斯號的抽水機(jī)放出來，不是可以提高這空間的溫度，延緩水的凍結(jié)嗎？”“這要試一試。”我堅定他說。“我們要試一試，教授?！?/p>
