There are no structural deformities to worry about, because the double hull of this boat has the rigidity of iron; no rigging to be worn out by rolling and pitching on the wa一ves; no sails for the wind to carry off; no boilers for steam to burst open; no fires to fear, because this submersible is made of sheet iron not wood; no coal to run out of, since electricity is its mechanical force; no collisions to fear, because it na一vigates the watery deep all by itself; no storms to bra一ve, because just a few meters beneath the wa一ves, it finds absolute tranquility! There, sir.
用不着害怕船要损毁,因为这只船的双层船壳是刚铁似的坚一硬;它没有风一浪一的翻腾或颠簸可以毁损的缆索一类东西:它没有风可以吹走的帆;它没有蒸汽可以破裂的铁炉;它不会发生可怕的火灾,因为船完全是钢铁制的,不是木头造的;它不用有时会用完的煤炭,因为电是它的机械原动力;因为它在深水独来独往,不会发生可怕的相撞;它又不用冒风暴的危险,因为它在水面几米下便能得到绝对的平静!先生,以上就是这船的优点。
There's the ideal ship! And if it's true that the engineer has more confidence in a craft than the builder, and the builder more than the captain himself, you can understand the utter abandon with which I place my trust in this Nautilus, since I'm its captain, builder, and engineer all in one!
它是一只特殊优异,独一无二的船!对于这只船,设计工程师可能比监造建筑师有信心,监造建筑师可能又比船长更有信心,如果真是这样,那您就可以理解到我对我的诺第留斯号为什么完全信赖了,因为我同时是这只船的船长、建筑师和工程师!
Captain Nemo spoke with winning eloquence. The fire in his eyes and the passion in his gestures transfigured him. Yes, he loved his ship the same way a father loves his child!
尼摩船长滔一滔一不一绝地雄辩他说着。他眼中的火焰,他手势的激动,使他完全变成另一个人。是的!他一爱一他的船,像一个父亲一爱一他的儿子一样!
But one question, perhaps indiscreet, naturally popped up, and I couldn't resist asking it.
但有一个也许是冒昧的问题,自然而然的出现了,我忍不住问他:
You're an engineer, then, Captain Nemo?
尼摩船长,您是这船的设计工程师吗?
Yes, professor, he answered me. I studied in London, Paris, and New York back in the days when I was a resident of the earth's continents.
是的,教授.他回答我,当我还是陆地上的居民的时候,我曾在伦敦,在巴黎,在纽约学一习一过。
But how were you able to build this wonderful Nautilus in secret?
但是,您怎样能秘密地建造这艘奇异的令人五体投地诺第留斯号呢?
Each part of it, Professor Aronnax, came from a different spot on the globe and reached me at a cover address. Its keel was forged by Creusot in France, its propeller shaft by Pen & Co. in London, the sheet-iron plates for its hull by Laird's in Liverpool, its propeller by Scott's in Glasgow.
阿龙纳斯先生,船的每一块材料都是从地球上的不同点,写上假地址送来给我的。船的龙骨是法国克鲁棱工厂造的,推进器大轴是伦敦朋尼公司制的,船壳的钢铁板是利物浦利亚工厂造的,推进器是格拉斯哥斯各脱工厂制的。