《高考英语阅读素材 海底两万里P1C07.pdf》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《高考英语阅读素材 海底两万里P1C07.pdf（2页珍藏版）》请在金锄头文库上搜索。
1、P1 C07 CHAPTER VII AN UNKNOWN SPECIES OF WHALE This unexpected fall so stunned me that I have no clear recollection of my sensations at the time I was at first drawn down to a depth of about twenty feet I am a good swimmer though without pretending to rival Byron or Edgar Poe who were masters of the
2、 art and in that plunge I did not lose my presence of mind Two vigorous strokes brought me to the surface of the water My first care was to look for the frigate Had the crew seen me disappear Had the Abraham Lincoln veered round Would the captain put out a boat Might I hope to be saved The darkness
3、was intense I caught a glimpse of a black mass disappearing in the east its beacon lights dying out in the distance It was the frigate I was lost Help help I shouted swimming towards the Abraham Lincoln in desperation My clothes encumbered me they seemed glued to my body and paralysed my movements I
4、 was sinking I was suffocating Help This was my last cry My mouth filled with water I struggled against being drawn down the abyss Suddenly my clothes were seized by a strong hand and I felt myself quickly drawn up to the surface of the sea and I heard yes I heard these words pronounced in my ear If
5、 master would be so good as to lean on my shoulder master would swim with much greater ease I seized with one hand my faithful Conseil s arm Is it you said I you Myself answered Conseil and waiting master s orders That shock threw you as well as me into the sea No but being in my master s service I
6、followed him The worthy fellow thought that was but natural And the frigate I asked The frigate replied Conseil turning on his back I think that master had better not count too much on her You think so I say that at the time I threw myself into the sea I heard the men at the wheel say The screw and
7、the rudder are broken Broken Yes broken by the monster s teeth It is the only injury the Abraham Lincoln has sustained But it is a bad look out for us she no longer answers her helm Then we are lost Perhaps so calmly answered Conseil However we have still several hours before us and one can do a goo
8、d deal in some hours Conseil s imperturbable coolness set me up again I swam more vigorously but cramped by my clothes which stuck to me like a leaden weight I felt great difficulty in bearing up Conseil saw this Will master let me make a slit said he and slipping an open knife under my clothes he r
9、ipped them up from top to bottom very rapidly Then he cleverly slipped them off me while I swam for both of us Then I did the same for Conseil and we continued to swim near to each other Nevertheless our situation was no less terrible Perhaps our disappearance had not been noticed and if it had been
10、 the frigate could not tack being without its helm Conseil argued on this supposition and laid his plans accordingly This quiet boy was perfectly self possessed We then decided that as our only chance of safety was being picked up by the Abraham Lincoln s boats we ought to manage so as to wait for t
11、hem as long as possible I resolved then to husband our strength so that both should not be exhausted at the same time and this is how we managed while one of us lay on our back quite still with arms crossed and legs stretched out the other would swim and push the other on in front This towing busine
12、ss did not last more than ten minutes each and relieving each other thus we could swim on for some hours perhaps till day break Poor chance but hope is so firmly rooted in the heart of man Moreover there were two of us Indeed I declare though it may seem improbable if I sought to destroy all hope if
13、 I wished to despair I could not The collision of the frigate with the cetacean had occurred about eleven o clock in the evening before I reckoned then we should have eight hours to swim before sunrise an operation quite practicable if we relieved each other The sea very calm was in our favour Somet
14、imes I tried to pierce the intense darkness that was only dispelled by the phosphorescence caused by our movements I watched the luminous waves that broke over my hand whose mirror like surface was spotted with silvery rings One might have said that we were in a bath of quicksilver Near one o clock
15、in the morning I was seized with dreadful fatigue My limbs stiffened under the strain of violent cramp Conseil was obliged to keep me up and our preservation devolved on him alone I heard the poor boy pant his breathing became short and hurried I found that he could not keep up much longer Leave me
16、leave me I said to him Leave my master Never replied he I would drown first Just then the moon appeared through the fringes of a thick cloud that the wind was driving to the east The surface of the sea glittered with its rays This kindly light reanimated us My head got better again I looked at all points of the horizon I saw the frigate She was five miles from us and looked like a dark mass hardly discernible But no boats I would have cried out But what good would it have been at such a distance
