Lesson 1 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Elizabeth Rider Montgomery

A mysterious[1] sea monster attacks a ship.

Three men are thrown from the deck. They find themselves on the back of the supposed whale.Amazed, they discover it is covered with steel plates. They are on top of a submarine!

Suddenly the submarine begins to sink.Will they be washed into the sea? Or will their cries be heard by the men—whoever they are—inside the strange vessel?

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a fascinating tale of adventure with Captain Nemo (“no name”) in his submarine ship, the Nautilus. We find the story thrilling;readers of Jules Verne’s day must have found it much more exciting. Nobody at that time had made a practical submarine. The Nautilus was the product of the author’s imagination.

Jules Verne had been around ships and boats most of his life. But his trip to America in 1867 was his first ocean voyage.

The ship that carried Verne from his native France was the Great Eastern. She was the largest and most splendid passenger ship of the time. But Verne was not interested in her because of what she was in 1867; his interest was in what she had been the year before. Without her splendid fittings[2], she had been used to lay the first successful Atlantic cable linking England and America.

Many who had helped were still members of the crew. And Cyrus Field, whose vision[3] had led to the work, was a passenger. This was a wonderful opportunity for Verne. He might find an answer to a question that had long interested him: What was on the bottom of the ocean?

Verne made the most of his opportunity. With his notebook, he followed crew members around. What kind of submarine life had they brought up by the huge grapples[4] used to find the end of the cable when it broke? What kind of fish had they seen? What seaweeds? What shells? What did they know about the ocean’s currents?Its channels? Its depth and shallows?

When he had all the information the men could give him, Verne introduced himself to Cyrus Field.

“Jules Verne!” cried Field. “The author of From the Earth to the Moon, Five Weeks in a Balloon, and Voyage to the Center of the Earth?”

“Yes,” said Verne, “Those are mine. Now I should like to ask you—”

“This is indeed a pleasure,” interrupted Field. “I have enjoyed your books more than I can say. You are doing something entirely new in fiction—combining scientific facts and possibilities with fascinating stories. Tell me, how did you get material for—”“But,” protested Verne, “I want to ask you questions. I want to know…”

Many talks followed. Each man thought little of his own work. Each wanted to listen to the other. Cyrus Field told of his hope that the Atlantic cable would lead to better understanding between Europe and America. Jules Verne told of his desire to write more books that combined fact and fiction. He hoped to inspire men to try things then thought impossible.

Six weeks later Verne was home again. As soon as he could, he went aboard his little boat. This was where he always wrote. On the desk in his cabin was a pile of papers. He had been making notes on early attempts at designing submarines. He took from his pocket the notebook filled on his voyage.

Surely, he thought, his next book was meant to be about life at the bottom of the sea. Life in a submarine. Not a tiny, clumsy[5] craft like all of them so far. Not a miserable[6] model likely to bring death to men in it. It would be a giant undersea boat.It would have comforts[7] yet undreamt of.

Twenty Thousand League Under the Sea appeared three years later. It delighted everyone. “A splendid story,” most readers said, “Utterly impossible, but thrilling!”

The years have proved that Jules Verne’s stories were not “utterly impossible.”Many things that he imagined have since come true. And many more are likely to prove true before another fifty years have passed.

(713 words)

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [State the purpose] The author meant to tell___________ .

A. what happens in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

B. what led to Verne’s writing an undersea story

C. how the Nautilus was constructed

2. [Give the fact] According to this account, the Nautilus was the___________ .

A. first practical submarine

B. invention of Captain Nemo

C. product of Verne’s imagination

3. [Choose the reason] The Great Eastern interested Verne because of her___________ .

A. work in laying the Atlantic cable

B. record speed in crossing the ocean

C. splendid fittings

4. [Select the main idea] Verne’s questions were mainly about the crew’s___________ .

A. problems in laying the cable

B. discoveries about the ocean

C. struggle with a sea monster

5. [See the point] Cyrus Field said Verne’s books were entirely new in combining___________.

A. science and fiction

B. science and mystery

C. oceanography and fiction

6. [Grasp the point of view] Verne hoped that his work would___________ .

A. lead to better understanding between Europe and America B. inspire men to try things thought impossible

C. lead to discoveries in the center of the earth

7. [Draw a conclusion] The article suggests that all of Verne’s books___________ .

A. have come true

B. may yet come true

C. were wrong in most scientific details

Ⅱ. Read for words:

1. Choose one best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined words.

(1) They find themselves on the back of the supposed whale. Amazed, they discover it is covered with steel plates. They are on top of a submarine! (Para. 1)

A. unexpected B. wrongly believed C. well-known

(2) Will they be washed into the sea? Or will their cries be heard by the men—whoever they are—inside the strange vessel? (Para. 2)

A. ship B. fish C. district

(3) “A splendid story,” most readers said, “Utterly impossible, but thrilling!” (Para.16)

A. completely B. probably C. almost

2. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined expressions.

(1) Verne made the most of his opportunity. With his notebook, he followed crew members around. (Para. 7)

A. made full use of B. got nothing from C. almost lost

(2) Many talks followed. Each man thought little of his own work. Each wanted to listen to the other. (Para. 13)

A. was modest about B. was proud of C. was pleased with

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