(
课件网) My Uncle Makes a Great Discovery Excerpt from A Journey to the Center of the Earth 一个坚定果敢，具有献身精神的科学探险家同他的侄儿和向导汉恩斯按照前人的指引，在地底经过整整三个月的艰辛跋涉，进行科学探险。 Having described my uncle, I will now give an account① of our interview. He received me in his study②； a perfect museum, containing③ every natural curiosity④ that can well be imagined. Every one was familiar to⑤ me, having⑥ been catalogued⑦ by my own hand. My uncle, apparently⑧ forgot the fact that⑨ he had asked me to his presence, was absorbed in⑩ a book. He was particularly fond of early editions, tall copies, and unique works. “Wonderful！” he cried, tapping his forehead. “Wonderful—wonderful！” It was one of those yellow-leaved volumes now rarely found on stalls (货摊), and to me it appeared to possess but little value. My uncle, however, was in raptures . He admired its binding (封边), the clearness of its characters, the ease with which it opened in his hand, and repeated aloud, half a dozen times, that it was very, very old. I asked him what it was about. “It is the Heims-Kringla of Snorre Tarleson，”he said, “the celebrated Icelandic (冰岛的) author of the twelfth century—it is a true and correct account of the Norwegian (挪威的) princes who ruled in Iceland.” My uncle's delight was to have found the original work in the Icelandic tongue, which he declared to be one of the most magnificent and yet simple idioms (方言) in the world. I was about to venture upon some joke on the subject, when a small scrap of parchment (羊皮纸) fell out of the leaves. My uncle looked keenly at the document for some moments and then declared that it was Runic (北欧古字). The letters were similar to those in the book, but then what did they mean This was exactly what I wanted to know. Now as I had a strong conviction that the Runic alphabet and dialect were simply an invention to confuse poor human nature, I was delighted to find that my uncle knew as much about the matter as I did—which was nothing. The shaking motion of his fingers made me think so. “And yet，” he muttered to himself, “it is old Icelandic. I am sure of it.” And my uncle ought to have known, for he was a perfect polyglot (通晓多种语言的) dictionary in himself. He did not pretend to speak the two thousand languages and four thousand idioms made use of in different parts of the globe, but he did know all the more important ones. It is a matter of great doubt to me now, if the clock had not struck two, and our old French cook called out to let us know that dinner was on the table, what violent measures my uncle's impatience might have led him to. “Bother the dinner！” cried my uncle. But as I was hungry, I rushed to the dining room, where I took up my usual spot. Out of politeness I waited three minutes, but no sign of my uncle, the Professor. I was surprised. He was not usually so blind to the pleasur ... ...
