海底兩萬里 第535期 第33章 北緯47.24度, 西經17.28度(9)

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I didn't expect to find this electric cable in mint condition, as it looked on leaving its place of manufacture. The long snake was covered with seashell rubble and bristling with foraminifera; a crust of caked gravel protected it from any mollusks that might bore into it. It rested serenely, sheltered from the sea's motions, under a pressure favorable to the transmission of that electric spark that goes from America to Europe in 32/100 of a second. This cable will no doubt last indefinitely because, as observers note, its gutta-percha casing is improved by a stay in salt water.

現在我并不指望還能看到那條電纜原來剛被拿出制造車間時的樣子。這條長蛇覆蓋著介殼碎片，孔蟲動物叢生，外層被包上一層石質粘糊，這層粘糊保護著它，不讓軟體動物在上面鑿洞。它靜靜地躺著，不受海水運動的搔擾，處在一種很適合于以32％秒從美洲向歐洲傳送信息的電壓下。電纜的壽命可能是無限期的，因為人們發(fā)現，馬來樹膠皮在海水中隨著泡浸時間增長而變得越來越堅韌。

Besides, on this well-chosen plateau, the cable never lies at depths that could cause a break. The Nautilus followed it to its lowest reaches, located 4,431 meters down, and even there it rested without any stress or strain. Then we returned to the locality where the 1863 accident had taken place.

此外，在這片選擇得很得當的高原上，電纜絕對不會沉入更深的水層里，以致拉斷?！胞W鵡螺號”船只沿著電纜到了海洋最底層，即位于4431米的深海。在那里，電纜還是沒出現任何收縮現象。然后，我們向1863年發(fā)生事故的地點接近。

There the ocean floor formed a valley 120 kilometers wide, into which you could fit Mt. Blanc without its summit poking above the surface of the waves.

此時，海底出現了一座寬120公里的山谷。如果把勃朗峰放在這里，它的峰頂也不會露出水面。