Are we in the South Pole?

I flew to the platform.

Yes! Free passage at sea. There are only some loose ice and floating ice nearby, a sea in the distance and a bird's world in the air; There are billions of fish underwater, and the color of the water changes with the depth, from deep indigo to olive green. The thermometer points to three degrees Celsius. For the weather behind this iceberg, it seems to be relatively spring, and the distant ice group is exposed in the northern sky.

"Are we in the Antarctic?" I asked the captain, and my heart was pounding.

"I don't know." He answered me. "I didn't come to measure the position at noon." "But does solar energy pass through these clouds? I looked at the gray sky and said. " Just a little is enough. , the captain replied. Two nautical miles south of Nautilus, an island appeared, 200 meters high. We walked to the island, but we were careful, because the sea might be full of rocks. An hour later, we arrived at the island. Two hours later, we circled the island. It's four to five nautical miles around. A narrow waterway separates it from a vast land, or this is a continent, and we can't see its boundary yet. The existence of this land seems to prove that Molly's hypothesis is correct. Indeed, this talented American scholar pointed out that there are floating ice groups on the sea between the South Pole and the 60 degrees north latitude. These ice masses are so huge that they will never be encountered in the North Atlantic. According to this fact, he came to the conclusion that the Antarctic circle has a large area of land, because icebergs can't form in the middle of the sea, but only exist on the shore near the land. According to other calculations, the ice covering the South Pole forms a spherical dome, which may be 4000 kilometers wide.

But Nautilus was afraid of being stranded and stopped in front of the beach about six meters apart. There stands a magnificent layer of rock on the beach. Put the boat into the sea. The captain, his two crew members with all kinds of equipment, Conseil and I, got on the ship together. It was ten o'clock in the morning, and I didn't see Ned Land. Canadians are certainly unwilling to admit that the South Pole is in front of him. After a few strokes, the boat reached the beach and ran aground. Conseil was about to go to the field when I stopped him.

"Sir," I said to Captain Nemo, "the glory of setting foot on this land for the first time should belong to you."

"Yes, sir," replied the captain, "I set foot on this polar land without hesitation, because no one has left his footprints on this land until now." prediction

With these words, he jumped up briskly on the beach. Nervous and excited emotions made his heart beat violently. He climbed up a rock, and the sloping rock was covered with a small mouth. Taking a sip, he crossed his hands and looked enthusiastic, motionless and poking around. It seems that he has acquired the ownership of these Antarctic places. After five minutes in this happiness, he turned to us; Shout to me:

"Sir, you can clean up when you are happy."

I jumped off the boat, followed by Conseil, and the two men stayed on the boat.

The soil presents germanium-red tuff in a long space, just like layers of bricks and stones. The ground is full of volcanic burning stones, spewing flint and pumice fragments. It is impossible for people not to know that the composition of this land is the source of the volcano. Some places still smoke slightly, giving off the smell of sulfur, which proves that the internal fire is still developing. However, I climbed a towering cliff. There are no volcanoes in Fiona Fang for several nautical miles. As is known to all, in the Antarctic region, james ross (1) discovered active elbeis and tyrol volcanic vents at 160 degrees east longitude and 77 degrees 32 minutes north latitude. ：

Plants on this desolate continent seem extremely limited. Some single species of black moss gather and scatter on black rocks. Some microscopic vegetation, primitive diatoms, timely quality cell plants gathered between two shells, Zhen Hong and scarlet black horn attached to the fish sent ashore at low tide, which is the whole plant kingdom that constitutes this place.

There are some mollusks along the coast, such as inkstone, snake and heart-shaped smooth shells, especially those with rectangular and membranous tentacles. The head is formed by two circular lobes. I also saw countless tentacle shells in the north, which are three centimeters long; Every bite of a whale will eat a large group. These beautiful pterosaurs, actually butterflies in the sea, enlivened the flowing waters along the coast. Among these plants, there are some coral trees. According to james ross, these coral trees can live in the deepest part of the Antarctic Sea 1000 meters. Secondly, there are small jadeite corals belonging to the marine group, and there are many petrels and starfish scattered on the ground.

But the colorful place of life is in the air. Countless different kinds of blackbirds are flying up and down, and their songs are noisy, which makes our ears deaf. All the other birds crowded on the rocks, not afraid at all, and gathered at our feet very affectionately. It is a penguin as light and convenient as water, and sometimes people will confuse them with fast roller birds; But birds are clumsy and stupid on the ground. They make strange calls and flock together. Together, their movements and postures are very few, but their shouts are very powerful!

Among the birds, I saw the Antarctic waterfowl of the wading family. They are about the size of pigeons. White, with a short conical mouth and red eyes, Conseil catches this bird for food because it is delicious food when cooked properly. There are coal-black albatrosses flying in the air, and their wings are four meters wide. They are also called honeymoon at sea. The name is apt. There are huge petrels, including the bow-winged petrel, who like to eat seals best. There are sea chess birds, which are ducklings; The body is white and black. Finally, there are a group of petrels, some of which are gray, the edges of their wings are maroon, and some are blue, which is a special product of the Antarctic ocean. I said to Conseil, "There is a lot of gray grease. In the filo islands, people can put a wick on their abdomen to light it. "

"Almost," Conseil replied, "they are completely a lamp. In this case, we have to ask nature to prepare a wick for them in advance! "

After walking for half a mile, there are many nests of short-winged diving birds on the ground. These nests are caves built for laying eggs, and many diving birds fly out of these caves. Captain Nemo later shot hundreds of these birds because their black meat was very edible. They make sounds like donkeys barking. These birds are like me; General figure, slate color, white bottom, lemon lace around the neck. Just like that, people who are stoned to death don't want to escape.

However, the clouds did not disperse and the sun did not come out until eleven o'clock. The sun doesn't come out, which makes my heart anxious. Without the sun, it is impossible to make all kinds of observations. So, how can we be sure that we are in the South Pole?

When I returned to Captain Nemo, I saw his elbow leaning against a rock and staring at the sky silently. It seems that he is impatient and angry. But what can we do? This bold and powerful man can't command the sun as he commands the ocean.

At noon, the sun still shines for a moment. People can't even recognize it behind this fog curtain. Soon, the fog melted into snowflakes again.

"Come back tomorrow." The captain simply said to me, meanwhile, let's take a look at the Nautilus in the middle of the atmospheric shower.

When we were not on the boat, the fishing net was put into the sea, and I watched with interest the fish that people had just pulled onto the boat. Antarctic seawater is the hiding place for most waiting fish, and they migrate here to avoid storms in low latitudes. But they often fall into the mouths of dolphins and seals again. I saw some Antarctic stickleback fish, ten centimeters long, gray-white cartilaginous fish with oblique pale white stripes and spikes. Secondly, I saw the Antarctic cartilaginous fish, three feet long, with long silvery white smooth skin, a round head, three fins on the back, and a corner at the front of the face that bends to the mouth. I have tasted the meat of this kind of fish and found it tasteless, but Conseil has a different opinion. He likes it very much.

The snowstorm lasted until the next day, so it was impossible to stand on the platform. I was writing about my trip to the Antarctic continent in the living room, and I heard the cries of petrels and albatrosses flying up and down in the snowstorm in the hall. Nautilus didn't stand still. It sailed along the coast, and in the middle of the dawn left by the sun crossing the sky, it traveled south for about ten nautical miles.

The next day, March 20th, the snow stopped. It's even colder. The thermometer is two degrees below zero. The dense fog has cleared away. I hope our position observation can be made today.

Before Captain Nemo came out, the ship took Conseil and me and sent us ashore. The soil on the ground, as before, is formed by volcanoes. There are remnants of volcanic eruption, volcanic rocks and basalts everywhere, but I don't see the crater where these rocks are ejected. Here, as before, countless birds add a lively atmosphere to this part of the Antarctic continent. But at the same time, along with the dead, there are a large group of mammals in the sea, who stare at us with gentle eyes. Those are all kinds of seals. Some lie on the ground, some sleep on the sloping ice, and some come up or return to the sea. They don't run when they see us approaching, because they haven't dealt with anyone. I think there are many seals here, which can carry hundreds of ships.

The time is eight o'clock in the morning. There are only four hours left for us to observe and use the sun. I walked step by step to a wide harbor, which is Zangetsu-shaped and located in the center of granite cliffs.

There, I can almost say that everything around us, on the land and on the ice, is crowded with mammals in the sea as far as the eyes can see. I accidentally found the proud old man, who is the mythical old man who guards the livestock for Neduni, the sea god. There are many seals. They form a separate team, male and female together, the father seal cares about its family, the mother seal nurtures her cubs, and some young seals who have grown up walk away at will; It's farther away. When these mammals want to walk, they jump around because their bodies expand and contract. At the same time, they are also quite stupid, using their underdeveloped fins to help them walk, but this fin has become a real forearm in their similar manatees. It must be said that their living environment in seawater is superior. These animals are good swimmers with active spines, narrow bone plates, short and dense hair and palm-shaped feet. When they are resting and lying on the ground, their postures are beautiful and people like them.

I pointed out to Conseil that this clever whale has a particularly developed brain lobe. Except for humans: no mammal has such a rich brain nerve. Therefore, seals may receive some education; They are easily domesticated and become domestic animals. I agree with some biologists that seals can be properly trained. They can be used as hunting dogs to fish, serve human beings and do many beneficial things.

Most seals sleep on rocks or sand. Among these real seals, they don't have outer ears-this is different from the sea otters with prominent outer ears-I have seen many kinds of sea otters, which are three feet long, have white hair and have the head of a hunting dog. The upper and lower jaws have ten teeth, four front teeth and two big tiger teeth in the shape of lilies. Among them, walruses are trampling around. This is a seal with a short movable nose tube, which is the largest of this kind of animals. It is 20 feet long and 10 feet long. They watched us approach without moving.

"Aren't they dangerous and hurtful animals?" Conseil asked me.

"No," I replied, "unless someone wants to attack them. When a seal protects its children, it is afraid of anger. It is not uncommon for it to break the fisherman's boat into pieces. "

"This is its legal right." Conseil immediately said.

"I didn't sayno."

Two nautical miles further, we will be blocked by a sharp gorge that protects the harbor from the south wind. The sharp canyon stands by the sea, the tide is coming, the foam is splashing, and there is a rumbling noise outside, just like the sound that a group of cattle, sheep and ruminants may make. "Why," Conseil said, "is it a buffalo concert?" "No," I said, "it's a concert by Haima." "Do they fight?" "They are either fighting or playing." "Please forgive me, Sir. We should have a look. " "We should go and see it, Conseil." So we crossed the gray and black rock ground between unexpected rocks, on the gravel slippery by ice. More than once, I slipped and made my back ache. Conseil, either because he was careful or because he was strong and didn't fall, picked me up and said:

"If Mr. Wang is willing to move his legs a little, he can keep his balance better."

On the high back of Swordsman, I saw a large white plain covered with seahorses. These seahorses are playing in groups, and what they just heard was their happy voice, not their angry screams.

Judging from the appearance of the body and the arrangement of limbs, the hippocampus is very similar to a seal. However, there are no tiger teeth and incisors in the lower jaw. As for the tiger teeth on the upper jaw, in Ruta, there are two horns 80 cm long and a groove 33 cm long. These teeth are made of dense and flawless dentin, which is harder than ivory and not easy to turn yellow. It is the wealth that people strive for. As a result, these seahorses were accidentally overfished. It will soon be reduced to the final stage, because hunters who beat seahorses blindly slaughter, whether pregnant mothers or young seahorses, killing more than 4 thousand every year.

Walking past these novel animals, I can look at them calmly, because they stay there motionless. Their skin is thick and wrinkled, the color is dark brown like Chuhong, and their fur is short and thin. Some seahorses are as long as four meters. They are quieter and bolder than the seahorses in the Arctic Ocean. They don't designate specially selected sentries to guard the surroundings where they camp.

I want to go back after visiting this city where seahorses gather. It is eleven o'clock. If Captain Nemo thinks the conditions are smooth and can be observed, then I will go to him and watch him do it. However, I dare not hope that the sun will come out this day. Thick clouds piled up on the horizon made it avoid our sight. It seems that the sun, a very precious thing, is not willing to show it to people in an inaccessible place on this earth.

But I think we should go back to the Nautilus. We walked down a narrow slope at the top of the cliff. At half past eleven, we arrived at the landing site. The ship stranded there landed the captain. I saw him standing on a basalt rock, and his instrument was near him. His eyes were fixed on the northern sky. The sun drew a long curve over there.

I stood beside him, and I waited, without speaking. At noon, just like yesterday, the sun did not come out. This is really something that can't be helped. You can't observe. If the observation can't be completed tomorrow, I'm afraid I'll give up determining the position completely.

Today happens to be March 20th. Tomorrow 2 1 is the vernal equinox, excluding sunlight reflected by optical analysis. After the sun comes out, there will be no one below the horizon, and they will not come out for six months. When the sun disappears, the long night of the polar circle begins. From the autumn equinox in mid-September, it will appear in the northern sky and rise along a long spiral until 65438+February 2 1. This time is the summer solstice of the Arctic Ocean, and it begins to sink again. Tomorrow is the last day when it shines.

I told Captain Nemo my opinions and concerns, and he said to me.

"You're right, Mr Pierre Aronnax. If I can't measure the height of the sun tomorrow, I won't have to measure it again in six months. However, it was because of the chance of my voyage that I was taken to the Antarctic Sea on March 2 1. If the sun shows us, my position will be easy to determine. "

"Captain, why?"

"Because the sun walks along such an elongated spiral, it is very difficult to accurately measure its height on the horizontal line, and the instrument is prone to serious errors."

"So, how did you do it?"

"I'm just using my navigation timer," Captain Nemo replied. "If tomorrow, March 2 1, including refraction, the sun's light ring is just on the northern horizon, then I will be in the South Pole."

"Yes," I said, "but this measurement is not completely accurate in mathematics, because the vernal equinox is not necessarily at noon."

"Of course, Sir, but the difference can't exceed 100 meters, and we don't want to be more accurate. Then, come back tomorrow. "

Captain Nemo turned back to the boat. Conseil and I stayed until five o'clock, running around the beach, observing and studying. I didn't get anything novel, but I found an egg of a sea owl. It was so big that a rare collector might spend 1000 francs to buy it. Its pale yellow color, like lines and patterns depicted in hieroglyphics, makes it a rare treasure. I gave it to Conseil, a careful and steady child, took it in my hand and gave it to the Nautilus intact like precious porcelain.

On the boat, I put my eggs in the glass cabinet in the showroom. I had a big dinner. I ate a piece of seal liver, which was delicious, much like pig liver. Then I went back to my room to sleep. When I sleep, I pray for the care of the sun like an Indian, so that it will come out tomorrow.

The next day, March 2 1 at five o'clock in the morning, I went to the podium, and I saw Captain Nemo already on the stage. He said to me:

"The weather is sunny and sunny. After breakfast, we went to the ground and chose a place to make our observation. "

Afterwards, I went to Ned Land. I want to take him with me. The stubborn Canadian refused, and I could see that his silence, like his bad temper, was growing. I didn't regret his stubborn reluctance to go under such circumstances. Really, there are many seals on the ground. We should use them to lure the careless fisherman.

After breakfast, I went to the playground. The nautilus rose several nautical miles at night. The ship is in the sea, one mile from the shore, and there are peaks 400 to 500 meters high on the shore. Captain Nemo and I, two crew members, and instruments, namely navigation timer, telescope and barometer, were on board.

When our ship passed by, I saw many whales, which belong to three kinds of whales unique to Antarctica: straight whales without dorsal fins; Humpback whale, with wrinkled abdomen and broad gray lines, has such a name, but its bulging back does not form wings; Grey-brown fin whales are the most active cetaceans. The sounds made by these powerful animals can be heard far away. They are spraying a water column mixed with gas into the sky, as if spewing smoke. These different mammals frolic in the quiet sea. I see that Antarctic waters are now a refuge for cetaceans that are over-chased by hunters.

At nine o'clock, we landed The sky is clear, thick Yunnan flies, and the fog is cold. Captain Nemo walked to a mountain peak. He must want to observe it. We climbed along the sharp layers of flint and pumice, and the atmosphere was filled with sulfur-containing gas from the crater. The captain is a man who is not used to setting foot on land. He is light and flexible on these steepest slopes, not only I can't compare with him, but even the hunter chasing antelope must admire him.

It took us two hours to reach the peak mixed with porphyry and basalt. From above, our eyes can see a vast sea, and the sea clearly shows its final boundary in the northern sky. At our feet, is the dazzling Bai Bing Stadium. Above our heads, it is a light blue color emerging from the clouds. In the north, the sun's roulette is like a fireball, which has been cut off by the sharp edge of the horizontal line. There are hundreds of beautiful and moving spray bouquets released in the middle of the sea. In the distance is the Nautilus, like a sleeping whale. Behind us, to the east and south, is a vast land, a platform of rocks and ice groups that can't see the edge.

Captain Nemo went to the top of the mountain and carefully measured the height of the mountain with a barometer, because in his observation, the height of the mountain should also be estimated.

At a quarter of an hour at noon, just by refraction, the sun appeared like a golden plate, scattering its last light on the desolate and uninhabited continent to the sea where no one had ever been.

Captain Nemo wore a mesh telescope, which used a mirror to correct refraction. He observed the sun gradually sinking below the horizon along a long diagonal. I have a navigation timer in my hand. My heart is pounding. If half of sun gear disappears and the navigation timepiece points to noon, then we will be at the South Pole.

"noon!" I shouted.

"Antarctic! Captain Nemo answered seriously and gave me the telescope. The sun in the mirror is cut in half just on the horizontal line.

I watched the last ray of sunshine shine on the top of the mountain, and watched the shadow come up from the top of the mountain.

Then Captain Nemo put his hand on my shoulder and said to me:

"Sir, in 1600, the Dutchman Yearick was blown away by waves and storms, reached 64 degrees south latitude, and discovered south shetland islands. 177365438+1October17, the famous chef arrived at 67 degrees south latitude along 38 degrees 30 minutes east longitude; 1774 On February 30th, he was at 109 degrees west longitude and arrived at 15 minutes 7 1 degree south latitude. 18 19, Russian Behringer was born at 69 degrees south latitude; 182 1 year, he was at1degree west longitude and reached 66 degrees south latitude. 1820, Englishman Brands Fell stopped at 65 degrees south latitude. In the same year, American Moller (whose account is unreliable) traced back from 42 degrees west longitude and found a free-flowing ocean at 70 degrees north latitude 14 minutes. 1825, the Englishman Powell reached 62 degrees south latitude and could not surpass it. In the same year, an Englishman, Vedel, who was just a fisherman shooting seals, went up to 72 degrees south latitude 14 minutes at 35 degrees west longitude and 74 degrees south latitude 15 minutes at 36 degrees west longitude. 1829, the British Faust commanded the Xiang Tekly to occupy the Antarctic ocean continent at 63 degrees 26 minutes south latitude and 63 degrees 26 minutes west longitude. 1 831February1day, the Englishman Bisgo discovered enderby at 68 degrees 50 minutes south latitude; 1On February 5, 832, he found Adilla at 67 degrees south latitude; On February 2 1 day, Graham was found at 64 degrees 45 south latitude. 1833, Dumont Gueville, a Frenchman, stopped in front of an iceberg at 62 degrees 57 minutes south latitude, explaining where Louis Philippe was: two years later, on 65438+1October 2 1 day, he reached another cusp in the south, south latitude. Eight days later, he arrived at 64 degrees 40 minutes south latitude. His name was Clarie Coast. 1838, the Englishman Wilkes advanced to 69 degrees south latitude and 0/00 degrees east longitude. 1839, an Englishman, Baleni, found the place to check Bliden on the Antarctic boundary. Finally, in 1842, james ross, an Englishman, set foot on Mount Elibes and Mount Tieluoer, and found Victoria at 76 degrees 56 minutes south latitude and 7 minutes east longitude 1 71degree. On the 23rd of the same month, he measured the azimuth of 74 degrees south latitude, which was the highest point he could reach at that time. He reached 76 degrees and 8 minutes south latitude on the 27th, 77 degrees and 32 minutes south latitude on the 28th, and 78 degrees and 4 minutes south latitude on February 2nd, 1842, and he returned to 7 1 degree south latitude, unable to cross. Well, now, I, Captain Nemo, arrived at the South Pole at 90 degrees south latitude on March 26th, 2 1, 1866. I occupied this part of the earth, covering an area equal to one sixth of the known continent. "

"Captain, whose name do you use?"

"Sir, I use my name!"

When he said this, Captain Nemo unfurled a black flag with a golden N in the middle. Then, he turned around and faced the sun. Its last ray of sunshine was shining on the horizon. He shouted.

"Goodbye, Sun! Sink, golden ball! Rest in peace under this ocean of freedom, and let the six-month long night cover its shadow in my new territory! "