30 从合恩角到亚马逊河(4)
Its coastline looked flat, but high mountains rose in the distance.
看来海岸很低下，但远方矗一立着一群一山的高一峰。
I even thought I glimpsed Mt. Sarmiento, whose elevation is 2,070 meters above sea level: a pyramid-shaped block of shale with a very sharp summit.
我好像是望见了萨眠图山，这山高出海面两千零七十米，是金字塔形的片岩形成的山，峰顶很尖。
which, depending on whether it's clear or veiled in vapor, "predicts fair weather or foul," as Ned Land toldme.
尼德·兰告诉我说，根据这山是被云雾所遮，或是山形面目显露，就可以预见天气的好坏。
"A first-class barometer, my friend."
“一流的晴雨表，我的朋友。”
"Yes, sir, a natural barometer that didn't let me down when I na一vigated the narrows of the Strait of Magellan."
是的，先生，一支当我通过麦哲伦海峡时没让我失望的自然晴雨表。”
Just then its peak appeared before us, standing out distinctly against the background of the skies.
这时候，山峰看来是在天空中清楚显露出来。
This forecast fair weather. And so it proved.
那是好天气的预告，事实也正是这样。
Going back under the waters, the Nautilus drew near the coast, cruising along it for only a few miles.
诺第留斯号回到水底下，接近海岸，沿岸走了几海里
Through the lounge windows I could see long creepers and gigantic fucus plants,
从容厅中的玻璃窗，我看见很长的海藤，以及巨大的黑角莱，
bulb-bearing seaweed of which the open sea at the pole had revealed a few specimens;
就是那种带球海藻，只有南极的自一由海中还有一些品种，
with their smooth, viscous filaments, they measured as much as 300 meters long;
它们有粘一性一和光滑的纤维带，长度达三百米，
genuine cables more than an inch thick and very tough, they're often used as mooring lines for ships.
简直是真正的铁索，比大拇指还粗，很坚韧，时常可以当作船缆来使用。
Another weed, known by the name velp and boasting four-foot lea一ves, was crammed into the coral concretions and carpeted the ocean floor.
另外一种海草，名为维培菜，叶长四英尺，胶在珊瑚的分一泌物中，像地毯一样铺在海底下一面。
It served as both nest and nourishment for myriads of crustaceans and mollusks, for crabs and cuttlefish.
它可以作为无数甲壳动物和软体动物、螃蟹、乌贼等的窝巢和食物