20 托列斯海峡(5)
I had to rest content with the various specimens of fish brought up by our nets. Among others I noted some long-finned albacore, a species in the genus Scomber, as big as tuna, bluish on the flanks, and streaked with crosswise stripes that disappear when the animal dies. These fish followed us in schools and supplied our table with very dainty flesh. We also caught a large number of yellow-green gilthead, half a decimeter long and tasting like dorado, plus some flying gurnards, authentic underwater swallows that, on dark nights, alternately streak air and water with their phosphorescent glimmers. Among mollusks and zoophytes, I found in our trawl's meshes various species of alcyonarian coral, sea urchins, hammer shells, spurred-star shells, wentletrap snails, horn shells, glass snails. The local flora was represented by fine floating algae: sea tangle, and kelp from the genus Macrocystis, saturated with the mucilage their pores perspire, from which I selected a wonderful Nemastoma geliniaroidea, classifying it with the natural curiosities in the museum.
我只能看我们的鱼网所打到的各种不同的鱼类。我在打到的许多鱼类中间，看到了嘉蒙鱼，这是跟鲸鱼一般大的鳍鱼类，两侧浅蓝一色一，身上有横斜的带纹，鱼逐渐长大，带纹也就隐役不见了；这类鱼成一群一结队地陪伴着我们，把特别美味可口的肉供一应我们。鱼网又打到许多青花绸鱼，这鱼长半分米，味道像海绊鲤。又打到锥角飞鱼，这鱼是真正的海底飞一燕，在黑夜的时候，放出磷光，轮流在空中和水中照耀。我又在鱼网眼上得到了属于软体类和植虫类的各种不同的翡翠虫、海渭、糙鱼、马刺鱼、罗盘鱼、樱子鱼、硝子鱼。鱼网打到的植物花草有飘浮的美丽海藻，刀片藻和大囊藻。这种藻身上有从细孔中分一一泌一出的一种粘一液。在这种海藻里面，我又采得一种十分好看的胶质海藻，这海藻在博物馆中归人天然珍宝的一类。，走过珊瑚海两天后，1月4日，我们望见了巴布亚岛海岸。这时候，尼摩船长告诉我，他打算经托列斯海峡到印度洋去。此外，他什么也不说。尼德·兰很高兴，觉得这条路是渐渐使他跟欧洲海面相接近了。
On January 4, two days after crossing the Coral Sea, we raised the coast of Papua. On this occasion Captain Nemo told me that he intended to reach the Indian Ocean via the Torres Strait. This was the extent of his remarks. Ned saw with pleasure that this course would bring us, once again, closer to European seas.
托列斯海峡之所以被认为是很危险的地带，不仅由于有刺猬一般的暗礁，而且由于住在这一带海岸的土人。托列斯海峡把巴布亚岛（又名新几一内一亚岛），跟新荷兰岛分开了。