15 一封邀请信(8)
Then how do you break free? I asked.
那么，可以自一由行动的方法是什么呢?我问。
We use the Rouquayrol-Denayrouze device, invented by two of your fellow countrymen but refined by me for my own special uses, thereby enabling you to risk these new physiologicalconditions without suffering any organic disorders. It consists of a tank built from hea一vy sheet iron in which I store air under a pressure of fifty atmospheres. This tank is fastened to the back by means of straps, like a soldier's knapsack. Its top part forms a box where the air is regulated by a bellows mechanism and can be released only at its proper tension. In the Rouquayrol device that has been in general use, two india-rubber hoses lea一ve this box and feed to a kind of tent that imprisons the operator's nose and mouth; one hose is for the entrance of air to be inhaled, the other for the exit of air to be exhaled, and the tongue closes off the former or the latter depending on the breather's needs. But in my case, since I face considerable pressures at the bottom of the sea, I needed to enclose my head in a coppersphere, like those found on standard diving suits, and the two hoses for inhalation and exhalation now feed to that sphere.
那就是使用您的两个法国同乡—卢格罗尔和德纳露兹创造的器械。为了符合我的要求，我改善了这种器械，靠了这种器械，可以在新的生理条件下在海水中生活，您的器一官一点也不感到什么痛苦。它有一个厚钢板制的密封瓶，瓶中满贮五十大气压力压缩的空气。它像士兵的背囊一样，用一条腰带捆在人的背后，瓶的上部像个钢盒，盒中的空气由吹风机一操一纵，只在一定的压力下才能流一出来。现在通用的卢格罗尔器械，都有两条胶皮管子从钢盒通出来，套在口鼻上罩着的喇叭形东西;其中一条是吸气用的，另一分是呼气用的，人的舌头按照呼吸的需要，控制这两条胶皮管的开关。但是，在海底下受到的压力很大，所以我要像潜水员一样，把我的脑袋装在铜制的圆球中，那两条胶皮管—吸气管和呼气管就连结在这个圆球上。
That's perfect, Captain Nemo, but the air you carry must be quickly depleted; and once it contains no more than 15% oxygen, it becomes unfit for breathing.
好极了， 尼摩船长。不过您所携带的空气很快就会用完的，空气中只含有百分之十五的氧时，就不宜再呼吸了。
Surely, but as I told you, Professor Aronnax, the Nautilus's pumps enable me to store air under considerable pressure, and given this circumstance, the tank on my diving equipment can supply breathable air for nine or ten hours.
可不是，但我跟您说过，阿龙纳斯先生，诺第留斯号的打气机使我可以把高一压压缩的空气装进去，在这种条件下，这套器械的密封瓶能供一应的空气足够我呼吸九到十小时。