4 尼德兰(13)
Fire and brimstone! Ned put in.
尼德·兰喊一声：好家伙!
All right then, my fine harpooner, if vertebrates several hundred meters long and proportionate in bulk live at such depths, their surface areas make up millions of square centimeters, and the pressure they undergo must be assessed in billions of kilograms.
好，我的诚实的鱼叉手，如果一种脊推动物，身长好几百米，身宽按照身长的比例，它住在这样的海底深处，那么,它们有数百万平方厘米面积的身躯，所受到的压力，就要以千百亿公斤来计算了。
Calculate, then, how much resistance of bone structure and strength of constitution they'd need in order to withstand such pressures!
现在请您算一算它们的骨架和机体，要顶一住这样大的压力所必需的抵抗力吧!
They'd need to be manufactured, Ned Land replied, from sheet-iron plates eight inches thick, like ironclad frigates.
那它们的身一体要用八英寸厚的钢板造成，跟铁甲战舰那样才行。尼德兰回答。
Right, Ned, and then picture the damage such a mass could inflict if it were launched with the speed of an express train against a ship's hull.
正像您说的那样，尼德兰，现在您想想，这样一个巨大的物体，以快车的速度撞在一只船壳上，可能产生的破坏力量是怎样。
Yes . . .indeed . . .maybe, the Canadian replied, staggered by these figures but still not willing to give in.
是…也许…是这样.加拿大人回答，由于上面的数目字，他心中动摇了，但并不愿意马上认输。
Well, ha一ve I convinced you?
那么，您相信了吗?
You've convinced me of one thing, Mr. Naturalist. That deep in the sea, such animals would need to be just as strong as you say-if they exist.
您使我相信了一件事，生物学专家，就是说，如果海底下有这样的动物，那它们的身一体力量必须像您所说的那样强大。