It was a matter of
debate that night whether the professor should be
invited to join the party; it was scarcely likely that he would care
to come, but, on the whole, it was felt to be
advisable to ask him.
At first Captain Servadac thought of going in person with
the
invitation; but, remembering Rosette's
dislike to visitors,
he altered his mind, and sent young Pablo up to the observatory
with a
formal note, requesting the pleasure of Professor Rosette's
company at the New Year's _fete_.
Pablo was soon back, bringing no answer except that the professor
had told him that "to-day was the l25th of June, and that to-morrow
would be the 1st of July."
Consequently, Servadac and the count took it for granted that Palmyrin Rosette
declined their
invitation.
An hour after
sunrise on New Year's Day, Frenchmen, Russians, Spaniards,
and little Nina, as the representative of Italy, sat down to a
feast such as never before had been seen in Gallia. Ben Zoof
and the Russian cook had quite surpassed themselves. The wines,
part of the _Dobryna's_ stores, were of excellent quality.
Those of the vintages of France and Spain were drunk in toasting
their
respective countries, and even Russia was honored in a
similar way by means of a few bottles of kummel. The company was
more than contented--it was as jovial as Ben Zoof could desire;
and the ringing cheers that followed the great toast of the day--"A
happy return to our Mother Earth," must fairly have startled
the professor in the silence of his observatory.
The _dejeuner_ over, there still remained three hours of daylight.
The sun was approaching the
zenith, but so dim and enfeebled were his rays
that they were very
unlike what had produced the wines of Bordeaux and
Burgundy which they had just been enjoying, and it was necessary for all,
before starting upon an
excursion that would last over nightfall,
to
envelop themselves in the thickest of clothing.
Full of spirits, the party left the Hive, and chattering and
singing as they went, made their way down to the
frozen shore,
where they fastened on their skates. Once upon the ice,
everyone followed his own fancy, and some singly, some in groups,
scattered themselves in all directions. Captain Servadac,
the count, and the
lieutenant were generally seen together.
Negrete and the Spaniards, now masters of their novel exercise,
wandered fleetly and
gracefullyhither and t
hither,
occasionally being out of sight completely. The Russian sailors,
following a northern custom, skated in file,
maintaining their
rank by means of a long pole passed under their right arms,
and in this way they described a trackway of
singular regularity.
The two children,
blithe as birds, flitted about, now singly,
now arm-in-arm, now joining the captain's party, now making a short
peregrination by themselves, but always full of life and spirit.
As for Ben Zoof, he was here, there, and everywhere,
his imperturbable good
temper ensuring him a smile of welcome
whenever he appeared.
Thus coursing rapidly over the icy plain, the whole party had
soon exceeded the line that made the
horizon from the shore.
First, the rocks of the coast were lost to view; then the white crests
of the cliffs were no longer to be seen; and at last, the summit
of the
volcano, with its corona of vapor, was entirely out of sight.
Occasionally the skaters were obliged to stop to recover their breath,
but,
fearful of frost-bite, they almost
instantly resumed their exercise,
and proceeded nearly as far as Gourbi Island before they thought
about retracing their course.
But night was coming on, and the sun was already sinking in the east with the
rapidity to which the residents on Gallia were by this time well accustomed.
The
sunset upon this
contractedhorizon was very
remarkable.
- creation [kri´eiʃən] n.创作;作品;创造 (初中英语单词)
- altogether [,ɔ:ltə´geðə] ad.完全;总而言之 (初中英语单词)
- thirst [θə:st] n.渴,口渴;渴望 (初中英语单词)
- research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查;探究;研究 (初中英语单词)
- wander [´wɔndə, ´wɑ:n:dər] v.徘徊;流浪 (初中英语单词)
- mingle [´miŋgəl] v.(使)混合;交往 (初中英语单词)
- comparison [kəm´pærisən] n.比较;对照;比喻 (初中英语单词)
- decrease [di´kri:s, ´di:kri:s] v.&n.减少;减退 (初中英语单词)
- lieutenant [lef´tenənt] n.陆军中尉;代理;副手 (初中英语单词)
- measure [´meʒə] n.量度;范围 vt.测量 (初中英语单词)
- arrest [ə´rest] vt.逮捕 n.逮捕;停止 (初中英语单词)
- anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的;渴望的 (初中英语单词)
- exception [ik´sepʃən] n.例外;反对,异议 (初中英语单词)
- miracle [´mirəkl] n.奇迹;令人惊奇的 (初中英语单词)
- extent [ik´stent] n.长度;程度;范围 (初中英语单词)
- security [si´kjuəriti] n.安全;证券;抵押品 (初中英语单词)
- abandon [ə´bændən] vt.抛弃,放弃,离弃 (初中英语单词)
- endure [in´djuə] vt.忍耐,忍受;坚持 (初中英语单词)
- actual [´æktʃuəl] a.现实的;实际的 (初中英语单词)
- contact [´kɔntækt] n.接触;联系 v.联络 (初中英语单词)
- safely [´seifli] ad.安全地;平安地 (初中英语单词)
- permission [pə´miʃən] n.允许;同意;许可 (初中英语单词)
- consideration [kən,sidə´reiʃən] n.考虑;原因;体谅 (初中英语单词)
- moreover [mɔ:´rəuvə] ad.再者,此外,而且 (初中英语单词)
- gallery [´gæləri] n.画廊;美术馆;长廊 (初中英语单词)
- meanwhile [´mi:n´wail] n.&ad.其间;同时 (初中英语单词)
- climate [´klaimit] n.气候;特殊气候地带 (初中英语单词)
- maintain [mein´tein] vt.维持;保持;继续 (初中英语单词)
- properly [´prɔpəli] ad.适当地;严格地 (初中英语单词)
- nevertheless [,nevəðə´les] conj.&ad.然而;不过 (初中英语单词)
- invisible [in´vizəbəl] a.看不见的;无形的 (初中英语单词)
- scientific [,saiən´tifik] a.科学(上)的 (初中英语单词)
- excitement [ik´saitmənt] n.兴奋;骚动;煽动 (初中英语单词)
- likewise [´laikwaiz] ad.同样地;也,又 (初中英语单词)
- violence [´vaiələns] n.猛烈;暴力(行) (初中英语单词)
- reasonable [´rizənəbəl] a.合理的;有理智的 (初中英语单词)
- otherwise [´ʌðəwaiz] ad.另外 conj.否则 (初中英语单词)
- terror [´terə] n.恐怖;惊骇 (初中英语单词)
- comparatively [kəm´pærətivli] ad.比较地;比较上 (初中英语单词)
- prospect [´prɔspekt, prəs´pekt] n.景色;境界 v.勘察 (初中英语单词)
- rejoice [ri´dʒɔis] v.(使)高兴;欢庆 (初中英语单词)
- invention [in´venʃən] n.创造;发明;虚构 (初中英语单词)
- device [di´vais] n.装置;器具;策略 (初中英语单词)
- everyone [´evriwʌn] pron.=everybody 每人 (初中英语单词)
- program [´prəugræm] n.说明v.为…安排节目 (初中英语单词)
- attractive [ə´træktiv] a.有吸引力;诱人的 (初中英语单词)
- debate [di´beit] n.&v.讨论,辩论 (初中英语单词)
- invitation [,invi´teiʃən] n.邀请;请帖;吸引 (初中英语单词)
- dislike [dis´laik] vt.&n.不喜爱,厌恶 (初中英语单词)
- formal [´fɔ:məl] a.正式的;外表的 (初中英语单词)
- unlike [,ʌn´laik] a.不同的 prep.不象… (初中英语单词)
- frozen [´frəuzn] freeze 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- hither [´hiðə] ad.到此处 (初中英语单词)
- temper [´tempə] n.韧度 v.锻炼;调和 (初中英语单词)
- horizon [hə´raizən] n.地平线;范围;视野 (初中英语单词)
- fearful [´fiəfəl] a.可怕的;担心的 (初中英语单词)
- instantly [´instəntli] ad.立即,立刻 (初中英语单词)
- sunset [´sʌnset] n.日落;晚霞 (初中英语单词)
- remarkable [ri´mɑ:kəbl] a.值得注意的;显著的 (初中英语单词)
- spectator [spek´teitə] n.观众,旁观者 (高中英语单词)
- longing [´lɔŋiŋ] n.&a.渴望(的) (高中英语单词)
- destiny [´destini] n.命运 (高中英语单词)
- attraction [ə´trækʃən] n.吸引(力);引力 (高中英语单词)
- amongst [ə´mʌŋst] prep.其中之一 =among (高中英语单词)
- infinite [´infinit] a.无限的,无穷的 (高中英语单词)
- thermometer [θə´mɔmitə] n.温度计;寒暑表 (高中英语单词)
- elevation [,eli´veiʃən] n.高度;晋升;高尚 (高中英语单词)
- schooner [´sku:nə] n.纵帆船 (高中英语单词)
- gradual [´grædʒuəl] a.逐渐的 (高中英语单词)
- continually [kən´tinjuəli] ad.不断地,频繁地 (高中英语单词)
- community [kə´mju:niti] n.团体;社区;公众 (高中英语单词)
- forthwith [fɔ:θ´wið] ad.立刻 (高中英语单词)
- removal [ri´mu:vəl] a.可移动的;可去除的 (高中英语单词)
- courtesy [´kə:tisi] n.礼貌;殷勤;好意 (高中英语单词)
- meager [´mi:gə] a.瘦的;贫弱的 (高中英语单词)
- finding [´faindiŋ] n.发现物;判断;结果 (高中英语单词)
- hitherto [,hiðə´tu:] ad.至今,迄今 (高中英语单词)
- notwithstanding [,nɔtwiθ´stændiŋ] prep.&conj.虽然;还是 (高中英语单词)
- cement [si´ment] n.水泥;接合剂 vt.粘结 (高中英语单词)
- harmless [´hɑ:mləs] a.无害的,无恶意的 (高中英语单词)
- appropriate [ə´prəupri-it, ə´prəuprieit] a.适宜的 vt.私占;拨给 (高中英语单词)
- gloomy [´glu:mi] a.昏暗的;忧郁的 (高中英语单词)
- sunrise [´sʌnraiz] n.日出,黎明 (高中英语单词)
- singular [´siŋgjulə] a.单一的;非凡的 (高中英语单词)
- volcano [vɔl´keinəu] n.火山 (高中英语单词)
- desolation [desə´leiʃ(ə)n] n.荒凉 (英语四级单词)
- accomplished [ə´kʌmpliʃt] a.完成了的;熟练的 (英语四级单词)
- partially [´pɑ:ʃəli] ad.部分地;局部地 (英语四级单词)
- resolved [ri´zɔlvd] a.决心的;坚定的 (英语四级单词)
- anticipation [æn,tisi´peiʃən] n.预期;预料;期望 (英语四级单词)
- irresistible [,iri´zistəbəl] a.不可抵抗的 (英语四级单词)
- obstinate [´ɔbstinit] a.顽固的;(病)难治的 (英语四级单词)
- inevitably [in´evitəbli] ad.不可避免地;必然地 (英语四级单词)
- cordially [´kɔ:djəli] ad.热诚地;亲切地 (英语四级单词)
- delighted [di´laitid] a.高兴的;喜欢的 (英语四级单词)
- intercourse [´intəkɔ:s] n.交际;往来;交流 (英语四级单词)
- drawing [´drɔ:iŋ] n.画图;制图;图样 (英语四级单词)
- anniversary [,æni´və:səri] n.周年纪念(日) (英语四级单词)
- accurately [´ækjuritli] ad.准确地;精密地 (英语四级单词)
- respective [ri´spektiv] a.各自的,各个的 (英语四级单词)
- excursion [ik´skə:ʃən] n.短途旅行,游览;离题 (英语四级单词)
- envelop [in´veləp] vt.包,裹;围绕;包围 (英语四级单词)
- gracefully [´greisfuli] ad.优美地,斯文地 (英语四级单词)
- deluge [´delju:dʒ] n.大洪水 vt.泛滥 (英语六级单词)
- immovable [i´mu:vəbəl] a.不能移动的,固定的 (英语六级单词)
- farthing [´fɑ:ðiŋ] n.法新 (英语六级单词)
- calmness [´kɑ:mnis] n.平静;安静 (英语六级单词)
- collision [kə´liʒən] n.碰幢;冲突;互撞事件 (英语六级单词)
- impetus [´impitəs] n.冲力;推进力 (英语六级单词)
- advisable [əd´vaizəbl] a.合适的,得当的 (英语六级单词)
- zenith [´ziniθ] n.天顶,顶点;全盛 (英语六级单词)
- blithe [´blaið] a.快乐的;冒失的 (英语六级单词)
- contracted [kən´træktid] a.收缩了的;缩略的 (英语六级单词)