海底两万里 第131期 第10章 水中人(2)

Gentlemen, he said in a calm, penetrating voice, I speak French, English, German, and Latin with equal fluency.

先生们，我会说法语、英语、德语和拉丁语。

Hence I could have answered you as early as our initial interview,

我本来可以在我们初次会见的时候回答你们，

but first I wanted to make your acquaintance and then think things over.

不过我想先认识你们，然后再考虑。

Your four versions of the same narrative, perfectly consistent by and large, established your personal identities for me.

你们把事实经过复述了四遍，内容完全相同，这使我肯定了你们的身份，

I now know that sheer chance has placed in my presence Professor Pierre Aronnax,

我现在知道，偶然的机会使得我碰见了负有出国作科学考察使命的巴黎博物馆生物学教授彼埃尔·阿龙纳斯先生，

specialist in natural history at the Paris Museum and entrusted with a scientific mission abroad, his manservant Conseil, and Ned Land, a harpooner of Canadian origin aboard the Abraham Lincoln, a frigate in the national navy of the United States of America.

他的仆人康塞尔以及北美合众国海军部林肯号战舰上的鱼叉手、加拿大人尼德·兰。

I bowed in agreement. The commander hadn't put a question to me. So no answer was called for.

我点点头，表示同意。船长向我提的不是问题，我没有必要回答。