Verne's stories, written for adolescents1 as well as adults,caught the enterprising2

spirit of the 19th century.His works were often written in the form of a travel book,which

took the readers on a voyage to the moon in From the Earth to the Moon or to another

direction as in A Journey to the Center of the Earth.Among his best-known books is the

classic adventure story Around the World in Eighty Days.
　　 Jules Verne was born and raised in the port of Nantes. His father was a lawyer. To

continue the practice, Verne moved to Paris, where he studied law. His uncle introduced him

into literary circles and he started to published plays under the influence of such writers

as Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas (fils3).
　　 In 1851 Verne wrote his first science fiction tale, A voyage in Balloon. When his

career as an author progressed slowly, Verne turned to stockbroking4, an occupation which

he held until his successful tale Five Weeks in a Balloon.
　　Verne' s novels gainedsoonahuge popularity throughout the world.Without the education

of a scientist or experiences as a traveler, Verne spent much of his time in research for

his books. He tried to be realistic and practical in details.A round the World in Eighty

Days was about Phileas Fogg's daring5 but realistic travel feat6 on a wager7,based on a

real journey.A Journey to the Centre of the Earth depicted8 an expedition that enters in

the hollow heart of the Earth.In Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, Verne introduced

one of the forefathers of modern superheroes,the Captain Nemo and his submarine, Nautilus,

named after Robert Fulton's steam-powered submarine. In these works, filmed several times,

Verne combined science and invention with fast-paced adventure. Some of Verne's fiction has

also become a fact: his submarine Nautilus predated9 the first successful power submarine

by a quarter century, and his spaceship predicted the development a century later.The first

all-electric submarine,built in 1886 by two Englishmen,was named Nautilus in honor of

Verne's vessel.The first nuclear-powered submarine,launched in 1955,was named Nautilus,

too.
　　
　　凡尔纳的故事既是写给青少年的，也是写给成年人看的，作品生动地描写了19世纪的开拓精神。他

的作品往往采用游记的形式，《从地球到月球》把读者带上了通往月球之旅，《地心游记》则将人们领

往另一个方向。在其脍炙人口的作品中最为经典的冒险故事当属《80天环游地球》。
　　儒勒·凡尔纳出生在法国港口城市南特，并在那里长大。他父亲是律师。为了继承父业，凡尔纳前

往巴黎学习法律。凡尔纳在叔叔的引荐下进入了文学界，在维克多·雨果以及亚历山大·小仲马等作家

的影响下开始发表剧本。
　　1851年，凡尔纳完成了第一部科幻小说《气球旅行》。他的作家生涯发展缓慢，于是转行去做股票

经纪人，这一职业一直持续到他成功完成作品《气球上的五星期》。
　　凡尔纳的小说很快在世界范围内风行一时，凡尔纳没有受过科学家那样的教育，也没有旅行家的经

历，为了写作，他花大量的时间进行调查研究，力图使小说的每一个细节都显得真实可靠。《80天环游

地球》中菲里斯·福格的那次因打赌而引起的大胆但又可信的冒险壮举就源于一次真实的旅行。《地心

游记》描述的是一支探险队进入了地球的空心。而在《海底两万里》中，凡尔纳则给人们展现了一位现

代超级英雄的前辈——尼摩船长和他的“鹦鹉螺号”潜艇。“鹦鹉螺” 这一名字取自罗伯特·富尔顿发

明的蒸汽动力潜艇。上述这些作品多次被翻拍成电影。凡尔纳通过惊心动魄的历险把科学知识和发明创

造结合了起来。他的有些作品中的情节也变成了现实：他的“鹦鹉螺号”潜艇要比成功研制出第一艘电

力潜艇早25年；他所描述的太空船预测出一个世纪后该领域的发展。 1886年，由2名英国人建造的第一

艘完全以电力为动力的潜艇就被命名为“鹦鹉螺号”，以纪念凡尔纳笔下的那艘船。1955年下水的第一

艘核动力潜艇也起名为“鹦鹉螺号”。
　　
　　注释：
　　1．adolescent n．（尤指16岁以下的）青少年
　　2．enterprising adj．有事业山的，有进取心的
　　3．fils［法］。n.子，小辈（加于姓后，与父区别）
　　4．stockbroking n．股票（或证卷）经纪人
　　5．daring adj．大胆的，勇敢的
　　6．featn.业绩，英勇事迹
　　7．wagern.打赌，赌博
　　8．depictvt．描写，描述
　　9．predatevt．在日期上早于（或先于）