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LESSON 24 Iceland,and the Geysers
第二十四課 冰島和間歇泉
Iceland is an island somewhat larger than Ireland. It is situated in the Atlantic Ocean, on the confines of the Arctic Circle, amid regions of ice and snow; yet it gives abundant evidence of the volcanic fires which are slum bering beneath its surface.
冰島是比愛爾蘭島稍大一點的島嶼，它位于大西洋，在北極圈內冰雪覆蓋的區域內；然而，也有大量的證據顯示其表面下隱藏著火山巖。
Among its most remarkable features are its hot springs, which in some places throw up a column of water to the height of a hundred feet. These springs abound on many parts of the coast, as well as in the interior of the island; and in some cases the waters of the ocean are sensibly heated by their action.
它的最顯著的特點之一就是溫泉，在某些地方的噴水甚至能夠高達一百英尺。許多地方的海岸線及島嶼的內陸地區等，都充斥著豐富的溫泉，在某些情況下，海水明顯是由它們的活動加熱的。
The most celebrated of these hot springs are the Geysers, situated in the north of the island, where, within the space of a few acres, more than fifty of them may be seen.
其中，最著名的溫泉是間歇噴泉，位于冰島北部，在那里方圓幾英畝之內，可能會看到五十多個溫泉。
The Great Geyser rises from a mound of flinty earth, deposited by the water, about thirty feet in height, and extending about two hundred feet across. On the top of this mound is a basin sixty feet wide and seven feet deep, in the centre of which is the opening through which the water rises.
約有三十英尺高、兩百英尺寬的最大間歇泉，在一塊堅硬的地表上突起，里面存著大量的水。這塊高地的頂端是一個六十英尺寬、七英尺深的盆地，里面的水通過中心的開口處噴涌而出。
A visit to the Geysers is thus described by Lord Dufferin in his book entitled "Letters from High Latitudes," giving an account of a voyage and visit to Iceland:—
徳菲林勛爵在其著作《高緯度的來信》中描述了去間歇泉和去冰島旅行的全過程：
"As the baggage-horses with our tents and beds had not yet arrived, we sat quietly down to coffee brewed in Geysers' water, when suddenly it seemed as if, beneath our very feet, a number of cannon were going off under ground. The whole earth shook. We set off at full speed toward the Great Geyser, expecting to see the grand water explosion. By the time we reached its brim, however, the noise had ceased, and all we could see was a slight trembling movement in the centre.
“因為馱著帳篷和床墊的馬還沒有到達，我們靜靜地坐下來，用間歇泉的水煮咖啡喝，突然間，我們腳下好像傳來了地底下許多大炮的爆炸聲。整個大地都在顫抖。我們立刻朝著最大的溫泉全速奔去，希望能看到地下水的噴發過程。但是，當我們剛剛趕到泉邊，轟隆聲立刻就停止了，我們所能看到的只不過是中間區域的一點輕微顫動。
