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.

凡爾納的故事既是寫給青少年的，也是寫給成年人看的，作品生動地描寫了19世紀的開拓精神。他的作品往往采用游記的形式，《從地球到月球》把讀者帶上了通往月球之旅，《地心游記》則將人們領往另一個方向。在其膾炙人口的作品中最為經(jīng)典的冒險故事當屬《80天環(huán)游地球》。

儒勒·凡爾納出生在法國港口城市南特，并在那里長大。他父親是律師。為了繼承父業(yè)，凡爾納前往巴黎學習法律。凡爾納在叔叔的引薦下進入了文學界，在維克多·雨果以及亞歷山大·小仲馬等作家的影響下開始發(fā)表劇本。

1851年，凡爾納完成了第一部科幻小說《氣球旅行》。他的作家生涯發(fā)展緩慢，于是轉(zhuǎn)行去做股票經(jīng)紀人，這一職業(yè)一直持續(xù)到他成功完成作品《氣球上的五星期》。

凡爾納的小說很快在世界范圍內(nèi)風行一時，凡爾納沒有受過科學家那樣的教育，也沒有旅行家的經(jīng)歷，為了寫作，他花大量的時間進行調(diào)查研究，力圖使小說的每一個細節(jié)都顯得真實可靠?！?0天環(huán)游地球》中菲里斯·福格的那次因打賭而引起的大膽但又可信的冒險壯舉就源于一次真實的旅行?！兜匦挠斡洝访枋龅氖且恢诫U隊進入了地球的空心。而在《海底兩萬里》中，凡爾納則給人們展現(xiàn)了一位現(xiàn)代超級英雄的前輩——尼摩船長和他的“鸚鵡螺號”潛艇?！胞W鵡螺”這一名字取自羅伯特·富爾頓發(fā)明的蒸汽動力潛艇。上述這些作品多次被翻拍成電影。凡爾納通過驚心動魄的歷險把科學知識和發(fā)明創(chuàng)造結合了起來。他的有些作品中的情節(jié)也變成了現(xiàn)實：他的“鸚鵡螺號”潛艇要比成功研制出第一艘電力潛艇早25年；他所描述的太空船預測出一個世紀后該領域的發(fā)展。 1886年，由2名英國人建造的第一艘完全以電力為動力的潛艇就被命名為“鸚鵡螺號”，以紀念凡爾納筆下的那艘船。1955年下水的第一艘核動力潛艇也起名為“鸚鵡螺號”。

注釋：

1．a(chǎn)dolescent n．（尤指16歲以下的）青少年

2．enterprising adj．有事業(yè)山的，有進取心的

3．fils［法］。n.子，小輩（加于姓后，與父區(qū)別）

4．stockbroking n．股票（或證卷）經(jīng)紀人

5．daring adj．大膽的，勇敢的

6．featn.業(yè)績，英勇事跡

7．wagern.打賭，賭博

8．depictvt．描寫，描述

9．predatevt．在日期上早于（或先于）