Journey ^Centre^ Earth We saw things that scientists still do not know about. There is life in the heart of this planet. There is water and beaches and trees. Ame Saknussemm,
a famous
scientist from the sixteenth century, was the first to travel under the earth. We are the second. I do not know if others will try this dangerous adventure in the future. If they do, they need someone to guide them, or I'm afraid they will not
• • •
survive...
COMPONENTS: Reader I H I B H m^M Activity Bool( ^ ^ ® Teacher's Boolt Audio CD
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ISBN: 9 7 8 - 1 - 8 4 2 1 6 - 3 9 0 - 0
Express Publishing
Journey ^ ^ Centre^^ Earth Elizabeth Gray
Express Publishing
Published by Express Publishing Liberty House, New Greenham Park, Newbury, Berkshire RG19 6HW Tel: (0044) 1635 817 363 - Fax: (0044) 1635 817 463 e-mail:
[email protected]
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http://www.expresspublishing.co.uk © Elizabeth Gray, 1999 Chapter 1:
A Strange Message
Design Sif Illustration © Express Publishing, 1999 Colour Illustrations:
Chapter 2:
11
Chapter 3:
15
Nathan
First published 1999 Published in this edition 2007 Made in EU All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers. This book is not meant to be changed in any way. ISBN: 978-1-84216-390-0
5
Chapter 4:
Inside the Volcano
22
Chapter 5:
Lost in the Tunnels
• 27
Chapter 6:
A n Underground Water-World . . . .
33
Chapter 7:
A Terrible Storm
40
Chapter 8:
A Lost World
45
Chapter 9:
T h e Last Tunnel
51
Chapter 10:
Back Home
55
Chapter 1
k irantje ' 1 Otto Lidenbrock is the famous Professor of Geology at the University of H a m b u r g , in Germany. H e is also my uncle. H e is sixty-five years old, not very tall, with grey hair. H e wears small r o u n d gold glasses that make him look very serious. I'm Axel. I'm only n i n e t e e n a n d the Professor's personal assistant. I watch my uncle very carefully w h e n he works. That's why I know so m u c h about o u r planet Earth. My uncle, the Professor, is a h a r d worker. H e spends most of his day in his laboratory at the University, so he never comes h o m e before two o'clock for lunch. But yesterday, he came h o m e very early. This surprised Martlia, o u r cook. T h e p o o r old girl did not have the lunch ready a n d she was a little upset. "Professor, you're early!" "Never mind, Martha. I don't want lunch today." "But, Professor, you must eat!" T h e Professor looked excited. "Martha, food is not important." T h e n he t u r n e d to me. "Axel, come with me." H e took m e into his library. It was a big r o o m with lots of bookcases against the walls a n d heavy velvet curtains in f r o n t of the windows. In the middle of the r o o m , t h e r e was a desk where my uncle spent most of his evenings.
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Chapter 1 H e took an old book out of his coat pocket. H e looked at me. "Axel, look at this! Look at this!" I took it f r o m his h a n d . Its cover was h a r d a n d it looked very old. "Why, what is it. Professor?" "I f o u n d it today in an old bookshop. It's seven h u n d r e d years old." "What's it about?" "It's about the old princes f r o m Norway who came to live in Iceland." "Why is that so special?" H e smiled a n d said, "Because it is written in a language that n o o n e uses anymore." I o p e n e d the book a n d saw strange letters f r o m a strange alphabet. I did not u n d e r s t a n d any of it. I t u r n e d its yellow pages a n d a piece of p a p e r fell out of the book onto the floor. T h e Professor j u m p e d on it. "What's this?" It was an old yellow piece of p a p e r with the same strange letters on it. T h e Professor knew many languages, b u t he could not read this old language f r o m Iceland. H e took a thick book f r o m one of the shelves. It was a dictionary for all the old languages in the world which people d o not speak today. T h e n , he gave m e a piece of p a p e r a n d a pencil. "Axel, write down these letters as I r e a d t h e m to you." T h e Professor read each letter to m e a n d I wrote t h e m down.
Chapter 2
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Chapter W h e n we finished, this is what they sai^^ Go into the volcano at Sneffells YoUul. Before the first of July, the sun will show you the way to the centre of the earth. Make this journey. It is fantastic. T h e n a m e u n d e r this strange message was 'Arne Saknussemm. , "Arne Saknussemm! I don't believe it!" "Who's he?" " H e was a famous scientist. H e wrote many strange things about the earth, b u t no o n e believed him. T h e y said he was crazy. This must be the answer to the things he said. H e left this piece of p a p e r in the old book for someone to find. Do you u n d e r s t a n d . Axel, how lucky we are?" T h e n , he t u r n e d to the library door. "Martha!" I couldn't u n d e r s t a n d any of the things my uncle said. "What d o you mean, we?" Martha o p e n e d the d o o r to the library. "Did you want me, sir?" ^ you to buy us two train tickets to Denmark, blaster Axel a n d I are going to Iceland." This was the biggest surprise of my life! "What?! Uncle, I can't go!" T h e Professor looked at m e calmly. "You can, a n d you will!"
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There is a seventeen-year-old girl living in our town. I think she is the most beautiful girl in Germany. She's got long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her name is Grauben, and we are in love. We want to get married. That's why I didn't want to go with my uncle on his mysterious trip. But he couldn't understand that. "Are you in love with Grauben?" "Yes." "And you want to marry her?" "Yes." The Professor was silent. He was a good man, but he could not understand love because his only interest was science. He forgot what I said and began to talk about our journey. "Today is the 26th May. We have one m o n t h to get to Sneffells. We're going to take the train to Denmark, and then we'll take a boat to'Iceland. T h e whole trip is going to take twelve days, then we have to walk to the volcano." I could not listen to him anymore. My heart felt heavy. T h e Professor needed an assistant and he did not want anyone else to know about this secret. But how could I leave my Grauben? I went for a walk through the beautiful city of Hamburg. I walked along the Elbe river thinking of Grauben. I stopped for a moment to look at a fishing boat sailing on the calm water. T h e n I turned and, like magic, she was there. Grauben, my Grauben, stood twenty feet away, looking at the river.
Chapter 2 "Grauben!" She looked like an angel. We ran into each other's arms and kissed. , ^ "Oh, Axel! I'm so exdted!" She sounded very happy, but I couldn't understand why. "Excited? Why are you excited, my love?" "I was at your house. I heard about your journey. Isn't it wonderful?" For a moment, I felt sad. So, Grauben wanted me to go away from her! "But, Grauben, we want to get married. I don't know when I'm coming back." She looked at me lovingly and held my hand. "It doesn't matter. I'll still wait for you. Don't you understand? This is the kind of journey all great men must make. When you come back, you're going to be famous like your uncle. Then, our life will be perfect together." "Do you really mean that?" She touched my face and smiled. "Of course I do!" "Oh, Grauben, you are the most wonderfiil girl in the world!" Back at my uncle's house, I felt excited. Then, I thought of something. Maybe this adventure was too dangerous. Maybe we wouldn't come back. I ran into the library where my uncle was. "Uncle, is it possible that we won't come back from this journey?" His answer didn't make me feel any better. "There's only one way to find out. Axel..."
Chapter 3
/'QisUnd/Ucuaj^f It was very early in the m o r n i n g when the boat got to Icelan,d.^ W e could see the r o u n d body of the Sneffells Y^kuf volcano going u p into the sky t h r o u g h the clouds. It h a d snow n e a r the top, a n d it looked like an angry monster waiting for someone to try a n d climb it. T h e boat stopped at Reykjavik. It was a small town with small brick houses. Mr Fridriksson, a Professor f r o m the university there, met us at the boat. H e looked very friendly a n d smiled when hejs|iw^us^. i "You must be Professor t^idenbrock." "And you must be Professor Fridriksson. This is my assistant. Axel." We shook hands. "You got my letter, then." "Oh, yes. Professor, a n d everything is ready for you. Please, come with me." My uncle did not tell anyone the real reason for o u r j o u r n e y . H e wanted the two of us to be the only ones to travel to the centre of the earth. But we n e e d e d someone to go along with us as we didn't know the area, a n d the ice a n d snow a r o u n d the volcano, was too dangerous. So, Mr Fridriksson f o u n d us a guide. His n a m e was H a n s a n d he looked perfect for the job. H e was tall a n d very strong. H e h a d small blue eyes a n d long r e d hair. H e almost never smiled or spoke.
Chapter 3 Mr Fridriksson introduced us. "Professor Lidenbrock, this is Hans. Hans, Professor Lidenbrock a n d his assistant, Axel." Hans moved his h e a d just a little to say hello. " H a n s is a very quiet man, like most Icelanders, b u t h e is the strongest a n d best chmber in Reykjavik." My uncle smiled at Mr Fridriksson's words. "He's just perfect, Mr Fridriksson." Mr Fridriksson let us stay at his house until we were r e a d y to leave. We n e e d e d m a n y things for o u r adventure. W e took f o u r horses to travel to the mountain. T h e Professor a n d I each r o d e one, b u t H a n s walked. T h e other two horses carried o u r bags. We took a lot of things with us: r o p e for climbing, tools, lights, guns, medicine a n d e n o u g h food for six months. T h e only problem was we could only carry e n o u g h water for o n e week. T h e Professor believed there was water u n d e r the volcano, b u t what if there wasn't? We left Reykjavik on the 15th of J u n e , early in the m o r n i n g . We travelled along the sea a n d it was a w o n d e r f u l j o u r n e y . T h e land h a d a dark colour f r o m the itw«" expliosions of the volcano, a n d the beautiful blue sea next to it m a d e it look fantastic. T h e j o u r n e y to Sneffels took us six days, a n d each day we stopped in a different village for the night. T h e villages were small a n d very pretty, built at the foot of the volcano, next to the sea. T h e villagers were very nice, but, like Hans, they did n o t talk much. W h e n we got closer to the top of Sneffels, I t h o u g h t of something. /,l
Chapter 3 "No, that's impossible. T h i s volcano h a d its last explosion in 1229. I checked the g r o u n d . It's impossible." "But ..." "Axel, I a m a scientist. This is a fact. T h e r e is nothing m o r e to say." It was now eleven o'clock at night a n d we were at the top.We stopped a n d f o u n d a small place inside the o p e n i n g of the volcano where we could sleep. T h a t night, I h a d a d r e a m . I saw that I was alone inside the volcano. I was lost a n d very scared. S u d d e n l y , t h e volcano exploded a n d I was shot out of its top like a rock!
Chapter 4
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T h e m o u t h of the volcano was o n e mile wide. We tied a r o p e a r o u n d each other a n d began to climb down. H a n s went first. T h e inside of the volcano looked like the inside of an ice-cream'cone.'^ft^ o p e n i n g became smaller as we went down because of the rocks left t h e r e after explosions T h e bottom of the volcano was 2,000 feet down. W h e n we got ^ . a n d saw the o p e n i n g at the top.i It was a 'p^erfect'^i'i^nf c l e ^ b l u e sky. ^ T h e r e were t h r e e holes in the floor of the volcano. Each of t h e m was about a h u n d r e d feet wide. T h e explosion of rocks a n d hot lava once came t h r o u g h these holes a n d t h e n o u t t h r o u g h the top. Now, they looked like d a r k caves. I looked at the holes a n d t h e n t u r n e d to my uncle. "Which one d o we take?" "I don't know. Arrie Saknussemm said the sun touches one of them at the e n d ofJ u n e . Today is J u n e 25th. It is too late to see the sun today. We must wait until tomorrow." "What if it's cloudy tomorrow?" " T h e n , we will wait again. But we only have five m o r e days. In July, the sun is too low. It cannot reach the bott2)m of the volcano." " T h e n , we can go home?" "Axel, don't say such things! T o m o r r o w will be sunny, a n d we are going to the centre of the earth."
Chapter 4 T h e next day it was cloudy. T h e Professor could not believe it. "Four days. We only have f o u r days. Please, please, sun, come out, come out!" T h e Professor looked u p at the sky with his arms open. T h e only thing he wanted now was to see the sun shine. I t h o u g h t of G r a u b e n a n d the d a n g e r waiting for my uncle a n d myself inside those holes. I h o p e d for rain. H a n s built a small house f r o m the large rocks he f o u n d on the floor of the volcano. H e never said m u c h , b u t he always t h o u g h t of something useful to do. I checked the rock of the volcano walls to see how old they were. Drops of water f r o m the ice a n d the snow outside r a n down the wall, a n d the sound they m a d e inside was like music. Suddenly, the Professor called out my name. "Axel! Axel, come here!" 1 r a n to him curious to see what was there. "What is it?" "Look at this!" T h e r e were two words on the wall of the volcano in the old Icelandic language. "What does it say?" Arne Saknussemm. H e was here. We're in the right place." T h e next day, the sun came out, a n d at 1:13 in the afternoon, it touched the hole in the centre of the floor. "Thafs' it. That's the hole to the centre of the earth. Let's go."
Chapter 4 Hans brought our bags, but there was one problem. We could not carry all of them and climb down the hole at the same time. "What must we d o now?" T h e Professor took off his glasses a n d cleaned them while he tried to think of a solution. "Well, we'll throw everything we don't n e e d down the hole a n d we'll find it when we get to the bottom." H a n s threw the bags down the hole in f r o n t of us. We listened, b u t we never h e a r d t h e m hit the bottom.
Chapter 5
Lost in the Tunnels We p u t o u r r o p e t h r o u g h holes in the rocks on the sides of the walls, then climbed down. H a n s went first, then my uncle, then me. Every two h u n d r e d feet, we f o u n d a flat rock to stop on. We pulled the r o p e down f r o m above us, tied it to a new rock, then started again. We did this for almost ten hours. W e travelled 2,000 feet down. Finally, H a n s said something. "Stop!" /-faindliliwrn Mt^fi It was only one word, b u t it was nice to finally h e a r his voice. "What h a p p e n e d ? " "We're at the bottom." T h e Professor a n d I looked at him. "Of what?" "I don't know." T h e r e was a t u r n in the hole. T h e r e was an o p e n area like a cave at the bottom of the hole, which continued to the right. O u r bags were there. After ten hours of climbing down, we were very tired. We decided to spend the night there. In the m o r n i n g , we continued o u r j o u r n e y down. T h e hole now o p e n e d a n d looked m o r e like a tunnel. We did not n e e d to climb because we could walk down this tunnel. We used o u r torches, so we could see the rock on
Chapter 5
t h e walls clearly. It l o o k e d like glass of d i f f e r e n t colours. S o m e of it was r e d , s o m e was b r o w n , a n d s o m e was yellow. My u n c l e saw m e l o o k i n g at it. " T h a t ' s f r o m t h e lava." "It's b e a u t i f u l . " "So, y o u ' r e s t a r t i n g to e n j o y o u r j o u r n e y . T h e r e ' s m o r e to see. C o m c ^ a f o n g . " W e w a l k e d f o r two m o r e days a n d we f o u n d o t h e r t u n n e l s . T h e r e w e r e t u n n e l s e v e r y w h e r e , b u t we d i d n o t k n o w w h i c h was t h e r i g h t o n e . Unluckily, o u r w a t e r finished. " N o w , w h a t a r e we g o i n g to d o ? " " W e ' r e g o i n g to find a s p r i n g . T h e r e a r e m a n y , b u t we h a v e to g o d o w n f u r t h e r . " I c o u l d n o t m o v e . I was very t i r e d a n d thirsty a n d t h i n k i n g of G r a u b e n . " U n c l e , I can't g o o n . " "Axel, please. W e a r e g o i n g to find w a t e r . " "Water!" It was H a n s ' voice. " W h a t d i d yovi say?" "Water!" T h e r e was a l o u d s o u n d b e h i n d t h e wall n^^J; ^ k s ^ ' Ttnylti, s o u n d e d like t h e w a t e r of a river. H a n s took a p i c k a x e T m i ^ ' m a d e a h o l e in t h e wall. W a t e r c a m e o u t o n t o t h e floor a r o u n d us. "I told y o u . Axel. W a t e r ! Ow! It's hot. D o n ' t t o u c h it. It n e e d s air. W e ' r e too f a r u n d e r g r o u n d . "
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
I looked u p a n d saw the clouds. I could not see the top of this cave, b u t it was difficult to believe that all of this was u n d e r the earth. W h e n I felt strong again, I took a walk along the beach. T h e r e were shells there f r o m a time before m a n walked on the earth. I saw the bones of something which looked like a h u g e elephant. I thought,^^^an,^h^gs live u n d e r the earth? Are there any animals alive down here?' T h e boat was ready a n d we were ready to sail. We left the beach a n d a strong wind p u s h e d us quickly out to sea. After a few h o u r s on this strange sea, Hans tied the pickaxe to a r o p e a n d threw it into the water. T h e Professor wanted to know how d e e p the sea was. It never touched the bottom. W h e n Hans pulled it back into the boat, its metal head looked different. T h e r e were large marks on it. "What's that?" Hans looked at it closely. "Teeth." Teeth? Could something so big live in these waters? T h e Professor looked at his compass. "We are travelling south. If I am right, we left Iceland when we went u n d e r the volcano. We travelled u n d e r the Atlantic Ocean a n d now we are u n d e r Scodand." "That's fantastic!" "But we're still not going down. I want to go f u r t h e r down!" Suddenly, there were h u g e waves rocking the boat. "What's h a p p e n i n g ? "
H a n s pointed to something dark about a mile away f r o m us. It came closer a n d I t h o u g h t I saw a giant dolphin. I was wrong. It was an alligator. It came closer a n d I saw that I was wrong again. It was something with the body of a dolphin a n d the h e a d of an alligator. It was over o n e h u n d r e d feet long. T h e n , I saw a h u g e snake t'^UJUJUL ° ^fuUWLUJul • with a shell on its back like a turtle We took the guns in o u r hands, but the animals did not care about us. T h e y fought each other. It was a horrible fight. We h e a r d the snake hissing a n d the dolphin screaming. T h e y both d o v ^ ' f f i ^ r the water. Everything was quiet. T h e n , the snake's h e a d came out of the water. It hissed one m o r e time before it died in the water. But where was the monster dolphin?
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Chapter 7
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Now, o u r j o u r n e y felt even m o r e dangerous. T h e Professor was frightened, b u t n o t h i n g could stop him f r o m going to the centre of the earth. H a n s continued to sail the boat, but we did not see land. We travelled for hours, b u t we did not h e a r or see anything. T h e n , there was a sound like fast r u n n i n g water. We couldn't see it, b u t we could h e a r it. It got louder. T h e n we saw it. ..T . • > , n-ttn^UAMci . , . ,„ Look, It s water shootmg u p into the air! , "And it's c o m i n g f r o m the body of a h u g e sea We tried to t u r n the boat, b u t the waves pulled us n e a r the creature. For a m o m e n t , I t h o u g h t that this was the e n d of o u r j o u r n e y . T h e water went u p 500 feet high into the air. An animal that could d o this, could kill us easily. T h e n , we saw that the long black body we t h o u g h t was an animal, was an island. It was like a small volcano, shooting u p water, instead of lava. "That's where all this water is coming from." "Axel, check the t e m p e r a t u r e of the water here." I took a t h e r m o m e t e r out of my inside jacket pocket a n d I p u t it in the water for a few seconds. "163 degrees Fahrenheit." "We're close to the centre." "We can't go on. Uncle. It's too hot."
Chapter 7 "We must." T h e electric light coming f r o m the rocks over o u r heads b e g a n to make explosions?f1hie clouds were now near the water. Small lines of light that looked like snakes exploded all a r o u n d us. T h e waves were bigger now a n d p u s h e d us away. I was very scared. "What's happening?" T h e explosions were too loud for us to h e a r each other. "It's an electrical storm! Hans!" H a n s tried to keep the boat f r o m sinking. T h e wind p u s h e d us t h r o u g h the water like a race car. Suddenly, a large ball of white electric light fell on the boat. N o n e of us could move. It held o u r feet with its electric power. We shouted to each other, b u t n o n e of us could h e a r anything. T h e boat moved by itself, a n d t h e r e was n o t h i n g we could do. Suddenly, the ball of electricity exploded. We all fell down a n d a h u g e wave threw us into the water. H a n s h a d the Professor in o n e a r m a n d m e in the other. I don't know how he did it, b u t he got us to land safely. I began to think that all the energy he saved by not talking, m a d e him the strongest m a n on earth. T h e storm stopped a n d we saw the boat, still on the water, a h u n d r e d feet away. H a n s swam out to save o u r food a n d e q u i p m e n t . T h e Professor a n d I tried to u n d e r s t a n d where we were. "I think that sea is 800 miles wide." "That means we went u n d e r Europe. T h e Mediterranean sea is now over our heads!" "Let's wait for H a n s to b r i n g back the compass."
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Chapter 7 W h e n H a n s b r o u g h t back the compass, the Professor a n d I could not believe what we saw. It said we were north a n d not south. T h a t m e a n t the wind took us back to the place where we started.
Chapter 8
wid We were on the north side of the sea again, b u t not on the same beach as before. For this reason, we began to look a r o u n d to see what we could find. T h e Professor didn't want us to stay there for long. H e wanted to sail on the sea again. "Professor, it's too dangerous! You saw what happened." "I don't care. Axel. I did not come all this way to turn back now. We've got to see what's on the other side of that sea." This beach was longer than the other one. Its rocks had m o r e holes in them, a n d I t h o u g h t this was because of earthquakes. T h e r e were many m o r e bones a n d old shells on this beach. "Look at all of this. Axel! We can read the whole history of the world f r o m these bones." T h e r e were skeletons of animals that are not living today. It was very exciting to see them out in the o p e n a n d not in a m u s e u m . "Axel, look! A h u m a n head!" T h e r e , with all the other bones, was the h e a d of a man. How did it get here? Did it fall down one of those holes like we did? Was that going to h a p p e n to us? T h e Professor was excited. "If other scientists could see m e now! This could be the oldest skeleton ever found!"
Chapter 8 We walked f u r t h e r d o w n a n d the beach c h a n g e d . Now, there were large trees a n d small plants a r o u n d us. T h e f u r t h e r we went, the m o r e life we f o u n d . Suddenly, I saw something move b e h i n d the trees. My uncle a n d I hid. It was a lamily of m a m m o t h s f r o m t h o u s a n d s of years ago. "Axel, can you believe it? T h e r e is a n o t h e r world u n d e r o u r earth!" "But a r e t h e r e also p e o p l e h e r e ? " "Yes, look!" I couldn't believe it. Walking b e h i n d t h e m a m m o t h s was a giant m a n . H e was over twelve feet tall with long hair a n d a b e a r d . H e h a d a piece of animal skin a r o u n d . /wfr.isV mCLMjt ^ his waist. "Should we try to talk to him?" "No, h e looks d a n g e r o u s . H a n s is not with us, a n d we d o n ^ have o u r guns. Let's go b a c . l ^ J p ^ J ^ l ^ e ^ ^ ; ^ ^ We r a n away quietly, so the prehistoric main did not see us. W h e n we stopped r u n n i n g , we were back at the beach. I saw an old knife on a rock. "Let's clean this a n d keep it. It could be useful." "Axel, d o n ' t you u n d e r s t a n d what this is?" "Yes, it's a knife." "But it's m a d e of metal. It is only two o r t h r e e h u n d r e d years old." "Do you m e a n ..." "Yes, A r n e Saknussemm!" T h e Professor saw a cave nearby. H e r a n to it. "Axel, it's him!" O n the rock, next to the e n t r a n c e of this cave, t h e r e were two letters in old Icelandic: A.S.
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Chapter 8 T h e Professor looked very excited. " T h i s m u s t be t h e e n t r a n c e we a r e looking for.
Chapter 9
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H a n s b r o u g h t t h e b o a t to t h e e n d of t h e b e a c h w h e r e t h e cave was. W e tied it to a rock in t h e water a n d took o u r bags to t h e cave. "Are we g o i n g to use t h e b o a t again?" "I d o n ' t know. Maybe, if we c o m e back this way. But, w h o knows w h e r e this n e w t u n n e l will take us." W e n e e d e d the boat sooner t h a n we thought. We walked about twelve feet inside the cave, t h e n we saw a h u g e rock blocking the tunnel. W e couldn't u n d e r s t a n d it. " H o w c o u l d A r n e S a k n u s s e m m get a r o u n d this rock?" T h e Professor t h o u g h t for a m o m e n t , a n d t h e n h e looked at t h e rock. "Maybe it fell a f t e r his j o u r n e y , in t h e last two h u n d r e d years, p r o b a b l y a f t e r a n e a r t h q u a k e o r a terrible storm." "I wish t h e r e was a n o t h e r e a r t h q u a k e to m o v e t h a t rock f r o m t h e e n t r a n c e of t h e cave." u / ^AnpOWO'S /"«WW. "Axel, that's it! W e can use t h e g u n p o w d e r to m o v e this rock again!" "Do you t h i n k it will work?" " T h e r e ' s only o n e way to find o u t . " W e still h a d s o m e e x t r a g u n p o w d e r with us, for t h e . . raikx^Kil K^KAMOn^in, g u n s . H a n s m a d e a hole in t h e rock with his pickaxe, t h e n we p u t t h e g u n p o w d e r inside. W e u s e d t h e r o p e to light it, b u t we m a d e it very l o n g to give us time to m o v e back a n d hide.
Chapter 9 T h e three of us got into the boat a n d moved fifty feet out to sea. We h a d n o idea how big the explosion was going to be. Waiting for it m a d e us very nervous. "Maybe it won't work." "Axel! Don't say those things!" We waited. Suddenly, the rocks on the beach o p e n e d like two curtains. T h e earth shook a n d everything fell into a h u g e hole. We fell back in the boat, a n d the final explosion m a d e the sea rise in a h u g e wave which p u s h e d us back to the beach. We were in the air, on top of the 'bi iju m-nin. ^ water, a n d the hole was below us. It looked big e n o u g h to take in all the world! "We're going down into the hole!" "That's what we want!" "Not this way!" We shouted because the noise of falling rocks was all a r o u n d us a n d we couldn't h e a r each other. T h e boat moved like a train t h r o u g h the tunnel, then we crashed into a new river of fresh water. T h e boat went u n d e r a n d came back u p so fast that t h e r e was very litde water in it. I don't know how we stayed in it. We held onto the sides of the boat with all of o u r strength. "Professor, where are we?" "I don't know, b u t the water is taking us somewhere. We have no choice but to follow it." "It's getting hot!" T h e t e m p e r a t u r e was high. T h e walls h a d the r e d colour of lava. "Are we u n d e r a n o t h e r volcano?"
Chapter 9 W h e n I finished my sentence, we h e a r d a loud roar f r o m behind us. Water a n d air p u s h e d us forward faster. T h e walls began to shake a n d rocks began to fall. "Professor!" T h e n it was clear. We were inside a volcano a n d it was going to explode. I could see the blue sky t h r o u g h the r o u n d hole at the top of the volcano. T h e r e was one m o r e terrible roar a n d we were flying u p into the air!
Chapter 10
T h e volcano t h r e ^ j ^ ^ i n t o the sea. H a n s saved us again with his a m a . z i n ^ ^ e : ^ t h . But w h e r e were we? It looked like the surface of tlie earth. T h e r e were small boats in the water a n d olive a n d fruit trees on the land. Behind us was the h u g e volcano. We saw a little boy. We tried to go near him, b u t he was afraid of us. After all o u r u n d e r g r o u n d adventures, we looked horrible. T h e Professor spoke to him in G e r m a n , French a n d English, b u t he did not u n d e r s t a n d . Finally, the boy spoke in Italian. "What did he say?" " H e said we're in Stromboli, Italy." "You m e a n we went in o n e volcano in Iceland a n d came out of a n o t h e r in Italy?" "Yes, a n d that one there is M o u n t Etna."
And that was how o u r j o u r n e y e n d e d . T h e Professor was not h a p p y that he didn't get to the centre of the earth, b u t when we got back to Germany, he felt better. Martha told everyone in H a m b u r g about o u r journey, a n d when we arrived, there was a big celebration for us. Everyone in H a m b u r g was at the train station when we arrived, b u t the only p e r s o n I looked for was my G r a u b e n . And I saw her, like a white light, moving past the others, until I could hold her.
Chapter 10 " O h , Axel, I'm so glad you're back! I t h o u g h t of you every day a n d sometimes I was afraid, b u t s o m e h o w I knew you w e r e all right." "Well, I never felt that I was safe, b u t I did want to c o m e back to you, every m i n u t e of every day." T h e r e was a stage set u p in t h e station, a n d t h e journalists w h o w e r e t h e r e asked the Professor to talk a b o u t o u r j o u r n e y . Uncle O t t o was tired, b u t h e a g r e e d . "My n e p h e w , Axel, a n d I a r e now back f r o m an I » ^ ^ ^ ^ c r e d i b l e journey." ; W e saw things that scientists still d o not know about. ' T h e r e is life in t h e h e a r t of this planet. T h e r e is water a n d beaches a n d trees. A r n e S a k n u s s e m m , a f a m o u s scientist f r o m t h e sixteenth century, was the first to travel u n d e r the earth. W e a r e the second. I d o n o t know if others will try this d a n g e r o u s a d v e n t u r e in the f u t u r e . If they do, they n e e d s o m e o n e like o u r g u i d e H a n s with t h e m , o r I'm afraid they will n o t survive. For a m o m e n t , I t h o u g h t I saw a smile o n H a n s ' face as the p e o p l e c l a p p e d a n d c h e e r e d . But, as usual, the quiet I c e l a n d e r d i d n ' t say a w o r d .
W o r d List
Word Chapter 1 against (prep) anymore (adv) assistant (n) be early (phr) believe (v) bookcase (n) bookshop (n) calmly (adv) carefully (adv) centre (n) cook (n) cover (n) crazy (adj) curtain (n) desk (n) dictionary (n) Earth (n) excited (adj) fall (fell-fallen) (v) famous (adj) fantastic (adj) find (found-found) (v)
finish (v) geology (n) gold (adj)
Osi
hard worker (phr) important (adj) journey (n) jump on sth (idm) laboratory (n) leave (left-left) (v) library (n) look (v) lucky (adj) mean (meant-meant) (V)
message (n) never mind (exp) personal (adj) piece of paper (phr) planet (n) pocket (n) poor (adj) prince (n) professor (n) scientist (n) serious (adj) shelf (n, pi: shelves) show (showed-shown) (v)
spend (spent-spent) (V)
strange (adj)
surprise (v) thick (adj) turn to (v) understand (understoodunderstood) (v) university (n) upset (adj) velvet (adj) volcano (n) wear (wore-worn) (v)
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Chapter 2 adventure (n) along (prep) anyone (pron) be in love (exp) begin (began-begun)
j
(v)
better (adv) blonde (adj) bright (adj) calm (adj) dangerous (adj) fell (felt-felt) (v) find out (phr v)
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W o r d List
W o r d List fishing boat (n) forget (forgot-forgotten) (V) get married (phr) get to (got-got) (v) great (adj) hear (heard-heard) (v) hold (held-held) (v) interest (n) it doesn't matter (exp) kind (n) like magic (phr) look like (phr) lovingly (adv) maybe (adv) moment (n) my heart felt heavy (exp) mysterious (adj) perfect (adj) possible (adj) sad (adj) sail (v) secret (n) silent (adj) sound (v) stand (stood-stood) (v) still (adv) think (thought-thought) | (V) through (prep) touch (v) trip (n)
1 1 i !
walk (v) whole (adj) wonderful (adj)
Chapter 3 almost (adv) along with (phr-prep) angry (adj) area (n) at the foot (phr) be lost (phr) be shot (phr) brick (adj) carry (carriedcarried) (v) check (v) climber (n) early (adj) enough (adj) explode (v) explosion (n) fact (n) friendly (adj) get close to (phr) ground (n) guide (n) gun (n) 1 happen (v) i head (n) i impossible (adj) | inside (prep) i
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introduce (v) job (n) just a little (phr) last (adj) light (n) like (prep) medicine (n) meet (met-met) (v) monster (n) next to (phr-prep) nothing more (phr) opening (n) quiet (adj) ready (adj) real (adj) reason (n) ride (rode-ridden)
(v) rope (n) round (adj) scared (adj) shake hands (phr) snow (n) stay (v) strong (adj) tool (n) travel (v) try (v) until (conj) wait for (v)
Chapter 4
throw (threwthrown) (v) tie(v) useful (adj) wall(n) wide (adj) word (n)
right (adv) shout (v) sound (n) spring (n) thirsty (adj) tired (adj) torch (n) tunnel (n) turn (n) underground (adv) unluckily (adv) voice (n)
arm (n) because of (phr-prep) bottom (n) call out (phr v) cave (n) circle (n) clear (adj) Chapter 5 curious (adj) danger (n) clearly (adv) drop (n) come along (camefloor (n) come) (phr v) hit (hit-hit) (v) Chapter 6 continue (v) hole (n) different (adj) hope for (v) alive (adj) enjoy (v) ice-cream cone (n) bandage (n) finally (adv) inside (n) be wrong (phr) first (adj) it's cloudy (phr) beach (n) flat (adj) late (adj) 1 bone (n) further (adv) lava (n) channel (n) get lost (phr) low (adj) closely (adv) go back (went-gone) mile (n) cloud (n) (phr v) mouth (n) come close (phr) go black (phr) reach (v) deep (adj) in front of (phr-prep) rock (n) difficult (adj) run down (ran-run) (v) 1 mistake (n) i dive (v) shine (shone-shone) 1 move (v) dolphin (n) ! open area (phr) (V) electricity (n) : others (pron) solution (n) even (adv) own (adj) take off (took-taken) excitement (n) pickaxe (n) (phr v) explain (v) pull (v)
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W o r d List
W o r d List fight (fought-fought) 1 1 (V)
Chapter 7 • \ south (adv)
1;
get better (phr) giant (adj) heat (n) hiss (v) horrible (adj) huge (adj) hurt (hurt-hurt) (v) imagine (v) light (n) luckily (adv) mark (n) mystery (n) point to (v) quickly (adv) rock (v) sail across (phr) scream (v) shell (n) snake (n) take a walk (phr) terrible (adj) thousands of (quant) turtle (n) underground (adj) wave (n) wind (n)
1 a few (acy) I bring back (broughtbrought) (phr v) j close to (phr-prep) i come from (v) 1 creature (n) 1 degree (n) 1 easily (adv) i end (n) : equipment (n) ! fast running (phr) j feel (felt-felt) (v) i frightened (ac^) 1 get louder (phr) 1 go on (went-gone) i i (phr v) ; : instead of (phr-prep) ^ island (n) S : i I i i
kill (v) land (n) line (n) none (pron) north (adv) place (n) i power (n) i push away (v) 1 race car (n) 1 safely (adv) S save (v) i second (n) sink (sank-sunk) (v)
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storm (n) swim (swam-swum) (V)
temperature (n) the Mediterranean Sea (n) thermometer (n) too (adv)
museum (n) nearby (adv) north (adj) plant (n) prehistoric (adj) quietly (adv) side (n) skeleton (n) turn back (phr v) waist (n) world (n)
Chapter 8
animal skin (n) beard (n) come all this way (phr) earthquake (n) entrance (n) exciting (adj) i for long (phr) I hide (hid-hidden) (v) i human (adj) 1 Icelandic (n) ; in the open (phr) keep (kept-kept) (v) knife (n, pi: knives) | letter (n) life (n, pi: lives) 1 look for (phr v) j lost (adj) i mammoth (n) i metal (n)
Chapter 9 bag (n) below (prep) block (v) choice (n) crash into (v) final (adj) fly (fiew-flown) (v) fresh water (phr)
i amazing (adj) | gunpowder (n) i another (pron) | hold onto (phr v) 1 it's getting hot (phr) j arrive (v) loud (adj) J be back (phr v) celebration (n) make (made-made) (V) j century (n) noise (n) i cheer (v) j on top of (phr) 1 clap (clappedclapped) (v) 1 probably (adv) 1 rise (rose-risen) (v) ! heart (n) I roar (n) 1 incredible (adj) journalist (n) 1 sentence (n) shake (shook-shaken) mount (n) (V) 11 nephew (n) olive tree (n) strength (n) past (prep) use (v) 1 person (n) wish (v) ; second (adj) : set up (set-set)
Chapter 10 I 1 afraid (adj) 1 agree (v)
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1 (phr v) • somehow (adv) stage (n) survive (v)
