The Giant Squid · 大乌贼 · 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea · Simplified Mandarin · HSK 3

水面上有很多船在打潜水艇。船长把潜水艇开得很深。水里非常黑。潜水艇往下开，才没被船打坏。忽然，一只大乌贼出现了。这只怪物比潜水艇还要大。大乌贼有很多很长的手。它的手非常长。大乌贼把潜水艇抓住了。马达被大乌贼弄坏了。船长决定往上开。潜水艇回到水面，他们才出去。

外面的天很黑。风雨也非常大。他们出去打这只怪物。教授和助手也来帮船长。但是大乌贼的力气比人大。怪物把船长抓起来了。船长快被它杀死。

这时候，鱼叉手跑出来了。他往上爬，爬到潜水艇外面。他看到船长快死掉。鱼叉手拿着鱼叉。他用力把鱼叉丢出去。大乌贼被鱼叉打中了。怪物痛得放开船长。大乌贼逃进深水里。鱼叉手帮船长回到船内。

船长看着鱼叉手。他以为自己一定会死。他没想到鱼叉手会救他。船长决定改变自己。他看着教授。船长对教授说：“我以后不打仗。我想追求和平。我要把秘密给全人类看。”

语法 · Grammar

The 把 (bǎ) construction

Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + Complement

The 把 structure highlights what the subject does to a specific object. The verb is almost always followed by a complement (like a result, direction, or state) to show how the object was handled or changed.

船长把潜水艇开得很深。The captain drove the submarine very deep.

怪物把船长抓起来了。The monster grabbed the captain.

The 被 (bèi) passive voice

Receiver + 被 + (Doer) + Verb + Complement

The 被 structure is used to form the passive voice, emphasizing the receiver of an action rather than the doer. In Chinese, it is very commonly used for adverse or negative events (such as something being broken or someone getting hurt).

马达被大乌贼弄坏了。The motor was broken by the giant squid.

大乌贼被鱼叉打中了。The giant squid was hit by the harpoon.

练习二 · Matching

Match each word to its meaning.

1.潜水艇

2.怪物

3.力气

4.和平

5.秘密

a.peace

b.submarine

c.secret

d.monster

e.physical strength

1-b · 2-d · 3-e · 4-a · 5-c

译文 · Translation

There were many ships on the surface of the water attacking the submarine. The captain drove the submarine very deep. The water was extremely dark. Because the submarine drove downwards, it was not destroyed by the ships. Suddenly, a giant squid appeared. This monster was even bigger than the submarine. The giant squid had many very long arms. Its arms were extremely long. The giant squid grabbed hold of the submarine. The motor was broken by the giant squid. The captain decided to drive upwards. The submarine returned to the surface, and only then did they go out.

The sky outside was very dark. The wind and rain were also very heavy. They went out to fight this monster. The professor and the assistant also came to help the captain. However, the giant squid's physical strength was greater than a human's. The monster grabbed the captain. The captain was about to be killed by it.

At this time, the harpooner ran out. He climbed upwards, climbing to the outside of the submarine. He saw that the captain was about to die. The harpooner held a harpoon. He forcefully threw the harpoon out. The giant squid was hit by the harpoon. The monster was in such pain that it let go of the captain. The giant squid fled into the deep water. The harpooner helped the captain return inside the ship.

The captain looked at the harpooner. He thought that he would definitely die. He had not expected that the harpooner would save him. The captain decided to change himself. He looked at the professor. The captain said to the professor, "I will not fight wars anymore in the future. I want to pursue peace. I want to show the secret to all of humanity."