资源描述：
《message in a bottle》由会员上传分享，免费在线阅读，更多相关内容在行业资料-天天文库。
1、MESSAGEINABOTTLENicholasSparksPROLOGUEThebottlewasdroppedoverboardonawarmsummerevening,afewhoursbeforetherainbegantofall.Likeallbottles,itwasfragileandwouldbreakifdroppedafewfeetfromtheground.Butwhensealedproperlyandsenttosea,asthisonewas,itbecameoneofthemos
2、tseaworthyobjectsknowntoman.Itcouldfloatsafelythroughhurricanesortropicalstorms,itcouldbobatopthemostdangerousofriptides.Itwas,inaway,theidealhomeforthemessageitcarriedinside,amessagethathadbeensenttofulfillapromise.Likethatofallbottleslefttothewhimoftheocea
3、ns,itscoursewasunpredictable.Windsandcurrentsplaylargerolesinanybottle'sdirection;stormsanddebrismayshiftitscourseaswell.Occasionallyafishingnetwillsnagabottleandcarryitadozenmilesintheoppositedirectioninwhichitwasheaded.Theresultisthattwobottlesdroppedsimul
4、taneouslyintotheoceanmightendupacontinentapart,orevenonoppositesidesoftheglobe.Thereisnowaytopredictwhereabottlemighttravel,andthatispartofitsmystery.Thismysteryhasintriguedpeopleforaslongastherehavebeenbottles,andafewpeoplehavetriedtolearnmoreaboutit.In1929
5、acrewofGermanscientistssetouttotrackthejourneyofoneparticularbottle.ItwassettoseaintheSouthIndianOceanwithanoteinsideaskingthefindertorecordthelocationwhereitwashedupandtothrowitbackintothesea.By1935ithadroundedtheworldandtraveledapproximatelysixteenthousand
6、miles,thelongestdistanceofficiallyrecorded.Messagesinbottleshavebeenchronicledforcenturiesandincludesomeofthemostfamousnamesinhistory.BenFranklin,forinstance,usedmessage-carryingbottlestocompileabasicknowledgeofEastCoastcurrentsinthemid-1700s-informationthat
7、isstillinusetothisday.EvennowtheU.S.Navyusesbottlestocompileinformationontidesandcurrents,andtheyarefrequentlyusedtotrackthedirectionofoilspills.Themostcelebratedmessageeversentconcernedayoungsailorin1784,ChunosukeMatsuyama,whowasstrandedonacoralreef,devoido
8、ffoodandwaterafterhisboatwasshipwrecked.Beforehisdeath,hecarvedtheaccountofwhathadhappenedonapieceofwood,thensealedthemessageinabottle.In1935,150yearsafterithadbeensetafloat,itwashedupinthesmall
