Jules Verne was a French writer and pioneer of science fiction， whose best-known works today are Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in Eighty Days.
Jules Gabriel Verne was born on February 8， 1828， in Nantes， France. His father was a lawyer and had a seafaring① tradition， a factor which influenced his writings.
As a boy， Jules Verne ran off to be a cabin boy on a merchant ship， but he was caught and returned to his parents.
In 1847 Jules was sent to study law in Paris. While there， however， his passion② for the theatre grew. Later in 1850， Jules Verne’s first play was published. His father was outraged when he heard that Jules was not going to continue law， so he discontinued the money he was giving him to pay for his expenses in Paris. This forced Verne to make money by selling his stories.
After spending many hours in Paris libraries studying geology③， engineering， and astronomy④， Jules Verne published his first novel Five Weeks in a Balloon in 1863. Soon he started writing novels such as Journey to the Center of the Earth and From the Earth to the Moon.
Because of the popularity of these and other novels， Jules Verne became a very rich man. In 1876， he bought a large yacht⑤ and sailed around Europe. On March 24， 1905， Jules Verne died of a disease.
① seafaringadj. 航海的，以航海为业的
② passionn. 热情，激情
③ geologyn. 地质学
④ astronomyn. 天文学
⑤ yachtn. 快艇，游艇
儒勒·凡尔纳
儒勒·凡尔纳是一位法国作家，同时也是科幻小说的先驱，他最著名的作品就是今天为人们所熟知的《海底两万里》和《八十天环游世界》。
1828年2月8日，儒勒·凡尔纳于法国的西部海港南特出生。他的父亲是一名律师，热爱航海，这对他的写作产生了很大的影响。
孩童时期，儒勒·凡尔纳跑到了一个航海船上当见习生，但是最后他被父母接回了家中。
1847年，儒勒被送往巴黎学习法律。然而，就是在那里，他迷恋上了戏剧。
而后在1850年，儒勒·凡尔纳的第一部戏剧发表了。儒勒的父亲听闻他不再继续学习法律，大为震怒，因此决定不再继续支付给他在巴黎的一切开销。这迫使凡尔纳不得不通过出售自己的故事来换取生活费用。
儒勒·凡尔纳花费了许多时日在巴黎的图书馆研究地质学、工程学以及天文学，终于在1863年发表了自己的第一部小说《地球上的星期五》。
不久他开始创作诸如《地心游记》以及《从地球到月球》等作品。
由于这些作品大受欢迎，儒勒·凡尔纳变得非常富有。1876年，他买了一艘巨大的游艇，然后开始环游欧洲。1905年3月24日，儒勒·凡尔纳因病去逝。
