Although our cell was large, we obviously had used up most of the oxygen it contained.

虽然牢房还算宽大，但很明白，我们已经消耗掉了里面大部分氧气。

In essence, over an hour's time a single human being consumes all the oxygen found in 100 liters of air,

本来每人每小时要消费一百升空气中所含有的氧，

at which point that air has become charged with a nearly equal amount of carbon dioxide and is no longer fit for breathing.

这空气到了含有差不多等量的二氧化碳时，就不能呼吸了。

So it was now urgent to renew the air in our prison, and no doubt the air in this whole underwater boat as well.

因此，给我们的牢房换换空气，是很迫切需要的了，无疑的，整个潜水艇也该换换空气了。

Here a question popped into my head. How did the commander of this aquatic1 residence go about it?

这使我想到一个问题。这所浮动住宅的首脑是怎样解决换气问题的?

Did he obtain air using chemical methods, releasing the oxygen contained in potassium chlorate by heating it, meanwhile absorbing the carbon dioxide with potassium hydroxide?

他是用化学方法获得空气的吗?是用氯酸钾加热放出氧气，还是用氢氧化钾吸收二氧化碳气呢?

If so, he would have to keep up some kind of relationship with the shore, to come by the materials needed for such an operation.

真是这样的话，他必须与陆地保持一定的联系才能取得这些化学原料。

Did he simply limit himself to storing the air in high-pressure tanks and then dispense2 it according to his crew's needs?

或者他只是利用高压力把空气储藏在密封的房间里，然后根据船上人员的需要再把空气放出来吗?