书评：《时间机器》

江丽

《时间机器》是赫伯特·乔治·威尔斯的一篇著名科幻小说，讲述了一位狂热的科学爱好者研制出时光机，并乘着时光机穿梭时空的故事。

The Time Machine is a science fiction classic published by H. G. Wells in 1895. It is a short story about a scientist， referred to as the time traveler， on his journey into the future.

H. G. Wells was born in Kent， the United Kingdom in 1866. He is often referred to as the “father of science fiction”. Some of his most famous novels include The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds.

The story begins with the time traveler having a conversation with several guests in his living room. There he tells them about the wonders of time travel and how it will change the world. His guests are sceptical， and think it's either magic or talk.

The time traveler proves the concept by entering his time machine and powering it up. The machine begins to pick up speed and suddenly the world starts moving faster. The scenes before his eyes change， quicker and quicker. 800，000 years into the future the time traveler stops. The land before him is stormy and dark at first. Then things begin to clear up and he finds himself softly landed on a grass land. It is a peaceful land， almost a paradise. There are wonderful birds， plants and several temples.

People there look like normal humans， with the same bodily features， except they are small—about a third of the size of a normal person. These people， called Eloi， speak a different language and seem to be less intelligent. They are playful and careless， and remind the traveler of children. They interact with the traveler but lose interest quickly. These small people spend their days eating fruit， playing around or bathing in the river. When a woman is trapped in water and floated away， they show no care...

Three hours after he originally left， the time traveler travels back to his time. The guests are told the story， of which they sit through in disbelief. The next day， the traveler plans for another adventure. And after promising to return in a short period of time， the traveler is never seen again.

The story is very predictable and simple. H. G. Wells actually coined the term “time machine” and the story is far ahead of its time. This work is an example of eschatology（末世论）， which is the study around the end of the world and humanity.

Reading Check

Ⅰ. Fill in each blank with only one word according to the text

Ⅱ. Discussion

1. What's the guests' reaction when they first hear time travel？ Does their reaction change after the time traveler travels back？

2. What do you know about the environment and people in the future world that the time traveler enters？ Have a discussion with your classmates.

Language Study

熟詞生义

H. G. Wells actually coined the term “time machine” and the story is far ahead of its time. 赫伯特·乔治·威尔斯实际上创造了“时间机器”这个词，这个故事也是远远超前于其时代。

coin v. 创造（新词语）

e.g. The term “cardboard city” was coined to describe communities of homeless people living in cardboard boxes. 人们创造了“cardboard city”一词，指居住在纸板棚屋里无家可归者的居住区。