Bedside Lamp English Learning Reader 2 (The Time Machine) (English-Chinese Contrast)

Author: Li Zhengshuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: A scientist describes his idea to a few friends: three-dimensional space is not enough; there should be a fourth dimension, which is time. Then, the scientist shows them a model of a time machine and a real one, claiming that this machine will make it possible for him to travel through time and that he is ready to try it himself. He starts the machine and travels to the future. He arrives in a strange world and sees future people who are short, unintelligent, live a simple life, lack strength and wisdom, and have very little difference in appearance between men and women. Everyone does not work; their daily activities consist of eating, playing, and sleeping. The scientist accidentally rescues a woman named Vina from deep water and the two travel together. The scientist also discovers caves where a machine is heard running and humans living underground, resembling white monkeys, who only come out at night. From this, he guesses that the people on the surface (Eloi) are in a dominant position, while the people underground (Morlocks) are ordinary workers who must live with machines and provide all services for the rich people on the surface. The scientist ventures into a dark cave and finds a large house filled with the smell of blood, nearly being captured alive by the Morlocks. He enters a green building—a museum—where it is filled with rocks and minerals dug from the Earth's interior. On his way back to the forest from the green building, he is tracked by the Morlocks. After a fierce battle, he finally defeats them but loses Vina in the process. The scientist decides to make one last attempt to let the Eloi save themselves, but it fails. Disappointed, the scientist walks toward the base of a statue and recovers the time machine. He continues forward into the future, eventually arriving in the ice age 30 million years later, where the horror of death is felt. On his return journey, he stops in the country of Kekerton, which has reached the most advanced stage of human history. The machine is destroyed by the Dystans, and with no other choice, the scientist helps the Kekertonians build a new time machine. He returns home aboard the time machine, still grieving over the bleak future he has seen. He tells his friends and the media about his experiences, but no one believes him. Eventually, the scientist takes his time machine one last time into the future, and he is never seen again.