書評：《時間機器》

江麗

《時間機器》是赫伯特·喬治·威爾斯的一篇著名科幻小說，講述了一位狂熱的科學愛好者研制出時光機，并乘著時光機穿梭時空的故事。

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（末世論）， 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

熟詞生義

H. G. Wells actually coined the term “time machine” and the story is far ahead of its time. 赫伯特·喬治·威爾斯實際上創造了“時間機器”這個詞，這個故事也是遠遠超前于其時代。

coin v. 創造（新詞語）

e.g. The term “cardboard city” was coined to describe communities of homeless people living in cardboard boxes. 人們創造了“cardboard city”一詞，指居住在紙板棚屋里無家可歸者的居住區。