12 The Museum

CHAPTER 12 The Museum When we reached the green building, we found that it was empty and run down. There was broken glass in many of the windows, and the walls were cracked and in need of repair. On one of the walls, I saw what looked like writing. I asked Weena if she could read it, but the symbols meant nothing to her. Along with so

第十二章博物馆当我们到达那座绿色的建筑时，我们发现它是空的，已经垮了。 许多窗户上都有碎玻璃，墙壁也有裂缝，需要修理。 在其中的一面墙上，我看到了类似文字的东西。 我问薇娜能不能看懂，但那些符号对她来说毫无意义。 除此之外

many other things, the Eloi had forgotten how to read and write. At the top of the tall staircase that led into the building, I turned and looked out over the countryside. I could still see the River Thames, but I was surprised to see another large river where there isn't one today. As my eyes followed the rivers in the direction of the ocean, I wondered what had happened to all the living things in the sea. I turned and walked through the gaping front doors. Inside, we found ourselves in a very large, long room. It reminded me of a gallery in a museum. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust that softened the sound of our footsteps. There was an odd collection of objects in the room and they, too, were covered in dust. In the center of the hall was part of an enormous skeleton about the size of an elephant. It looked like the remains of a giant sloth. The skull and upper bones were scattered on the floor. Other

在许多其他事情上，埃洛伊人已经忘记了如何读写。 在通往大楼的高楼梯顶端，我转过身，眺望着外面的乡村。 我仍然能看到泰晤士河，但令我惊讶的是，在今天已经没有大河的地方又看到了一条大河。 当我的目光顺着河流流向海洋时，我想知道海里所有的生物都发生了什么事。 我转过身，穿过敞开的前门。 在里面，我们发现自己在一个很大很长的房间里。 它让我想起了博物馆里的画廊。 地板上覆盖着一层厚厚的灰尘，使我们的脚步声变得柔和了。 房间里有一堆奇怪的东西，它们也都盖满了灰尘。 大厅中央有一具大象大小的巨大骨架的一部分。 它看起来像一只巨大树懒的残骸。 头骨和上颚骨散落在地板上。 其他

bones were worn away where rainwater had leaked through a hole in the roof.

雨水从屋顶上的一个洞漏出来，骨头被磨掉了。

At the other end of the gallery was the huge skeleton of a brontosaurus. The bones of the great dinosaur's long tail and neck stretched across the entire room. As we walked through the gallery, it was clear that this was a museum. Ancient objects filled dust-covered glass cases around us. The room was brimming with a wonderful collection of fossils that had survived all these years. The museum was huge, and I realized there must be many more rooms. It occurred to me that there might be displays that explained the history of the last eight hundred thousand years. There might even be a library! Those rooms would tell me so much more than a roomful of dinosaur bones. And so I took Weena's hand and went in search of more galleries. We came to a room filled with displays that had been destroyed by the passage of time. It looked like the cases had once contained stuffed

在走廊的另一端是一具巨大的雷龙骨架。 这只大恐龙长长的尾巴和脖子的骨头横跨了整个房间。 当我们穿过画廊时，很明显这是一个博物馆。 我们周围布满灰尘的玻璃柜里堆满了古代物品。 房间里摆满了这些年来保存下来的珍贵化石。 博物馆很大，我意识到肯定还有更多的房间。 我突然想到，也许有一些展示可以解释过去80万年的历史。 甚至可能会有一个图书馆！比起一屋子的恐龙骨头，那些房间能告诉我的东西要多得多。 于是我牵着薇娜的手去寻找更多的画廊。 我们来到一个满是展品的房间，这些展品已经被时间的流逝毁坏了。 看起来箱子里曾经装过填充物

animals, but now there was nothing inside except dust and small pieces of fur or skin. I was sad to see the empty cases. Seeing an animal that I recognized would have been like seeing a friendly face. The next gallery was the largest yet. It was long, and the floor sloped down away from us. Large white globes hung from the ceiling. They looked like lamps, but many of them were broken and there was no electricity. There were very few windows, too, so the room was quite dark. The gallery was filled with large machines. They were rusted and falling apart. But being an inventor, I was excited to see them. I walked eagerly from one to the next. What did they do, I wondered? Perhaps one of them still worked. Perhaps one of them would help me overcome the Morlocks. Suddenly, Weena clutched my arm and pulled herself close to me. I looked around and noticed

动物，但现在里面除了灰尘和小块皮毛或皮肤什么都没有。 看到空空的箱子我很难过。 看到一只我认识的动物就像看到一张友好的脸。 下一个画廊是迄今为止最大的。 这条路很长，而且地板离我们越来越远。 天花板上挂着白色的大地球仪。 它们看起来像灯，但很多都坏了，也没有电。 窗户也很少，所以房间里很黑。 画廊里摆满了大型机器。 它们都生锈了，快要散架了。 但作为一名发明家，我很高兴看到它们。 我急切地从一家走到另一家。 我想知道他们做了什么？ 也许其中一个还能用。 也许他们中的一个能帮我战胜莫洛克人。 突然，韦娜抓住我的胳膊，向我靠近。 我环顾四周，注意到了

we were now at the end of the hall. There were no windows in this part of the gallery, and the shadows were pitch black. Weena was afraid and hid her face in my chest. My small friend's fear reminded me of my real reason for visiting the green building. I was supposed to be looking for shelter. Instead, I'd been wandering from gallery to gallery as if I were on vacation. I was so eager to explore the museum that I had forgotten everything else. It was late afternoon, and I was no closer to finding a safe place to sleep or tools to help me get my machine back. So I turned to leave the darkened gallery. Just then, a soft, scuffling sound came from a shadowy corner of the room. I stopped and peered into the blackness. The dusty floor was covered with small footprints. I glanced around at the machines near me. A number of metal levers stuck out from one. The machine was rusted and falling apart. I grabbed a

我们现在到了大厅的尽头。 走廊的这一段没有窗户，阴影一片漆黑。 薇娜很害怕，把脸埋在我的胸膛里。 我的小朋友的恐惧提醒了我参观绿色建筑的真正原因。 我本应该去找避难所的。 相反，我从一个画廊逛到另一个画廊，就像在度假一样。 我是如此渴望探索博物馆，以至于忘记了其他的一切。 当时是下午晚些时候，我还没有找到一个安全的地方睡觉，也没有找到帮助我取回机器的工具。 于是我转身离开了昏暗的画廊。 就在这时，一个柔和的扭打声从房间阴暗的角落里传来。 我停下来，凝视着黑暗。 满是灰尘的地板上满是小脚印。 我扫视了一下附近的机器。 一根柱子上伸出了许多金属杠杆。 这台机器生锈了，快要散架了。 我抓了一个