7 More Discoveries

CHAPTER 7 More Discoveries Once I had calmed down, my problem seemed funny. I thought about how hard I had worked to travel to the future—and now all I wanted to do was go home! I shook my head and laughed out loud. When I returned to the white building, I felt as if the little people were staying away from me.

当我平静下来后，我的问题似乎很有趣。 我想，为了去未来旅行，我付出了多大的努力——而现在，我只想回家！我摇了摇头，大声笑了起来。 当我回到那座白色的建筑时，我觉得那些小人物似乎离我远远的。

Maybe it was because I had tried to get into the statue—or maybe it was just my imagination. But after a day or two, things went back to normal. The Eloi were friendly again, and I tried to learn more of their language. It seemed to me that the little people used very few words. I learned the names of different fruits and how to say things like run or hungry. But that was all. Their sentences were also very short, with only one or two words. Because of this, I found it difficult to talk about anything but the simplest things. I explored the countryside and tried not to think about the Time Machine too much. Everywhere I hiked, I saw the same gardens, grass, flowers, fruit, statues, and buildings. I also saw more of the wells that I had seen before. There were many of them, and they seemed to be very deep. They were all made of metal and had small roofs to keep out the rain. I couldn't see any water when I looked down

也许是因为我试图进入雕像，也许这只是我的想象。 但过了一两天，一切又恢复了正常。 埃洛伊人又变得友好起来，我试着多学一些他们的语言。 在我看来，这些小人物很少说话。 我学会了不同水果的名字，学会了如何说“跑”或“饿”。 但仅此而已。他们的句子也很短，只有一两个词。 正因为如此，我发现除了最简单的事情之外，我很难谈论任何事情。 我在乡间探险，尽量不去想时间机器。 无论我走到哪里，我都能看到同样的花园、草地、鲜花、水果、雕像和建筑。 我也看到了比以前更多的井。 它们有很多，而且似乎很深。 它们都是金属做的，屋顶很小，可以挡雨。 当我往下看时，我看不到任何水

them, but I could hear a sound coming from below—a steady thud-thud-thud, like the sound of a big engine. I discovered that air was flowing down into all of them. I tossed a scrap of paper into one, and it was sucked quickly out of sight into the darkness. I also discovered what I would describe as chimneys near each well. At the top of each chimney, the air shimmered. It looked as if hot air was coming out of them. I decided that fresh air must flow underground through the wells, and bad air must rise to the surface by way of the chimneys. But I had no idea why. It reminded me how little I knew about the world of the future. Yes, I had met the Eloi and eaten their food. And I now slept with them in the white building. I'd discovered the wells and chimneys. But there was so much I didn't know. I was really only guessing at what the world of the future was truly like. It was the same as if a caveman visited

但是我能听到下面传来一个声音——一个稳定的砰砰声，就像一个大引擎的声音。 我发现空气是向下流动的。 我扔了一张小纸片进去，它很快就被吸走了，消失在黑暗中。 我还在每口井附近发现了我称之为烟囱的东西。 在每个烟囱的顶部，空气都在闪烁。 看起来好像热气正从他们身上冒出来。 我决定新鲜空气必须从井里流到地下，坏空气必须从烟囱升到地面。 但我不知道为什么。它提醒我，我对未来世界所知甚少。 是的，我见过爱洛伊人，吃过他们的食物。 现在我和他们一起睡在白色的大楼里。 我发现了水井和烟囱。 但我不知道的事情太多了。 我只是在猜测未来的世界到底是什么样子。 就像一个穴居人来过一样

London. He would see buildings and cars. He would eat our food. But he wouldn't really know how anything worked. The railway, factories, telephones, and radios would all be a mystery. He wouldn't understand why we live the way we do. That's how I felt. And that's why I can say what I saw. But I can't say anything more than that. For example, I never saw any graveyards. Why? Perhaps they were in another part of the country, or I just hadn't seen one in my travels. I don't know. I also never saw any sick or old people. Again, I don't know why. I also began to wonder how the fruit got from tree to table. I never saw the Eloi pick any. I wondered where their robes and sandals came from. I never saw any factories where clothing or shoes could be made. Someone must be making these things, but where? There were no shops that sold food or clothing, and no boats or trains to carry goods. The little people spent all their

伦敦。他会看到建筑物和汽车。 他会吃我们的食物。但他真的不知道事情是怎么回事。 铁路、工厂、电话和收音机都将是一个谜。 他不会理解我们为什么这样生活。 这就是我的感受。这就是为什么我能说出我所看到的。 但除此之外我什么也不能说。 比如，我从来没见过墓地。 为什么?也许它们在这个国家的另一个地方，或者我只是在旅行中没有见过它们。 我不知道。我也从未见过任何病人或老人。 我也不知道为什么。我也开始好奇果实是如何从树上走到餐桌上的。 我从没见过埃洛伊人摘过。 我不知道他们的长袍和凉鞋是从哪里来的。 我从未见过任何可以生产衣服或鞋子的工厂。 肯定有人在制造这些东西，但在哪里呢？ 没有卖食物和衣服的商店，也没有运输货物的船只和火车。 小矮人花光了他们所有的钱

time playing, or bathing in the river, or eating and sleeping. I could not imagine how things got done. There was so much I didn't know about this world. Who had taken the Time Machine—and why? What were the wells and chimneys for? I had spent three days in the future, and there were so many questions I still needed to answer.

时间在玩耍，或在河里洗澡，或吃饭和睡觉。 我无法想象事情是如何完成的。 我对这个世界有太多的不了解。 谁拿走了时间机器？为什么？ 水井和烟囱是干什么用的？ 我在未来度过了三天，还有很多问题需要回答。