英语选修四时间机器课文
The Time Traveller (for so it will be convenient to speak of him) waxpounding a recondite matter to us. His grey eyes shone and twinkled,and his usually pale face was flushed and animated. The fire burnedbrightly, and the soft radiance of the incandescent lights in the lilies ofsilver caught the bubbles that flashed and pasd in our glass. Our chairs,being his patents, embraced and caresd us rather than submitted to be satupon, and there was that luxurious after-dinner atmosphere when thoughtroams gracefully free of the trammels of precision. And he put it to us inthis way--marking the points with a lean forefinger-as we sat and lazilyadmired his earnestness over this new paradox (as we thought it:) and his .
fecundity.You must follow me carefully. I shall have to controvert one or twoideas that are almost universally accepted. The geometry, for instance,they taught you at school is founded on a misconception.'Is not that rather a large thing to expect us to begin upon?' said Filby,an argumentative person with red hair.
I do not mean to ask you to accept anything without reasonableground for it. You will soon a
dmit as much as I need from you. You knowof cour that a mathematical line, a line of thickness NIL, has no realexistence. They taught you that? Neither has a mathematical plane. Thethings are mere abstractions.'That is all right,' said the Psychologist.Nor, having only length, breadth, and thickness, can a cube have a real existence.'There I object,' said Filby. Of cour a solid body may exist. Allreal things--'
That,' said a very young man, making spasmodic efforts to relighthis cigar over the lamp;' that. . . very clear indeed.'Now, it is very remarkable that this is so extensively overlooked,'continued the Time Traveller, with a slight accession of cheerfulness.Really this is what is meant by the Fourth Dimension, thoughsomepeople who talk about the Fourth Dimension do not know they mean it. Itis only another way of looking at Time. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCEBETWEEN TIME AND ANY OF THE THREE DIMENSIONS OFSPACE EXCEPT THAT OUR CONSCIOUSNESS MOVES ALONG IT.
But some foolish people have got hold of the wrong side of that idea. Youhave all heard what they have to say about this Fourth Dimension?'
