人教版英语选修第四册 Unit 1 Using Lagnuage THE TIME MACHINE

THE TIME MACHINE (Adapted)

时间机器（改编版）

It was at ten o’clock today that the first of all Time Machines began its career.

今天上午十点，所有时间机器中的第一台启动了共运转之旅。

I gave it a last check, and sat myself in the leather seat.

我最后检查了一遍机器，然后坐在皮椅上。

I pushed the starting lever on the main panel forwards an inch then immediately backwards again.

我把主面板上的启动操纵杆往前推了一英寸，然后又立刻向后拉回。

Looking around, I saw my laboratory exactly as before.

环顾四周，我看到实验室与以前一模一样。

Had anything happened?

发生什么事了吗？

I thought my mind had tricked me.

我以为我的大脑欺骗了我。

Then I saw the clock.

然后我看了下时钟。

A moment before, it was a minute or so past ten; now it was nearly half past three!

片刻之前，大概是十点零一分，而现在已经快三点半了！

I drew a breath, gripped the lever and pushed it forwards.

我吸了一口气，一把抓住操纵杆，往前推了一下。

The laboratory went hazy around me.

实验室在我身边变得模糊不清。

My niece came in to fetch something, maybe her handkerchief, apparently without seeing me.

我的侄女进来拿东西，也许是拿她的手帕，但她显然没看见我。

It probably took her a minute, but to me she moved like a rocket!

她大约花了一分钟，但在我看来，她的动作快如火箭！

I pushed the lever further.

我把操纵杆再往前推了下。

Night came as if a lamp was being turned out, and in another moment came the day.

夜幕降临了，仿佛一盏灯正在熄灭，转眼间，白昼就来临了。

Tomorrow night came, then skipped to day, again and again, faster and faster still.

第二天夜晚降临，接着又跃进到白天。如此反复，越来越快。

It is hard to explain the strange and unpleasant feeling of time travelling.

时间旅行带来的陌生感和不适感是难以解释的。

It felt like I was being driven fast on a winding road.

我感到我好像坐在一部汽车里，飞驰在蜿蜒的道路上。

As my pace grew faster, the walls of the laboratory fell away, and I was left in the open air.

我的速度越来越快，实验室的墙壁随之坍塌，我置身野外。

The sun and moon looked as if they were being thrown across the sky, but soon there was division between night and day.

太阳和月亮看起来似乎正被抛向天空，但是很快就有了昼夜之分。

Around me I saw trees growing like puffs of smoke; they grew, spread, and died in moments.

环顾四周，我看到树木似青烟升起，不断生长，变得枝繁叶茂，片刻之后枯亡。

I saw huge buildings rise up, then disappear like in a dream.

我看到大楼拔地而起，继而消逝，犹如梦中。

The whole surface of the earth was being changed, melting and flowing before my eyes.

地球的整个表面都在变化，在我的眼前熔化、流动。

I calculated that I was being pushed through time at hundreds of years a minute.

我估算我一分钟要穿越数百年的时间。

I had a strange urge to look at the random things that were being flashed before my eyes!

我有一种强烈的欲望，想看看眼前那些随机闪现的东西！

I had thought about the risk of stopping the Time Machine many times.

我已多次考虑过停下时间机器的风险。

So long as I travelled at maximum speed, it didn’t matter.

只要我以最高的速度前进，就不会有什么问题。

But if I stopped and the same space was being occupied by something else, we would be forced together and explode like a bomb!

但是，如果我停下来，同一空间被别的东西占据，我们就会被挤在一起，然后像炸弹一样爆炸！

Like an impatient fool, I pulled the lever backwards hard.

我就像一个失去耐心的傻瓜，使劲向后拉了下操纵杆。

With a sudden jolt, the Time Machine was flipped on its side, and I was thrown through the air.

突然一震，时间机器侧翻了，我被抛向了空中。

I was stunned for a moment, and then heard the sound of thunder.

我一时惊呆了，然后听到雷声。

I was sitting in the rain in some mud next to the machine.

我坐在雨中的一堆烂泥上，时间机器躺在一旁。

“A fine welcome,” I said, “for a man who has travelled thousands of years to be here!”

“对一个穿越了数千年才来到这里的人来说，这欢迎真是别开生面！”我说道。

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