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"What a queer, excited way you have of speaking," he looked annoyed.
“你怎么用这样激动的怪调说话，”这人显得有些不大高兴。
"Tell me," I said again. "Is this the year 3000?"
“请告诉我，”我又说，“今年是不是公元3000年？”
"I haven't the faintest idea," he said.
“我一无所知，”他回答道。
"Don't you keep track of them any more?" I gasped.
“难道你们不再记载时间了吗？”我吃惊地倒抽了一口气。
"We used to," said the man. "But it died out. Why," he continued, "after we eliminated death—"
“我们曾经记载过，”那人说道。“但后来就没有了。因为，”他接着说，“在我们消灭了死亡以后——”
"Eliminated death!" I cried, sitting upright.
“消灭死亡！”我叫道，兴奋得坐直了起来。
"I was saying—after we had eliminated death, and food, and—"
“我刚才说到——在我们消灭了死亡和食物以及——”
"Stop!" I said, my brain reeling. "Tell me one thing at a time."
“等等！”我说，这时我的脑子都晕了，“请您一件一件地讲。”
"Humph!" he ejaculated. "I see, you must have been asleep a long time. Go on then and ask questions."
他突然“哼”了一声，说道：“我明白了，您肯定是睡了很长时间了。好吧，您有问题就问吧。”
Oddly enough the first question that sprang to my lips was—
奇怪的是，我脱口而出的第一个问题居然是——
"What are those clothes made of?"
“您身上穿的衣服是什么做的？”
"Asbestos," answered the man.
“石棉，”那人回答说。
"Thank you," I answered. "Now tell me where I am."
“谢谢，”我回答道，“现在请告诉我，我这是在哪里？”
"You are in a museum. The figures in the cases are specimens like yourself. But here," he said, "if you want really to find out about what is evidently a new epoch to you, get off your platform and come out on Broadway."
“您现在在一家博物馆里。那些橱窗里的人都是像您一样的展品。但是，”他说，“如果您真想了解这个对您来说显然全新的时代，您就要从这展台上走下来，出去到百老汇大街看看。”
I got down. But the moment we came out upon the street, I stood riveted in astonishment.
我走下了展台。可是我们刚走到街上，我就吃惊地站在那里，动弹不得了。
