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Then I realized for the first time, just what work had meant in the old life, and how much of the texture of life had been bound up in the keen effort of it.
这下我才第一次明白工作在我们原来的生活中的意义，明白生活的质量和内涵与我们对生活的热切追求的努力多么密切相关。
Presently my eyes looked upward: dangling at the top of a building I saw what seemed to be the remains of telephone wires.
过了一会儿，我的眼睛往上一看，发现一座建筑的顶上有个东西在摆动，好像是残留下来的电话线头。
"What became of all the system of communication?" I asked.
“那些通信系统现在怎么样了呢？”我问道。
"Ah," said the Man in Asbestos, "all cut out. You see, when work stopped and commerce ended, and food was needless, and the weather killed, there was nothing to communicate and it was foolish to move about. Besides it was dangerous!"
“哦，”那个穿石棉衣服的人说，“也全都去掉了。你看，工作停止了，商业没有了，食品不需要了，天气变化也消灭了。这样一来，就没有需要交流的东西了。那如果有人还要四处走动，就成傻瓜了。再说，这还有危险！”
"So!" I said. "You still have danger?"
“原来！”我说，“你们还仍然会有危险？”
"Why, yes," he said.
“对，有啊，”他说。
"Do you mean you can still die?" I asked.
“这意思是不是你们还是有可能死去？”我问道。
"No," said the Man in Asbestos, "there's been no death for centuries past; we cut that out. Disease and death were simply a matter of germs. Well, we hunted them down one by one and destroyed them."
“不，”那个穿石棉衣的人说，“已经有几百年没人死了。我们把死亡给消除了。疾病和死亡其实就是细菌惹的祸。我们把细菌一个一个找了出来，统统消灭了。”
"And you mean to say," I ejaculated in amazement, "that nowadays you live for ever?"
“那您的意思是，”我马上吃惊地问道，“现在你们能永远活下去？”
"Yes," he said, "unless, of course, we get broken. Therefore we took steps to cut out all accidents. We forbid all streetcars, street traffic, airplanes, and so on."
“不错，”他说，“当然，除非我们受伤。所以我们采取措施，把一切事故都消灭了。为此我们禁止一切电车、车辆和飞机等交通工具的使用。”
