《英语100篇精读荟萃（基础篇）》作者：未知【完结】（鱼阅至9楼）

土耳其

Passageone（Theonlywaytotravelisonfoot）

Thepastagesofmanhaveallbeencarefullylabeledbyanthropologists.Descriptionslike‘PalaeolithicMan’,‘NeolithicMan’,etc.,neatlysumupwholeperiods.Whenthetimecomesforanthropologiststoturntheirattentiontothetwentiethcentury,theywillsurelychoosethelabel‘LeglessMan’.Historiesofthetimewillgosomethinglikethis:‘inthetwentiethcentury,peopleforgothowtousetheirlegs.Menandwomenmovedaboutincars,busesandtrainsfromaveryearlyage.Therewereliftsandescalatorsinalllargebuildingstopreventpeoplefromwalking.Thissituationwasforceduponearthdwellersofthattimebecauseofmileseachday.Butthesurprisingthingisthattheydidn’tusetheirlegsevenwhentheywentonholiday.Theybuiltcablerailways,ski-liftsandroadstothetopofeveryhugemountain.Allthebeautyspotsonearthweremarredbythepresenceoflargecarparks.’

Thefuturehistorybooksmightalsorecordthatweweredeprivedoftheuseofoureyes.Inourhurrytogetfromoneplacetoanother,wefailedtoseeanythingontheway.Airtravelgivesyouabird’s-eyeviewoftheworld–orevenlessifthewingoftheaircrafthappenstogetinyourway.Whenyoutravelbycarortrainablurredimageofthecountrysideconstantlysmearsthewindows.Cardrivers,inparticular,areforeverobsessedwiththeurgetogoonandon:theyneverwanttostop.Isitthelureofthegreatmotorways,orwhat?Andasforseatravel,ithardlydeservesmention.Itisperfectlysummedupinthewordsoftheoldsong:‘Ijoinedthenavytoseetheworld,andwhatdidIsee?Isawthesea.’Thetypicaltwentieth-centurytraveleristhemanwhoalwayssays‘I’vebeenthere.’Youmentiontheremotest,mostevocativeplace-namesintheworldlikeElDorado,Kabul,Irkutskandsomeoneisboundtosay‘I’vebeenthere’–meaning,‘Idrovethroughitat100milesanhouronthewaytosomewhereelse.’

Whenyoutravelathighspeeds,thepresentmeansnothing:youlivemainlyinthefuturebecauseyouspendmostofyourtimelookingforwardtoarrivingatsomeotherplace.Butactualarrival,whenitisachieved,ismeaningless.Youwanttomoveonagain.Bytravelinglikethis,yoususpendallexperience;thepresentceasestobeareality:youmightjustaswellbedead.Thetraveleronfoot,ontheotherhand,livesconstantlyinthepresent.Forhimtravelingandarrivingareoneandthesamething:hearrivessomewherewitheverystephemakes.Heexperiencesthepresentmomentwithhiseyes,hisearsandthewholeofhisbody.Attheendofhisjourneyhefeelsadeliciousphysicalweariness.Heknowsthatsound.Satisfyingsleepwillbehis:thejustrewardofalltruetravellers.