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1、PassageOneTheonlywaytotravelisonfootThepastagesofmanhaveallbeencarefullylabeledbyanthropologists.Descriptionslike‘PalaeolithicMan’,‘NeolithicMan’,etc.,neatlysumupwholeperiods.Whenthetimecomesforanthropologiststoturntheirattentiontothetwentiethcentury,theywillsurelychoos
2、ethelabel‘LeglessMan’.Historiesofthetimewillgosomethinglikethis:‘inthetwentiethcentury,peopleforgothowtousetheirlegs.Menandwomenmovedaboutincars,busesandtrainsfromaveryearlyage.Therewereliftsandescalatorsinalllargebuildingstopreventpeoplefromwalking.Thissituationwasforc
3、eduponearthdwellersofthattimebecauseofmileseachday.Butthesurprisingthingisthattheydidn’tusetheirlegsevenwhentheywentonholiday.Theybuiltcablerailways,ski-liftsandroadstothetopofeveryhugemountain.Allthebeautyspotsonearthweremarredbythepresenceoflargecarparks.’Thefuturehis
4、torybooksmightalsorecordthatweweredeprivedoftheuseofoureyes.Inourhurrytogetfromoneplacetoanother,wefailedtoseeanythingontheway.Airtravelgivesyouabird’s-eyeviewoftheworld–orevenlessifthewingoftheaircrafthappenstogetinyourway.Whenyoutravelbycarortrainablurredimageofthecou
5、ntrysideconstantlysmearsthewindows.Cardrivers,inparticular,areforeverobsessedwiththeurgetogoonandon:theyneverwanttostop.Isitthelureofthegreatmotorways,orwhat?Andasforseatravel,ithardlydeservesmention.Itisperfectlysummedupinthewordsoftheoldsong:‘Ijoinedthenavytoseethewor
6、ld,andwhatdidIsee?Isawthesea.’Thetypicaltwentieth-centurytraveleristhemanwhoalwayssays‘I’vebeenthere.’Youmentiontheremotest,mostevocativeplace-namesintheworldlikeElDorado,Kabul,Irkutskandsomeoneisboundtosay‘I’vebeenthere’–meaning,‘Idrovethroughitat100milesanhourontheway
7、tosomewhereelse.’Whenyoutravelathighspeeds,thepresentmeansnothing:youlivemainlyinthefuturebecauseyouspendmostofyourtimelookingforwardtoarrivingatsome24otherplace.Butactualarrival,whenitisachieved,ismeaningless.Youwanttomoveonagain.Bytravelinglikethis,yoususpendallexperi
8、ence;thepresentceasestobeareality:youmightjustaswellbedead.Thetraveleronfoot,ontheotherhand,livesconstantlyint
