Phileas Fogg rightly suspected that his departure from London would create a lively sensation at the West End. The news of the bet spread through the Reform Club, and afforded an exciting topic of conversation to its members. From the club it soon got into the papers throughout England. The boasted "tour of the world" was talked about, disputed, argued with as much warmth as if the subject were another Alabama claim. Some took sides with Phileas Fogg, but the large majority shook their heads and declared against him; it was absurd, impossible, they declared, that the tour of the world could be made, except theoretically and on paper, in this minimum of time, and with the existing means of travelling. The Times, Standard, Morning Post, and Daily News, and twenty other highly respectable newspapers scouted Mr. Fogg's project as madness; the Daily Telegraph alone hesitatingly supported him. People in general thought him a lunatic, and blamed his Reform Club friends for having accepted a wager which betrayed the mental aberration of its proposer.
Articles no less passionate than logical appeared on the question, for geography is one of the pet subjects of the English; and the columns devoted to Phileas Fogg's venture were eagerly devoured by all classes of readers. At first some rash individuals, principally of the gentler sex, espoused his cause, which became still more popular when the Illustrated London News came out with his portrait, copied from a photograph in the Reform Club. A few readers of the Daily Telegraph even dared to say, "Why not, after all? Stranger things have come to pass."
At last a long article appeared, on the 7th of October, in the bulletin of the Royal Geographical Society, which treated the question from every point of view, and demonstrated the utter folly of the enterprise.
Everything, it said, was against the travellers, every obstacle imposed alike by man and by nature. A miraculous agreement of the times of departure and arrival, which was impossible, was absolutely necessary to his success. He might, perhaps, reckon on the arrival of trains at the designated hours, in Europe, where the distances were relatively moderate; but when he calculated upon crossing India in three days, and the United States in seven, could he rely beyond misgiving upon accomplishing his task? There were accidents to machinery, the liability of trains to run off the line, collisions, bad weather, the blocking up by snow—were not all these against Phileas Fogg? Would he not find himself, when travelling by steamer in winter, at the mercy of the winds and fogs? Is it uncommon for the best ocean steamers to be two or three days behind time? But a single delay would suffice to fatally break the chain of communication; should Phileas Fogg once miss, even by an hour; a steamer, he would have to wait for the next, and that would irrevocably render his attempt vain.
This article made a great deal of noise, and, being copied into all the papers, seriously depressed the advocates of the rash tourist.
Everybody knows that England is the world of betting men, who are of a higher class than mere gamblers; to bet is in the English temperament. Not only the members of the Reform, but the general public, made heavy wagers for or against Phileas Fogg, who was set down in the betting books as if he were a race–horse. Bonds were issued, and made their appearance on 'Change; "Phileas Fogg bonds" were offered at par or at a premium, and a great business was done in them. But five days after the article in the bulletin of the Geographical Society appeared, the demand began to subside: "Phileas Fogg" declined. They were offered by packages, at first of five, then of ten, until at last nobody would take less than twenty, fifty, a hundred!
Lord Albemarle, an elderly paralytic gentleman, was now the only advocate of Phileas Fogg left. This noble lord, who was fastened to his chair, would have given his fortune to be able to make the tour of the world, if it took ten years; and he bet five thousand pounds on Phileas Fogg. When the folly as well as the uselessness of the adventure was pointed out to him, he contented himself with replying, "If the thing is feasible, the first to do it ought to be an Englishman."
The Fogg party dwindled more and more, everybody was going against him, and the bets stood a hundred and fifty and two hundred to one; and a week after his departure an incident occurred which deprived him of backers at any price.
The commissioner of police was sitting in his office at nine o'clock one evening, when the following telegraphic dispatch was put into his hands:
Suez to London.
Rowan, Commissioner of Police, Scotland Yard:
I've found the bank robber, Phileas Fogg. Send with out delay warrant of arrest to Bombay.
Fix, Detective.
The effect of this dispatch was instantaneous. The polished gentleman disappeared to give place to the bank robber. His photograph, which was hung with those of the rest of the members at the Reform Club, was minutely examined, and it betrayed, feature by feature, the description of the robber which had been provided to the police. The mysterious habits of Phileas Fogg were recalled; his solitary ways, his sudden departure; and it seemed clear that, in undertaking a tour round the world on the pretext of a wager, he had had no other end in view than to elude the detectives, and throw them off his track.
背景介绍和作者介绍
这段摘录选自儒勒·凡尔纳的经典小说《八十天环游地球》，儒勒·凡尔纳是一位法国作家，以其在科幻和冒险文学领域的开创性作品而闻名。这部小说写于1873年，捕捉了19世纪对探索、技术以及通过交通运输进步而缩小的世界的迷恋。凡尔纳生动的想象力和详细的研究使他的小说既有趣又具有教育意义，激励了一代又一代的读者去梦想遥远的地方和大胆的冒险。
故事概述和意义
故事讲述了菲利斯·福格，一位精确而富有的英国绅士，他打赌自己可以在短短八十天内环游世界。这个大胆的赌注为一段充满挑战、文化遭遇和悬念的激动人心的旅程奠定了基础。这段话描述了公众对福格计划的最初反应，突出了报纸和公众的怀疑和不信任，以及维多利亚时代英国关于赌博和社会声誉的社会动态。
福格的旅程不仅仅是一场身体上的冒险，也是对人类决心、创造力和现代科技力量的考验。故事探讨了时间、进步以及传统与创新之间的冲突等主题。它也反映了人性——社会如何对非传统和未知的事物做出反应，通常是怀疑或恐惧。
给学生的教训和见解
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勇气和决心： 菲利斯·福格愿意接受一项几乎不可能完成的挑战，这教会了学生勇气和毅力的价值。即使面对普遍的怀疑和障碍，坚持自己的目标也至关重要。
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批判性思维和怀疑精神： 公众的反应表明人们常常根据自己的经验和偏见来判断想法。学生可以学会仔细评估新想法，但也要对超出当前限制的可能性保持开放态度。
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规划和适应性的重要性： 福格的旅程取决于精确的时间安排和协调，但意想不到的事件威胁着他的成功。这突出了精心规划和在事情没有按预期进行时进行调整的必要性。
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文化意识： 当福格环游世界时，他遇到了不同的文化和环境。这鼓励学生欣赏全球多样性，培养对他人的生活方式的同情心和好奇心。
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技术的作用： 故事展示了技术进步（如铁路和轮船）如何改变社会。学生可以反思创新如何影响日常生活以及拥抱变革的重要性。
在生活和学习中应用这些教训
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在学校： 学生可以效仿福格的例子，设定具有挑战性但可实现的目标，很好地管理他们的时间，并在学习中克服困难。
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在社交场合： 尽管受到批评，福格的冷静和尊重的举止，教会了人们在面对同伴压力或怀疑时保持自信和正直的重要性。
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在个人成长中： 拥抱新的体验并从不同的文化中学习可以拓宽一个人的视野，培养开放的心态。
从故事中培养积极的品质
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韧性： 像福格一样，学生应该学会从挫折中恢复过来，并继续前进。
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好奇心和探索： 鼓励学习中的冒险精神——无论是通过阅读、旅行还是新的爱好——都可以丰富生活。
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尊重他人： 像福格在旅行中所做的那样，理解和重视多样性有助于建立更好的人际关系。
反思和欣赏
阅读《八十天环游地球》邀请学生想象冒险的刺激，同时批判性地思考变革和进步的挑战。这是一个庆祝人类创造力和渴望突破界限的故事，激励读者大胆梦想，勇敢行动。通过福格的旅程，年轻的读者不仅获得了娱乐，还获得了宝贵的人生经验，鼓励他们在自己的生活中勇敢、深思熟虑和敞开心扉。
