A Short Big 5 Personality Quiz

Instructions:

Read each sentence carefully. On a piece of paper, write down the number of the question and a score from 1 to 5 based on how much you agree with the statement:

• 1 = Disagree strongly (This is not like me at all)

• 2 = Disagree a little

• 3 = Neither agree nor disagree (Neutral)

• 4 = Agree a little

• 5 = Agree strongly (This is exactly like me)

The Questions

1. I enjoy meeting and talking to new people.

2. I feel full of energy when I am around other people.

3. I like being the center of attention in a group.

4. I am usually a very talkative person.

5. I try to be kind and helpful to everyone I meet.

6. I listen carefully when other people talk about their problems.

7. I care a lot about making other people feel comfortable.

8. I easily forgive people when they make a mistake.

9. I always finish my work or homework on time.

10. I keep my room, desk, and belongings very organized.

11. I think and plan carefully before I make a decision.

12. I pay close attention to small details in my work.

13. I worry about things more than other people do.

14. I get stressed out or upset quite easily.

15. My mood changes frequently (often) during the day.

16. I often feel nervous or anxious about the future.

17. I love learning about new ideas, hobbies, and cultures.

18. I have a vivid imagination (it is easy for me to imagine creative stories or pictures).

19. I enjoy trying new foods and visiting unfamiliar places.

20. I like to spend time thinking about creative or abstract art and ideas.

How to Score Yourself

To find your score for each personality trait, add up your points for the specific question numbers below.

Personality Trait	Add the scores for these questions:	Your Total Score
Extraversion	Question 1 + Question 2 + Question 3 + Question 4	____ / 20
Agreeableness	Question 5 + Question 6 + Question 7 + Question 8	____ / 20
Conscientiousness	Question 9 + Question 10 + Question 11 + Question 12	____ / 20
Stress Sensitivity (Neuroticism)	Question 13 + Question 14 + Question 15 + Question 16	____ / 20
Openness to Experience	Question 17 + Question 18 + Question 19 + Question 20	____ / 20

Score Guide:

• 16–20 points: Very High

• 11–15 points: High/Medium

• 6–10 points: Low

• 4–5 points: Very Low

What Your Scores Mean

1. Extraversion (Your energy from others)

• High score: You are outgoing, energetic, and love socializing. You feel happy when you are around a crowd of people.

• Low score: You are more introverted, quiet, and reserved. You prefer spending time alone or with a few close friends to recharge your energy.

2. Agreeableness (How you treat people)

• High score: You are cooperative, polite, and deeply care about others. You try to avoid conflict and enjoy helping people.

• Low score: You are competitive, direct, and independent. You say what you think honestly, even if it might cause a disagreement.

3. Conscientiousness (Your organization and work ethic)

• High score: You are organized, responsible, and disciplined. You like to follow schedules, make lists, and do your best work.

• Low score: You are flexible, spontaneous, and relaxed. You prefer to go with the flow rather than follow strict rules or plans.

4. Stress Sensitivity (How you handle pressure)

• High score: You are very sensitive to your emotions. You easily feel stress, worry, or anxiety, but you are also very aware of your feelings.

• Low score: You are emotionally stable, calm, and peaceful. It takes a lot to make you feel stressed or upset.

5. Openness to Experience (Your curiosity and creativity)

• High score: You are imaginative, curious, and open to change. You love creative arts, big ideas, and trying brand-new things.

• Low score: You are practical, realistic, and traditional. You like routines and prefer things that are familiar, safe, and proven to work.

American Folk Tales, Intermediate

American folk tales have evolved mostly since European colonists arrived in the Americas, but also include stories that go back to the pre-colonial era. They include many different myths, legends and historical stories with various characters from animal characters in Native American myths to George Washington to Santa Claus.

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Native American Folk Tales

Native American cultures are rich in myths and legends about various themes, especially those that explain the natural world and the relationship between humans and the spirit world.

Native American cultures are diverse. Though some cultures near each other have similar beliefs, others can be very different from one another. Like most native cultures, the most common myths are creation myths, which tell a story to explain how the earth was formed, and where humans and other animals came from. Others may include explanations about the Sun, Moon, stars, specific animals, seasons, and weather. This is one of the ways that many tribes have kept their cultures alive; these stories are told as a way of preserving and passing the nation and tribe's beliefs, history, customs, spirituality, and traditions.

While different tribes have their own beliefs and myths, many stories are similar. Myths about floods are almost universal amongst Plains tribes (tribes in the central US). There are many "hero stories" celebrating the adventures of heroes, who do good and fight against evil. Animal tales are also common. There are also myths where magical beings appear in the form of animals, often as a bear, elk, eagle, owl, or snake.

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Founding Myths

The founding of the United States is often surrounded by national myths, legends, and tall tales. Many stories have developed since the founding long ago to become a part of America's folklore and culture. Non-Native American folklore especially includes any story which has contributed to shape American culture and belief systems. These stories have different levels of historical truth, and whether they are true is not important.

Christopher Columbus was a hero and symbol to early American immigrants, and is an important figure in American myth. His status does not always show his real achievements, but the view of the society which chose him as a hero. After separation from England and its cultural icons, the United States was without a history—or heroes to build a sense of their identity. The writer, Washington Irving, helped to popularize Columbus. His version of Columbus' life was published in 1829, and was more a romance than a biography. The book was very popular, and contributed to an image of the explorer as a brave person who challenged the unknown sea. It helped to give hope to early Americans who were thinking about exploring the unknown land to the west. In the years after the Revolution, the poetic term "Columbia" was used as a symbol of both Columbus and America. King's College of New York changed its name in 1792 to Columbia (now Columbia University), and the new capital in Washington was subtitled District of Columbia.

Jamestown and Pocahontas

In May 1607, three ships went through Chesapeake Bay and thirty miles up the James River settlers built Jamestown, Virginia, England's first permanent colony. They arrived too late in the season to start farming, and  many settlers were not used to the hard work as farmers. In a few months, some settlers died because of sickness and not enough food. Only thirty-eight settlers lived through their first year in the New World. Captain John Smith, helped the settlers become successful traders with the Native Americans, who taught the English how to plant corn and other food. Smith explored the regions around Jamestown, and on one of these trips, the chief of the Powhatan Native Americans captured Smith. In the text that Smith wrote, he was going to be killed, but chief's daughter, Pocahontas, saved him. The legend of Pocahontas came from this event, and has become part of American folklore, children's books, and movies.

The Pilgrims

Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of the arrival of the Pilgrims who arrived on a ship called the Mayflower, and founded Plymouth Colony in 1620. The Rock, or one traditionally identified as it, has long been a memorial on the shore of Plymouth Harbor in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The American holiday of Thanksgiving is often connected with the Pilgrims. They came to American because they were not able to freely practice their religion in England. However, they were not prepared for living in America, and almost died of hunger after they arrived. Some friendly Native Americans helped the Pilgrims survive through the first winter. According to legend, they held the first Thanksgiving with their Native American neighbors to celebrate and give thanks for surviving.

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Revolutionary War figures

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was the country's first president, and is one of the most famous Americans, as he holds the place of the father of the country. Legends about Washington's childhood include a story that, as a young child, Washington cut down his father's cherry tree. His angry father asked the young Washington if he cut down the tree. Washington replied, "I cannot tell a lie" and told the truth, therefore showing his honesty.

Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706– April 17, 1790) was an American writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, and publisher. Among the most influential intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States; a creator and signer of the Declaration of Independence; and the first head of the US Post Office. Some famous American sayings come from Franklin’s Almanac, which he called Poor Richard’s Almanac. He began it when he was 26 and continued to publish it yearly for 25 years, and it became very popular. Some of the most famous sayings include the following:

God helps them that help themselves.

Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

There are no gains without pains.

Look before, or you’ll find yourself behind.

Don’t throw stones at your neighbors, if your own windows are glass.

When you’re good to others, you’re best to yourself.

Wish not so much to live long as to live well.

Patrick Henry was an lawyer, farmer and politician who became known as a speaker during the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. Patrick Henry is best known for the speech he made in 1775, in Virginia. With the people undecided on whether to go to war against the British, Henry argued in favor of revolution. Henry ended his speech with words that have become famous: " Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" The people jumped up and with great excitement agreed to fight.

Betsy Ross

Legend tells that Betsy Ross made the first American flag. Stories of the event attracted Americans eager for stories about the revolution and its heroes. Betsy Ross was promoted as a patriotic role model for young girls and a symbol of women's contributions to American history.

Benedict Arnold was an American-born military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought for the American Army and rose to the level of general before changing sides to the British in 1780. General George Washington had given him his fullest trust and made him the leader of West Point (a fort and now the US Army’s military academy) in New York. Arnold was planning to give the fort to British, but the American army found out about it, and he escaped to the British lines. His name became synonymous with treason and betrayal in the United States.

Paul Revere was an American silversmith, military officer and industrialist who played a major role during the beginning of the American Revolutionary War in Massachusetts. He rode his horse late at night in 1775 to warn American soldiers of the coming British soldiers before the battles of Lexington and Concord. His midnight ride became a famous story of bravery during the war.

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Tall Tales

The tall tale is a main element of American folk literature. The tall tale's beginnings are in the story contests that often happened when men of the American west came together. A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, told as if it were true. Some stories are exaggerations of actual events; others are totally untrue tales in a familiar setting, such as the American Old West, or the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. They are usually funny or good-natured. The line between myth and tall tale is distinguished mainly by age; many myths exaggerate the adventures of their heroes, but in tall tales, the exaggeration appears large.

Based on Historical Figures

John Chapman (1774 – 1845), known as Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer farmer who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He became an American legend while still alive, largely because of his kind and generous ways, and the symbolic importance he gave to apples.

Daniel Boone (1734-1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose achievements made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of the Thirteen Colonies. In 1775, Boone created the Wilderness Road into Kentucky, in the face of resistance from American Indians, for whom the area was a traditional hunting area. He founded one of the first English-speaking settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains. By the end of the 18th century, more than 200,000 people had entered Kentucky by following the route marked by Boone.

Davy Crockett (1786 – 1836) was a 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician. He is commonly called in popular culture, "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives, served in the Texas Revolution, and died at the Battle of the Alamo.

John Brown (1800 – 1859) was an important leader in the American abolitionist movement (the movement to end slavery) in the years before the Civil War. He first became famous in the 1850s for his radical abolitionism and fighting in Kansas, Brown was captured and killed in Virginia for attacking the town of Harpers Ferry in 1859 in order to encourage the slaves to flight for their freedom.

Sitting Bull was leader of the Hunkpapa Lakota Indian Nation who led his people during years of resistance against United States government policies. He was killed by US goverment police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him at a time when authorities feared that he would join the Ghost Dance movement.

Before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull had a vision in which he saw many soldiers, "as thick as grasshoppers", falling upside down into the Lakota camp, which his people took as a sign of a major victory in which many soldiers would be killed. About three weeks later, a confederation of Indian tribes defeated the U.S. Cavalry under General Custer in 1876, destroying Custer's army, which seemed to fulfill Sitting Bull's vision. Sitting Bull's leadership inspired his people to a major victory. In response, the U.S. government sent thousands more soldiers to the area, forcing many of the Lakota to surrender over the next year. Sitting Bull refused to surrender, and in May 1877, he led his band north to Wood Mountain, North-West Territories (now Saskatchewan, Canada). He stayed there until 1881, when he and most of his band returned to U.S. territory and surrendered to U.S. forces.

After working as a performer with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, (one of the most famous ‘Wild West shows’, which romanticized cowboys, Indians, and the Wild West) Sitting Bull returned to the Standing Rock Agency in South Dakota. Because of fears that Sitting Bull would use his influence to support the Ghost Dance movement, (a growing spiritual movement, which prophesied an end to American expansion and a return to peace and prosperity for Indian nations) the US government ordered his arrest. During the struggle between Sitting Bull's followers and the police, Sitting Bull was killed.

Martha Jane Canary (1852 – 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, and professional scout best known as an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok (a famous frontiersman). She is said to have also shown kindness and compassion, especially to the sick and needy.

John Henry was an African-American railroad worker who is said to have worked as a "steel-driving man"—a man whose task was to hammer a steel drill into rock to make holes for explosives to remove the rock away to construct a railroad tunnel. According to legend, John Henry's ability as a steel-driver was measured in a race against a steam-powered hammer, which he won, only to die in victory with his hammer in his hand and his heart stopping from stress. The "Ballad of John Henry" is a song of his story.

Based on Fictional Characters

Paul Bunyan is a lumberjack figure in North American folklore. One of the most famous and popular North American folklore heroes, he is usually described as a giant as well as a lumberjack of unusual skill, and is often accompanied in stories by his animal companion, Babe the Blue Ox. The character originated in folk tales told among lumberjacks in the Northeastern United States and eastern Canada, first appearing in print in a story published by Northern Michigan journalist James MacGillivray in 1906.

The Lone Ranger is a masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto.

Pecos Bill is an American cowboy, whose adventures are made famous in many tall tales of the Old West during the American westward expansion into the Texas and the Southwest.

When Pecos Bill is a baby, his family travels west in a wagon, and he falls out unnoticed by the rest of his family near the Pecos River (from where he gets his name). He is raised by a family of coyotes. Years later he is found by his real brother, who is able to convince him he is not a coyote.

Bill uses a rattlesnake named Shake as a lasso and another snake as a little whip. Dynamite is said to be his favorite food. It is also said Bill sometimes rides a cougar instead of a horse. According to legend, Pecos Bill is responsible for creating many landmarks. One landmark he is said to have created is the Gulf of Mexico. Seemingly, a drought in Texas was so horrible, that Pecos rushed to California and used his lasso to catch a tornado and bring it to Texas. It rained so much that the Gulf of Mexico was created. Another story explains how he created the Rio Grande River.

Uncle Sam (who has the same initials as United States) is a common national symbol of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of the U.S. government in American culture and a expression of patriotic emotion.

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Legendary Creatures

Bigfoot, also known as "Sasquatch", is the name given to an ape-like creature that some believe lives in forests in the Pacific Northwest region, or throughout all of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, and human-like although descriptions are different depending on location. The height is about 6 to 10 feet tall with black, dark brown, or dark reddish hair. There are several famous stories of people seeing Bigfoot, and sightings are still reported. Among these reporters are often campers, hikers, explorers, hunters, and more. There are even several websites, podcasts and organizations related to Bigfoot.

Punxsutawney Phil is a semi-mythical groundhog central to the most well-known Groundhog Day ceremony, a Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that states to predict the arrival of spring. According to tradition, the same groundhog has made predictions ever since the 1800s.

The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature said to live in the Pine Barrens, a wilderness in the southern part of the State of New Jersey. The creature is often described as a flying with two legs, but there are many different stories, including a creature with the face of a horse, the head of a dog, bat-like wings, horns, small arms with claws for hands, and red eyes. It has been reported to move quickly, as to avoid human contact, and often is described as giving a loud scream. The legend goes as such: a woman named Mother Leeds gives birth to her 13th child on a dark, stormy night. Mother Leed is said to be a witch, and for her 13th child, she gives birth to a devil. It soon grows wings and feet like a horse, kills the nurse, and runs away into the night.

The White Lady is a type of female ghost reportedly seen in rural areas and associated with some local legend of tragedy. Common to many of them is the theme of losing or being betrayed by a husband or fiancé. They are often associated with an individual family line or said to be an omen of death.

The Mothman is a mythical creature from the State of West Virginia, often described as a large human-like being with shinning red eyes on its face and large bird-like wings with fur covering its body.

Fearsome Critters were tall tales about strange animals or creatures, like Big Foot or the Jersey Devil, jokingly said to live in the wilderness in or around logging camps, especially in the Great Lakes region. The character of the fearsome critters themselves was usually more comical than frightful.

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Literature

Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, or simply "Santa", is a figure with legendary, mythical, historical and folkloric origins. The modern figure of Santa Claus has its origins in Christian and European gift-giver folklore. This includes representations of the gift-giver from Christian Church history and folklore, especially St Nicholas, combined with the English character Father Christmas to create the mythical character known to the rest of the English-speaking world as "Santa Claus" (from "Sinterklaas", Saint Nicholas, in Dutch).

"A Visit from St. Nicholas", also known as "The Night Before Christmas" is a poem first published in 1823 and written by Clement Clarke Moore. The poem, which has been called the best-known verse ever written by an American, is mostly responsible for the idea of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today, including his physical appearance, the night of his visit, his type of transportation, the number and names of his reindeer, as well as the tradition that he brings toys to children. The poem has influenced ideas about St. Nicholas and Santa Claus from the United States to the rest of the English-speaking world and beyond.

The Headless Horseman is a mythical figure that has appeared in folklore around Europe since the Middle Ages. The figures are traditionally described as riders on horses who are missing their heads.

In American folklore, The Headless Horseman is a character most known from the short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by American author Washington Irving. In this story, the ghost of a soldier from the Revolutionary war, whose head was cut off, is supposedly buried in a churchyard in Sleepy Hollow (a real town in the state of New York). At night he rises from his grave to search for his missing head, but is magically stopped from crossing a wooden bridge over a nearby stream.

Rip Van Winkle is another short story by Washington Irving, published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, drinks their strange drink and falls asleep in the Catskill Mountains of New York. He awakes 20 years later to a very changed world after American Revolution.

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Modern American Folklore

American folklore is still occurring and evolving. Some of the topics are older stories, in which people still believe, such as sightings of Big Foot. Many modern stories are related to aliens and UFO abductions. Tales of the Men in Black, secret government agents who dress in black suits and cover up UFO sightings, are an example of this. The Area 51 legend is another example of this. Area 51 is a real military base in state of Nevada. According to UFO folklore, the base holds either alien spaceships or aliens themselves, or both.

The internet has also helped create and spread new folklore stories like Creepyposta and the Slenderman, horror-related legends. Characters and stories from movies like Star Wars also could be consider modern folklore.

 

Vocabulary

folk tales (noun phrase)

Old stories that have been passed down for a long time by people in a particular area or culture.

Example: My grandmother used to tell me many folk tales about brave heroes and talking animals.

evolved (verb - past tense of evolve)

Changed slowly and developed over a long period of time.

Example: Computers have evolved a lot since they were first invented.

colonist (noun)

A person who leaves their own country to go and live in a new colony (a country or area that is ruled by another country).

Example: The first colonists arrived in America from Europe in the 17th century.

colonization (noun)

The process when a country sends people to live in and control another country or area.

Example: The colonization of new lands often changed the lives of the native people.

various (adjective)

Definition: Many; different.

Example: She enjoys various types of music.

myths (noun)

Very old, traditional stories, often about gods or heroes, that help explain something important (like nature or a custom).

Example: Ancient Greek culture is full of fascinating myths about Zeus and other powerful gods.

legends (noun)

Stories from the past that are believed by many people but are not always completely true; they often tell about brave people or important events.

Example: The legends of Robin Hood are very popular in England.

diverse (adjective)

Including many different types of people or things.

Example: Our class is very diverse, with students from many different countries.

spirit(noun)

A being that does not have a body and often is a ghost or magic. It can appear and disappear.

tribes (noun)

Groups of people, often made up of related families, who live together and share the same language, customs, and beliefs.

Example: There are many different Native American tribes, each with its own unique traditions.

preserve (verb)

To keep something in its original state or in good condition, often for a long time.

Example: We need to preserve old buildings so future generations can enjoy them.

customs (noun)

Traditional ways of behaving or doing things that are common in a particular society or group.

Example: It's a custom in some countries to take off your shoes when you enter a house.

native (adjective)

Belonging to a particular place by birth, or growing naturally in that place.

Example: She is a native speaker of Spanish, meaning it's her first language.

universal (adjective)

Something that exists everywhere or is understood by everyone.

Example: The desire for happiness is a universal human feeling.

characters (noun)

The people or animals in a story, book, or movie.

Example: My favorite characters in the film were the two detectives.

symbolically (adverb)

In a way that represents something else, often an idea or quality.

Example: The dove is used symbolically for peace.

tall tales (noun phrase)

Stories that are greatly exaggerated and unbelievable, told as if they are true, often for humor.

Example: Pecos Bill is famous in American tall tales for his incredible strength.

contributed (verb - past tense of contribute)

Gave something (like ideas, time, or money) to help achieve a common goal or shared purpose.

Example: She contributed many good ideas to our team meeting.

symbol (noun)

A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially an idea or quality.

Example: A red rose is often a symbol of love.

immigrants (noun)

People who have come to live permanently in a foreign country.

Example: The city has welcomed many immigrants from different parts of the world.

biography (noun)

The story of a real person's life, written by someone else.

Example: I'm reading a fascinating biography of Marie Curie.

frontier (noun)

The edge of the settled part of a country, where wild or undeveloped land begins.

Example: In the past, pioneers moved west to explore the American frontier.

colony (noun)

A country or area that is controlled by another more powerful country.

Example: India was a British colony for many years.

settlers (noun)

People who move to a new place or country and start to live there permanently.

Example: The first settlers in this region built small wooden houses.

accustomed to (phrasal verb / adjective + preposition)

Used to something; familiar with something so it feels normal.

Example: I'm not accustomed to waking up so early on weekends.

famine (noun)

 

A serious situation where there is not enough food for many people, leading to hunger and death.

Example: A long drought led to a terrible famine in the region.

disease (noun)

An illness that affects a person, animal, or plant; a problem with health.

Example: Good hygiene can help prevent the spread of disease.

proclaimed (verb - past tense of proclaim)

Definition: Announced something publicly or officially.

Example: The king proclaimed a new holiday for all the citizens.

patriotic (adjective)

Showing a strong love and support for your own country.

Example: He felt very patriotic when he saw his country's flag.

contributions (noun)

Things that you give or do to help something succeed.

Example: Her contributions to the team's success were very important.

distinction (noun)

A special honor or recognition for excellence; also, a clear difference between things.

Example: He served in the army with great distinction, earning many medals.

treason (noun)

The crime of betraying your country, often by helping its enemies.

Example: The soldier was arrested for treason.

tall tale (noun phrase)

A story that is greatly exaggerated and unbelievable, told as if it is true, often for humor.

Example: The story of the man who outran a train was a pure tall tale.

folk literature (noun phrase)

Stories, poems, and songs that have been passed down by ordinary people in a particular culture, rather than being written by one author.

Example: Many old folk literature pieces teach moral lessons.

largely (adverb)

Mostly; almost entirely.

Example: Her success was largely due to her hard work.

folk heroes (noun phrase)

People, real or fictional, who are admired and celebrated in the traditional stories and songs of a particular culture.

Example: Robin Hood is a famous English folk hero.

settlement (noun)

A place where people have come to live and build homes, especially in an area that was not previously lived in by many people.

Example: The early pioneers established a small settlement near the river.

radical (adjective)

Believing or expressing the belief that there should be great or extreme social or political change.

Example: She had some very radical ideas about how to change the education system.

vision (noun)

A picture in your mind, especially of something that might happen in the future or that seems to be from a religious or supernatural experience.

He had a vision of a brighter future for his country.

spiritual (adjective)

 

Relating to the human spirit or soul, or to religious matters, rather than to physical things.

Example: Many people find comfort in spiritual practices.

scout (noun)

A person who is sent out to gather information, especially about an area or an enemy.

Example: The scout went ahead to check if the path was clear.

lumberjack (noun)

A person whose job is to cut down trees, especially in a forest.

Example: The lumberjack used a large saw to fell the tree.

outlaw (noun)

A criminal, especially one who is trying to avoid being caught by the law.

The sheriff chased the outlaw across the desert.

lasso (noun)

A rope with a loop at one end, used especially by cowboys for catching horses and cattle.

Example: The cowboy swung his lasso over his head.

drought (noun)

A long period when there is little or no rain, causing shortages of water.

Example: The farmers lost their crops because of the severe drought.

legendary (adjective)

Very famous and often mentioned in stories or myths for a long time.

Example: King Arthur is a legendary figure in English history.

superstition (noun)

A belief or practice based on magic or luck rather than on scientific fact or reason.

Example: Breaking a mirror is considered bad luck by some people – it's a superstition.

fearsome critters (noun phrase)

Imaginary, often funny, animals from American folklore, often said to live in wild areas where lumberjacks worked.

Example: The fearsome critters in the stories were more silly than scary.

Santa Claus (proper noun)

A mythical figure believed to bring gifts to children at Christmas.

Example: Children often write letters to Santa Claus before Christmas.

mythical (adjective)

Existing only in myths or imaginary stories; not real.

Example: Unicorns are mythical creatures that do not exist.

abductions (noun)

The act of taking someone away illegally by force or deception; often used in the context of aliens taking people.

Example: There are many stories about alien abductions.

tales (noun)

Stories, especially imaginary or historical ones.

Example: She loves reading fairy tales before bed.

cover up

to hide something

The Machine Stops, Chapter 1, Adapted

 

The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster

Adapted for intermediate level

Chapter I: The Air Ship

Imagine a small room. There is no window or lamp, yet it is filled with a soft light. There are no holes for air, yet the air is fresh. There are no musical instruments, and yet, at the moment the room is filled with beautiful music. A chair is in the center of the room and next to it is a desk—this is all the furniture. In the chair there sits a women of about average height with a very white face. This is her room.

A telephone rang.

The woman touched a button and the music was silent.

'I suppose I must see who it is', she thought, and moved her chair. The chair, like the music, was controlled by machine and it moved her to the other side of the room where the telephone still rang.

'Who is it?' she called. Her voice was angry, for she had been interrupted often since the music began. She knew several thousand people, in some ways human communication had advanced greatly.

But when she listened to the telephone, her white face began to smile, and she said: 'Very well. Let us talk. I do not expect anything important will happen for the next five minutes – for I can give you fully five minutes, Kuno. Then I must give my lecture on "Music during the Australian Period".'

'Be quick!' she said, her irritation returning. 'Be quick, Kuno; I have little time.'

But it was fully fifteen seconds before the tablet she held in her hands turned on. A video appeared on the screen, and she could see the image of her son, who lived on the other side of the earth, and he could see her. 'Kuno, how slow you are.'

He smiled seriously.

'I really believe you enjoy wasting time.'

'I called you before, mother, but you were always busy. I have something important to say.'

'What is it, dearest boy? Be quick. Why could you not send it by message?'

'Because I prefer saying such a thing. I want----'

'Well?'

'I want you to come and see me.'

Vashti watched his face on the screen.

'But I can see you!' she cried. 'What more do you want?'

'I don’t want to see you through the Machine,' said Kuno. 'I don’t want to speak to you through the boring Machine.'

'Oh, quiet!' said his mother, somewhat shocked. 'You mustn't say anything against the Machine.'

 

'Why not?'

'One mustn't.'

'You talk as if a god made the Machine,' cried her son.

'I believe that you pray to it when you are unhappy. Men made it, do not forget that. Great men, but men. The Machine is great, but it is not everything. I see something like you on this screen, but I do not see you. I hear something like you through this telephone, but I do not hear you. That is why I want you to come.  Come to visit me, so that we can meet face to face, and talk about the hopes that are in my mind.'

She replied that she hardly had the time for a visit.

'The air-ship takes less than two days to fly between me and you.'

'I dislike air-ships.'

'Why?'

'I dislike seeing the horrible brown earth, and the sea, and the stars when it is dark. I get no ideas in an air-ship.'

'I do not get them anywhere else.” He said.

'What kind of ideas can the air give you?'

He thought for a moment.

'Do you know those four big stars that form a rectangle, the three stars close together in the middle of the rectangle, and the three little stars inside the middle stars?'

'No, I do not. I dislike the stars. But did they give you an idea? How interesting; tell me.'

'I had an idea that they were like a man.'

'I do not understand.'

'The four big stars are the man's shoulders and his legs.

The three stars in the middle are like the belts that men wore once, and the three little stars are like a sword.'

'A sword?'

'Men carried swords about with them, to kill animals and other men.'

'It does not seem to me as a very good idea, but it is certainly original. When did it come to you first?'

'In the air-ship-----' He quickly stopped speaking, and she thought that he looked sad. She could not be sure, for the Machine did not teach people to focus on expressions of emotion, but only general thoughts.

 

'The truth is,' he continued, 'that I want to see these stars again. They are interesting stars. I want to see them not from the air-ship, but from the surface of the earth, as our ancestors did, thousands of years ago. I want to visit the surface of the earth.' She was shocked again.

'Mother, you must come, if only to explain to me what is the harm of visiting the surface of the earth.'

'No harm,' she replied, controlling herself. 'But no advantage. The surface of the earth is only dust and mud, no advantage. The surface of the earth is only dust and mud, no life remains on it, and you would need a respirator to breathe, or the cold of the outside air would kill you. One dies immediately in the outside air.'

'I know; of course I shall take all precautions.'

'And besides----'

'Well?'

She thought, and chose her words with care. Her son had a strange character and she wished to stop him from the journey.

'It is against the spirit of our time,' she stated.

'Do you mean by that, against the Machine?'

'In a way, but----'

He ended the video call.

'Kuno!'

For a moment Vashti felt lonely.

Then she turned to the buttons everywhere – buttons to call for food for music, for clothing. There was the hot-bath button. There was the cold-bath button. There was the button that brought literature. And there were of course the buttons by which she communicated with her friends. The room, though it contained nothing, was connected to all that she cared for in the world.

Vashanti's next move was to turn on the public connection and the minutes came to her. The room was filled with the noise of bells, and speaking connections. What was the new food like? Could she recommend it? Has she had any ideas lately? Might one tell her one's own ideas? Would she make an appointment to visit the public nurseries at an early date?

To most of these questions she replied with irritation – a growing quality in that fast-paced age. She said that the new food was horrible. That she could not visit the public nurseries because she was busy with other appointments. That she had no ideas of her own but had just been told one – that four stars and three in the middle were like a man: she doubted there was much in it. Then she turned off her other connections, for it was time to give her lecture on Australian music. The old system of public gatherings in person had been ended a long time ago; Vashti and her audience listened to the lectures from their rooms. Seated in her chair she spoke, while they in their chairs heard her, fairly well, and saw her, fairly well. She opened with a funny story of music in the pre-Mongolian age, and went on to describe the great explosion of song that followed. Distance and ancient as were the methods of I-San-So and the Brisbane school, she still felt that study of them might repay the musicians of today: they had freshness; they had, above all, ideas. Her lecture, which lasted ten minutes, was well received, and at its conclusion she and many of her audience listened to a lecture on the sea; there were ideas to be got from the sea; the speaker had used a respirator and visited it lately. Then she ate, talked to many friends, had a bath, talked again, and called for her bed. She didn’t like the bed. It was too large, and she wanted a smaller bed.

Complaint was useless, for beds were of the same size all over the world, and to have had a different size would mean changes to the programming of the Machine. Vashti lay on her bed and reviewed all that had happened recently. Ideas? Hardly any. Events – was Kuno's invitation an event?

By her side, on the little desk, was item from past ages still used-one book. This was the Book of the Machine. In it were instructions against every possible event. If she was hot or cold or sick or didn’t know what to say, she went to the book, and it told her which button to press. The Central Committee published it.

Sitting up in the bed, she took it respectfully in her hands. She looked around the room as if someone might be watching her. Then, half ashamed, half joyful, she said quietly 'O Machine! O Machine!' and kissed the book three times with excitement. Her ritual performed, she turned to page 1367, which gave the times of the leaving of the air-ships from the island in the southern part of the planet, under whose ground she lived, to the island in the northern part of the planet, under which lived her son.

She thought, 'I don’t have the time.'

She made the room dark and slept; she awoke and made the room light; she ate and exchanged ideas with her friends, and listened to music and lectures; she make the room dark and slept. Above her, under her, and around her, the Machine made a continuous low sound; she did not notice the noise, for she had been born with it in her ears. The earth, carrying her, ran through silence, turning her now to the invisible sun, now to the invisible stars. She awoke and made the room light.

'Kuno!'

'I will not talk to you.' he answered, 'until you come.'

'Have you been on the surface of the earth since we spoke last?'

His image on the screen disappeared.

Again she checked the book. She became very nervous and sat back in her chair. Presently she directed the chair to the wall, and pressed an unfamiliar button. A door in the wall opened. Through the opening she saw tunnel so long that its end was not visible. Should she go to see her son, here was the beginning of the journey.

Of course, she knew all about the communication-system. There was nothing mysterious in it. She would call a car and it would fly with her down the tunnel until it reached the lift to the air-ship station: the system had been in use for many, many years, long before the Machine. And of course she had studied the civilization that had immediately come before her own – the civilization that had mistaken the functions of the system, and had used it for bringing people to things, instead of for bringing things to people. Those funny old days, when men went outside for a change of air instead of changing the air in their rooms! And yet – she was frightened of the tunnel: she had not seen it since her last child was born. Vashti was fearful of a direct experience of life. She moved back into the room, and the wall closed again.

'Kuno,' she said, 'I cannot come to see you. I am not well.'

Immediately a huge device fell on to her out of the ceiling, a thermometer automatically laid upon her head. She lay powerless as the sensors checked her. Kuno had sent a message to her doctor.

Vashti drank the medicine given to her by the Machine, and the devices went back into the ceiling. The voice of Kuno was heard asking how she felt.

'Better.' Then with irritation: 'But why do you not come to me instead?'

'Because I cannot leave this place.'

'Why?'

'Because, any moment, something wonderful may happen.'

'Have you been on the surface of the earth yet?'

'Not yet.'

'Then what is it?'

'I will not tell you through the Machine.'

She began her regular routine again.

But she thought of Kuno as a baby, his birth, his removal to the public nurseries, her own visit to him there, his visits to her – visits which stopped when the Machine had given him a room on the other side of the earth. Duties of parents,' said the book of the Machine,' end at the moment of birth.' True, but there was something special about Kuno – indeed there had been something special about all her children – and, after all, she must be brave and go on this journey if he desired it. And 'something wonderful might happen'. What did that mean? The silliness of a young man, no doubt, but she must go. Again she pressed the unfamiliar button, again the door opened, and she saw the long tunnel. Holding the Book tightly, she rose, and walked weakly on to the platform, and called the car. Her room closed behind her: the journey to the northern part of the earth had begun.

Of course it was perfectly easy. The car came and in it she found seats exactly like her own. When she signalled, it stopped, and she walked unsteadily into the lift. One other passenger was in the lift, the first person she had seen face to face for months. Few people travelled these days, for, thanks to the advance of science, the earth was exactly alike all over. Rapid transportation, from which the previous civilization had hoped for so much, had ended by destroying itself. What was the good of going to China when it was just like Briton? Why return to Briton when it would all be like China? Men seldom moved their bodies; all unrest was concentrated in the soul.

 

The air-ships were an old service from the former age. It was kept up, because it was easier to keep it up than to stop it, but most of the population no longer wanted to use it. Ship after ship would rise from the entrances of Rye or of Christchurch (I use the old names), would fly into the crowded sky, and would land at the stations of the south – empty. So nicely adjusted was the system, so independent of the weather, that the sky, whether calm or cloudy, was filled with these ships. The ship on which Vashti flew started either at sunset or at dawn. Night and day, wind and storm, ocean waves and natural disasters stopped humanity no longer. We had mastered the power of Nature. All the old literature, with its praise of Nature, and its fear of Nature, was like the silly words of a child.

Yet as Vashti saw the huge side of the ship, her fear of direct experience returned. It was not quite like the air-ship in the films. For one thing, it had a smell – not strong or unpleasant, but it did smell, and with her eyes closed she should have known that a new thing was close to her. Then she had to walk to it from the lift, while other passengers could look at her. The man in front dropped his Book – no great matter, but it disturbed them all. In the rooms, if the Book was dropped, the floor raised it mechanically, but the way to the air-ship was not so prepared, and the sacred book lay on the ground. They stopped – not knowing what to do – and the man, instead of picking up the book, was confused, and his arms seems almost not to know how to pick up things by themselves. Then someone actually said, 'We shall be late' – and they moved on to the ship.

Inside, her nervousness increased. The arrangements were old-fashioned and rough. There was even a women flight attendant, to whom she would have to speak if she needed or wanted anything during the flight. Some cabins were better than others, and she did not get the best. She thought the attendant had been unfair, and her body filled with anger. The doors had closed she could not go back. She saw the lift in which she had come going quietly up and down, empty. Under those halls were rooms, level below level, going far into the earth, and in each room there sat a human eating, or sleeping, or producing ideas. And buried deep on one of these levels was her own room. Vashti was afraid. 'O Machine!' she said quietly, and held her Book, and felt better.

Then the air-ship, coming from its tunnel, flew above the waters of a tropical ocean into the sky.

It was night. For a moment she saw the coast below, and then only the stars distracted her. They were not motionless, but moved slightly above her head, as if the universe and not the air-ship was moving. This made her feel uncomfortable. 'Are we to travel in the dark?' the passengers asked angrily, and the attendant, who had been careless, turned on the light, and pulled down the blinds. When the air-ships had been built, people still had the desire to look direct at things in the world. As a result, the extraordinary number of windows on the plane, and the discomfort to those who were civilized and cultured. Even in Vashti's cabin one star was still visible through a mistake in the blind, and after a few hours' uneasy sleep, she was disturbed by an unfamiliar glow, which was the sunrise.

As the ship quickly flew west, the earth had turned east quicker still, and had taken Vashti and her companions back towards the sun. Science could make the night longer, but only for a little, and those high hopes of stopping the earth's rotation had passed, together with hopes that were possibly higher. Airplanes had been built capable of extremely high speeds, and guided by the smartest people on the times. Around the globe they went, round and round, westward, westward, round and round, among humanity's praise. But they were not fast enough. Horrible accidents happened, and the Committee of the Machine, at the time becoming more important, stated that further attempts illegal, not best for the society, and punished by Homelessness.

 

About Homelessness more will be said later.

Without a doubt, the Committee was right. Yet the attempt to fly faster than the sun brought the last common interest that humanity experienced about the sun and planets, or indeed about anything. It was the last time that people thought of a power outside the world. The sun was still the winner, yet it was the end of his spiritual power. Sunrise, afternoon, sunset, the entire path of the sun touched neither humanity’s lives not their hearts, and science went away into the ground, to concentrate on problems that she was certain of solving.

So when Vashti found the light from morning entering her cabin, she was annoyed, and tried to put down the blind. But the blind flew up altogether, and she saw through the window small pink clouds, against a background of blue, and as the sun slowly went higher, its brightness entered direct, coming down the wall, like a golden sea. It rose and fell with the air-ship's motion, just as waves rise and fall, but it advanced steadily, as a wave advances. Unless she was careful, it would hit her face. She felt horror and she called for the attendant. The attendant too was horrified, but she could do nothing; she was not able to fix the blind. She could only suggest that the Vashti change her cabin, which she prepared to do.

People were almost exactly alike all over the world, but the attendant of the air-ship, perhaps because of her special duties, had become somewhat different. She often had to talk to passengers with direct speech, and this had given her a certain roughness and uniqueness of manner. When Vashti moved away from the sunlight with a cry, she behaved rudely– she put out her hand to stop Vashti from falling.

'How could you!' shouted Vashti. 'That's so rude!'

The woman was confused, and apologized for not letting her fall. People never touched each other. The custom had disappeared because of the Machine.

'Where are we now?' asked Vashti in an overly proud way.

'We are over Asia,' said the attendant, nervous to be polite.

'Asia?'

'You must excuse my common way of speaking. I have got into the habit of calling places over which I fly by their  before-machine names.'

'Oh, I remember Asia. The Mongols came from it.'

'Under us, in the open air, stood a city that was once called Simla.' 'Have you ever heard of the Mongols and of the Brisbane school?'

'No.'

'Brisbane also stood in the open air.'

'Those mountains to the right – let me show you them.' She pushed back the blind. The main part of the Himalayas was revealed. 'They were once called the Roof of the World, those mountains.'

 

'You must remember that, before the rise of civilization, they seemed to be an wall that touched the stars. It was supposed that no one but the gods could live above their tops. How we have advanced, thanks to the Machine!'

'How we have advanced, thanks to the Machine!' said Vashti.

'How we have advanced, thanks to the Machine!' repeated the passenger who had dropped his Book the night before, and who was standing in the passage.

'Cover the window, please. These mountains give me no ideas.'

The northern part of the Himalayas was in deep shadow: on the Indian side the sun had just started to be seen. The forests had been destroyed during the era literature for the purpose of making newspapers, but the snows could be seen in their morning glory. On the plain were seen the ruins of cities, with rivers going by their walls, and by the sides of these were sometimes the structures of the entrances to the tunnels under the earth, which lead to the cities of today. Over this area air-ships rushed, rising and flying  with ease above the earth and the roof of the world.

'We have indeed advanced, thanks to the Machine,' repeated the attendant, and hid the Himalayas behind the blind.

The day went  slowly forward. The passengers each sat in their own cabins, trying not to see each other with an almost physical dislike and hope to be once again under the surface of the earth. There were eight or ten of them, mostly young men, sent from the public nurseries to live in the rooms of those who died in different parts of the earth. The man who dropped his Book was on his journey home. He had been sent to Sumatra make a baby with a women there. Only Vashti was travelling by choice.

At noon she looked again at the earth. The air-ship was crossing another group of mountains, but she could see little, because of clouds. Big black rock were seen below her, and came together into grey. Their shapes were fantastic; one of them looked like  a man lying on the ground.

'No ideas here,' Vashti quietly said to herself, and covered the Caucasus mountains with the blind. In the evening she looked again. They were crossing a golden sea, in which lay many small islands and one peninsula. She repeated, 'No ideas here,' and covered Greece behind the blind.

 

Rang:  past tense of to ring; the sound a bell makes.

 Button: a switch press to controla piece of equipment:

To suppose: something that you should do.

Interrupted: to stop someone while they are talking or doing something, by saying or doing something yourself.

Advanced: having developed or progressed to a late stage.

appeared:  to start to be seen.

Pray: to speak to a god in order to show your feelings or to ask for something.

Air-ship: A type of airplane that the people in the story use for transportation.

Sword: a weapon with a long, metal blade and a handle, used especially in the past.

Ancestors: a relative who lived a long time ago.

Surface

advantage

remains

respirator

immediately

The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster

Adapted for intermediate level

Chapter I: The Air Ship

Imagine a small room. There is no window or lamp, yet it is filled with a soft light. There are no holes for air, yet the air is fresh. There are no musical instruments, and yet, at the moment the room is filled with beautiful music. A chair is in the center of the room and next to it is a desk—this is all the furniture. In the chair there sits a women of about average height with a very white face. This is her room.

A telephone rang.

The woman touched a button and the music was silent.

'I suppose I must see who it is', she thought, and moved her chair. The chair, like the music, was controlled by machine and it moved her to the other side of the room where the telephone still rang.

'Who is it?' she called. Her voice was angry, for she had been interrupted often since the music began. She knew several thousand people, in some ways human communication had advanced greatly.

But when she listened to the telephone, her white face began to smile, and she said: 'Very well. Let us talk. I do not expect anything important will happen for the next five minutes – for I can give you fully five minutes, Kuno. Then I must give my lecture on "Music during the Australian Period".'

'Be quick!' she said, her irritation returning. 'Be quick, Kuno; I have little time.'

But it was fully fifteen seconds before the tablet she held in her hands turned on. A video appeared on the screen, and she could see the image of her son, who lived on the other side of the earth, and he could see her. 'Kuno, how slow you are.'

He smiled seriously.

'I really believe you enjoy wasting time.'

'I called you before, mother, but you were always busy. I have something important to say.'

'What is it, dearest boy? Be quick. Why could you not send it by message?'

'Because I prefer saying such a thing. I want----'

'Well?'

'I want you to come and see me.'

Vashti watched his face on the screen.

'But I can see you!' she cried. 'What more do you want?'

'I don’t want to see you through the Machine,' said Kuno. 'I don’t want to speak to you through the boring Machine.'

'Oh, quiet!' said his mother, somewhat shocked. 'You mustn't say anything against the Machine.'

 

'Why not?'

'One mustn't.'

'You talk as if a god made the Machine,' cried her son.

'I believe that you pray to it when you are unhappy. Men made it, do not forget that. Great men, but men. The Machine is great, but it is not everything. I see something like you on this screen, but I do not see you. I hear something like you through this telephone, but I do not hear you. That is why I want you to come.  Come to visit me, so that we can meet face to face, and talk about the hopes that are in my mind.'

She replied that she hardly had the time for a visit.

'The air-ship takes less than two days to fly between me and you.'

'I dislike air-ships.'

'Why?'

'I dislike seeing the horrible brown earth, and the sea, and the stars when it is dark. I get no ideas in an air-ship.'

'I do not get them anywhere else.” He said.

'What kind of ideas can the air give you?'

He thought for a moment.

'Do you know those four big stars that form a rectangle, the three stars close together in the middle of the rectangle, and the three little stars inside the middle stars?'

'No, I do not. I dislike the stars. But did they give you an idea? How interesting; tell me.'

'I had an idea that they were like a man.'

'I do not understand.'

'The four big stars are the man's shoulders and his legs.

The three stars in the middle are like the belts that men wore once, and the three little stars are like a sword.'

'A sword?'

'Men carried swords about with them, to kill animals and other men.'

'It does not seem to me as a very good idea, but it is certainly original. When did it come to you first?'

'In the air-ship-----' He quickly stopped speaking, and she thought that he looked sad. She could not be sure, for the Machine did not teach people to focus on expressions of emotion, but only general thoughts.

 

'The truth is,' he continued, 'that I want to see these stars again. They are interesting stars. I want to see them not from the air-ship, but from the surface of the earth, as our ancestors did, thousands of years ago. I want to visit the surface of the earth.' She was shocked again.

'Mother, you must come, if only to explain to me what is the harm of visiting the surface of the earth.'

'No harm,' she replied, controlling herself. 'But no advantage. The surface of the earth is only dust and mud, no advantage. The surface of the earth is only dust and mud, no life remains on it, and you would need a respirator to breathe, or the cold of the outside air would kill you. One dies immediately in the outside air.'

'I know; of course I shall take all precautions.'

'And besides----'

'Well?'

She thought, and chose her words with care. Her son had a strange character and she wished to stop him from the journey.

'It is against the spirit of our time,' she stated.

'Do you mean by that, against the Machine?'

'In a way, but----'

He ended the video call.

'Kuno!'

For a moment Vashti felt lonely.

Then she turned to the buttons everywhere – buttons to call for food for music, for clothing. There was the hot-bath button. There was the cold-bath button. There was the button that brought literature. And there were of course the buttons by which she communicated with her friends. The room, though it contained nothing, was connected to all that she cared for in the world.

Vashanti's next move was to turn on the public connection and the minutes came to her. The room was filled with the noise of bells, and speaking connections. What was the new food like? Could she recommend it? Has she had any ideas lately? Might one tell her one's own ideas? Would she make an appointment to visit the public nurseries at an early date?

To most of these questions she replied with irritation – a growing quality in that fast-paced age. She said that the new food was horrible. That she could not visit the public nurseries because she was busy with other appointments. That she had no ideas of her own but had just been told one – that four stars and three in the middle were like a man: she doubted there was much in it. Then she turned off her other connections, for it was time to give her lecture on Australian music. The old system of public gatherings in person had been ended a long time ago; Vashti and her audience listened to the lectures from their rooms. Seated in her chair she spoke, while they in their chairs heard her, fairly well, and saw her, fairly well. She opened with a funny story of music in the pre-Mongolian age, and went on to describe the great explosion of song that followed. Distance and ancient as were the methods of I-San-So and the Brisbane school, she still felt that study of them might repay the musicians of today: they had freshness; they had, above all, ideas. Her lecture, which lasted ten minutes, was well received, and at its conclusion she and many of her audience listened to a lecture on the sea; there were ideas to be got from the sea; the speaker had used a respirator and visited it lately. Then she ate, talked to many friends, had a bath, talked again, and called for her bed. She didn’t like the bed. It was too large, and she wanted a smaller bed.

Complaint was useless, for beds were of the same size all over the world, and to have had a different size would mean changes to the programming of the Machine. Vashti lay on her bed and reviewed all that had happened recently. Ideas? Hardly any. Events – was Kuno's invitation an event?

By her side, on the little desk, was item from past ages still used-one book. This was the Book of the Machine. In it were instructions against every possible event. If she was hot or cold or sick or didn’t know what to say, she went to the book, and it told her which button to press. The Central Committee published it.

Sitting up in the bed, she took it respectfully in her hands. She looked around the room as if someone might be watching her. Then, half ashamed, half joyful, she said quietly 'O Machine! O Machine!' and kissed the book three times with excitement. Her ritual performed, she turned to page 1367, which gave the times of the leaving of the air-ships from the island in the southern part of the planet, under whose ground she lived, to the island in the northern part of the planet, under which lived her son.

She thought, 'I don’t have the time.'

She made the room dark and slept; she awoke and made the room light; she ate and exchanged ideas with her friends, and listened to music and lectures; she make the room dark and slept. Above her, under her, and around her, the Machine made a continuous low sound; she did not notice the noise, for she had been born with it in her ears. The earth, carrying her, ran through silence, turning her now to the invisible sun, now to the invisible stars. She awoke and made the room light.

'Kuno!'

'I will not talk to you.' he answered, 'until you come.'

'Have you been on the surface of the earth since we spoke last?'

His image on the screen disappeared.

Again she checked the book. She became very nervous and sat back in her chair. Presently she directed the chair to the wall, and pressed an unfamiliar button. A door in the wall opened. Through the opening she saw tunnel so long that its end was not visible. Should she go to see her son, here was the beginning of the journey.

Of course, she knew all about the communication-system. There was nothing mysterious in it. She would call a car and it would fly with her down the tunnel until it reached the lift to the air-ship station: the system had been in use for many, many years, long before the Machine. And of course she had studied the civilization that had immediately come before her own – the civilization that had mistaken the functions of the system, and had used it for bringing people to things, instead of for bringing things to people. Those funny old days, when men went outside for a change of air instead of changing the air in their rooms! And yet – she was frightened of the tunnel: she had not seen it since her last child was born. Vashti was fearful of a direct experience of life. She moved back into the room, and the wall closed again.

'Kuno,' she said, 'I cannot come to see you. I am not well.'

Immediately a huge device fell on to her out of the ceiling, a thermometer automatically laid upon her head. She lay powerless as the sensors checked her. Kuno had sent a message to her doctor.

Vashti drank the medicine given to her by the Machine, and the devices went back into the ceiling. The voice of Kuno was heard asking how she felt.

'Better.' Then with irritation: 'But why do you not come to me instead?'

'Because I cannot leave this place.'

'Why?'

'Because, any moment, something wonderful may happen.'

'Have you been on the surface of the earth yet?'

'Not yet.'

'Then what is it?'

'I will not tell you through the Machine.'

She began her regular routine again.

But she thought of Kuno as a baby, his birth, his removal to the public nurseries, her own visit to him there, his visits to her – visits which stopped when the Machine had given him a room on the other side of the earth. Duties of parents,' said the book of the Machine,' end at the moment of birth.' True, but there was something special about Kuno – indeed there had been something special about all her children – and, after all, she must be brave and go on this journey if he desired it. And 'something wonderful might happen'. What did that mean? The silliness of a young man, no doubt, but she must go. Again she pressed the unfamiliar button, again the door opened, and she saw the long tunnel. Holding the Book tightly, she rose, and walked weakly on to the platform, and called the car. Her room closed behind her: the journey to the northern part of the earth had begun.

Of course it was perfectly easy. The car came and in it she found seats exactly like her own. When she signalled, it stopped, and she walked unsteadily into the lift. One other passenger was in the lift, the first person she had seen face to face for months. Few people travelled these days, for, thanks to the advance of science, the earth was exactly alike all over. Rapid transportation, from which the previous civilization had hoped for so much, had ended by destroying itself. What was the good of going to China when it was just like Briton? Why return to Briton when it would all be like China? Men seldom moved their bodies; all unrest was concentrated in the soul.

 

The air-ships were an old service from the former age. It was kept up, because it was easier to keep it up than to stop it, but most of the population no longer wanted to use it. Ship after ship would rise from the entrances of Rye or of Christchurch (I use the old names), would fly into the crowded sky, and would land at the stations of the south – empty. So nicely adjusted was the system, so independent of the weather, that the sky, whether calm or cloudy, was filled with these ships. The ship on which Vashti flew started either at sunset or at dawn. Night and day, wind and storm, ocean waves and natural disasters stopped humanity no longer. We had mastered the power of Nature. All the old literature, with its praise of Nature, and its fear of Nature, was like the silly words of a child.

Yet as Vashti saw the huge side of the ship, her fear of direct experience returned. It was not quite like the air-ship in the films. For one thing, it had a smell – not strong or unpleasant, but it did smell, and with her eyes closed she should have known that a new thing was close to her. Then she had to walk to it from the lift, while other passengers could look at her. The man in front dropped his Book – no great matter, but it disturbed them all. In the rooms, if the Book was dropped, the floor raised it mechanically, but the way to the air-ship was not so prepared, and the sacred book lay on the ground. They stopped – not knowing what to do – and the man, instead of picking up the book, was confused, and his arms seems almost not to know how to pick up things by themselves. Then someone actually said, 'We shall be late' – and they moved on to the ship.

Inside, her nervousness increased. The arrangements were old-fashioned and rough. There was even a women flight attendant, to whom she would have to speak if she needed or wanted anything during the flight. Some cabins were better than others, and she did not get the best. She thought the attendant had been unfair, and her body filled with anger. The doors had closed she could not go back. She saw the lift in which she had come going quietly up and down, empty. Under those halls were rooms, level below level, going far into the earth, and in each room there sat a human eating, or sleeping, or producing ideas. And buried deep on one of these levels was her own room. Vashti was afraid. 'O Machine!' she said quietly, and held her Book, and felt better.

Then the air-ship, coming from its tunnel, flew above the waters of a tropical ocean into the sky.

It was night. For a moment she saw the coast below, and then only the stars distracted her. They were not motionless, but moved slightly above her head, as if the universe and not the air-ship was moving. This made her feel uncomfortable. 'Are we to travel in the dark?' the passengers asked angrily, and the attendant, who had been careless, turned on the light, and pulled down the blinds. When the air-ships had been built, people still had the desire to look direct at things in the world. As a result, the extraordinary number of windows on the plane, and the discomfort to those who were civilized and cultured. Even in Vashti's cabin one star was still visible through a mistake in the blind, and after a few hours' uneasy sleep, she was disturbed by an unfamiliar glow, which was the sunrise.

As the ship quickly flew west, the earth had turned east quicker still, and had taken Vashti and her companions back towards the sun. Science could make the night longer, but only for a little, and those high hopes of stopping the earth's rotation had passed, together with hopes that were possibly higher. Airplanes had been built capable of extremely high speeds, and guided by the smartest people on the times. Around the globe they went, round and round, westward, westward, round and round, among humanity's praise. But they were not fast enough. Horrible accidents happened, and the Committee of the Machine, at the time becoming more important, stated that further attempts illegal, not best for the society, and punished by Homelessness.

 

About Homelessness more will be said later.

Without a doubt, the Committee was right. Yet the attempt to fly faster than the sun brought the last common interest that humanity experienced about the sun and planets, or indeed about anything. It was the last time that people thought of a power outside the world. The sun was still the winner, yet it was the end of his spiritual power. Sunrise, afternoon, sunset, the entire path of the sun touched neither humanity’s lives not their hearts, and science went away into the ground, to concentrate on problems that she was certain of solving.

So when Vashti found the light from morning entering her cabin, she was annoyed, and tried to put down the blind. But the blind flew up altogether, and she saw through the window small pink clouds, against a background of blue, and as the sun slowly went higher, its brightness entered direct, coming down the wall, like a golden sea. It rose and fell with the air-ship's motion, just as waves rise and fall, but it advanced steadily, as a wave advances. Unless she was careful, it would hit her face. She felt horror and she called for the attendant. The attendant too was horrified, but she could do nothing; she was not able to fix the blind. She could only suggest that the Vashti change her cabin, which she prepared to do.

People were almost exactly alike all over the world, but the attendant of the air-ship, perhaps because of her special duties, had become somewhat different. She often had to talk to passengers with direct speech, and this had given her a certain roughness and uniqueness of manner. When Vashti moved away from the sunlight with a cry, she behaved rudely– she put out her hand to stop Vashti from falling.

'How could you!' shouted Vashti. 'That's so rude!'

The woman was confused, and apologized for not letting her fall. People never touched each other. The custom had disappeared because of the Machine.

'Where are we now?' asked Vashti in an overly proud way.

'We are over Asia,' said the attendant, nervous to be polite.

'Asia?'

'You must excuse my common way of speaking. I have got into the habit of calling places over which I fly by their  before-machine names.'

'Oh, I remember Asia. The Mongols came from it.'

'Under us, in the open air, stood a city that was once called Simla.' 'Have you ever heard of the Mongols and of the Brisbane school?'

'No.'

'Brisbane also stood in the open air.'

'Those mountains to the right – let me show you them.' She pushed back the blind. The main part of the Himalayas was revealed. 'They were once called the Roof of the World, those mountains.'

 

'You must remember that, before the rise of civilization, they seemed to be an wall that touched the stars. It was supposed that no one but the gods could live above their tops. How we have advanced, thanks to the Machine!'

'How we have advanced, thanks to the Machine!' said Vashti.

'How we have advanced, thanks to the Machine!' repeated the passenger who had dropped his Book the night before, and who was standing in the passage.

'Cover the window, please. These mountains give me no ideas.'

The northern part of the Himalayas was in deep shadow: on the Indian side the sun had just started to be seen. The forests had been destroyed during the era literature for the purpose of making newspapers, but the snows could be seen in their morning glory. On the plain were seen the ruins of cities, with rivers going by their walls, and by the sides of these were sometimes the structures of the entrances to the tunnels under the earth, which lead to the cities of today. Over this area air-ships rushed, rising and flying  with ease above the earth and the roof of the world.

'We have indeed advanced, thanks to the Machine,' repeated the attendant, and hid the Himalayas behind the blind.

The day went  slowly forward. The passengers each sat in their own cabins, trying not to see each other with an almost physical dislike and hope to be once again under the surface of the earth. There were eight or ten of them, mostly young men, sent from the public nurseries to live in the rooms of those who died in different parts of the earth. The man who dropped his Book was on his journey home. He had been sent to Sumatra make a baby with a women there. Only Vashti was travelling by choice.

At noon she looked again at the earth. The air-ship was crossing another group of mountains, but she could see little, because of clouds. Big black rock were seen below her, and came together into grey. Their shapes were fantastic; one of them looked like  a man lying on the ground.

'No ideas here,' Vashti quietly said to herself, and covered the Caucasus mountains with the blind. In the evening she looked again. They were crossing a golden sea, in which lay many small islands and one peninsula. She repeated, 'No ideas here,' and covered Greece behind the blind.

 

Vocabulary 

Rang:  past tense of to ring; the sound a bell makes.

Button: a switch to press to control a piece of equipment.

To suppose: something that you should do.

Interrupted: to stop someone while they are talking or doing something, by saying or doing something yourself.

Advanced: having developed or progressed to a late stage.

Appeared:  to start to be seen.

Pray: to speak to a god in order to show your feelings or to ask for something.

Air-ship: A type of airplane that the people in the story use for transportation.

Sword: a weapon with a long, metal blade and a handle, used especially in the past.

Ancestors: a relative who lived a long time ago.

Surface: the outside or top layer of something.

Advantage: a quality of something that makes it better or more useful.

To remain:  to still be present after the other parts have been removed, used, etc.; to continue to exist.

Respirator: a piece of equipment that makes it possible for somebody to breathe over a long period when they are unable to do so naturally.

Immediately: at once; without delay; instantly.

Precautions: Actions taken to prevent something unpleasant or dangerous from happening.

Nurseries: Places where young plants, flowers, or trees are grown and cared for.

Fast-paced: Happening quickly or at a high speed.

In person: Meeting or communicating directly with someone face-to-face.

Ancient: Very old, often referring to things from a long time ago.

Complaint: A statement expressing dissatisfaction or unhappiness about something.

Ashamed: Feeling guilty or embarrassed about one's actions.

Direct experience: Personal involvement or participation in a situation without any intermediary.

Duties: Tasks or responsibilities that someone is required to do.

Unsteadily: In an unstable or shaky manner.

Praise: Expressing approval or admiration for someone's achievements or qualities.

 Disturbed: Feeling upset, troubled, or bothered.

Scared: Feeling afraid or frightened.

To pick up: To lift or take something from a surface.

Arrangements: Plans or preparations made for a particular purpose.

Old-fashioned: Outdated or not in style anymore.

Flight attendant: A person who works on an airplane, helping passengers and ensuring their safety.

Buried: Covered or hidden beneath something.

Blinds: Window coverings that can be adjusted to control the amount of light entering a room.

Homelessness: The state of being without a permanent home.

Indeed: Used to emphasize the truth of a statement or to agree with something said.

Background: The information, environment, or circumstances that precede an event or situation.

Alike: Similar or having resemblances.

Manner: The way in which something is done or happens.

Confused: Feeling uncertain or bewildered, lacking clarity.

Custom: A traditional way of behaving or doing something that is specific to a particular society or group.

Himalayas: A mountain range in Asia, known for its high peaks.

Glory: Great honor, praise, or distinction.

Plain: Simple or not elaborate, without decorations.

Ruins: The remains of something that has been destroyed or severely damaged.