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Read the following excerpt for a glimpse of this future world.
That morning Francis Bennett awoke in rather a bad temper. This was eight days since his wife had been in France and he was feeling a little lonely. As soon as he awoke, Francis Bennett switched on his phonotelephote whose wires led to the house he owned in the Champs-Elysees.
The telephone, completed by the telephote, is another of our time’s conquests! Though the transmission of speech by the electric current was already very old, it was only since yesterday that vision could also be transmitted. A valuable discovery, and Francis Bennett was by no means the only one to bless its inventor when, in spite of the enormous distance between them, he saw his wife appear in the telephotic mirror. ‘Francis … dear Francis!...’
Explanation:
Following an introduction to the plot, the author moved on to discussing the future world in the following paragraphs.
Francis Benett is the protagonist of the story "A Day in 2889 of an American Journalist" set in the year 2889. The events were narrated in such a way that Francis lived in a future time (2889), thousands of years from the author's time.
Francis Bennett wakes up in a bad mood, and the cause of his bad mood was that he missed his wife. Mrs. Francis Bennett had gone to France a week earlier, and it was the eighth day after she had left Francis, and he was missing her; he felt lonely without her. As a result, he dialled her number using a 'phonotelephote.' The word "phonotelephote" refers to a phone that displays a picture of two people conversing, similar to the video conversations we have today. It's a surprising fact that the author had predicted the internet we use in today, in 1889 itself though internet was invented in the year 1983.
Despite the fact that the narrative was published in \(1889\), it reflects the author's imagination and predictions for modern technologies. We now have "video call" capabilities after more than a century since his birth. However, it was envisioned by author Jules Verne more than a century ago. It's easy to see why the author has been called "the Father of Science Fiction" based simply on this example.
According to the author, Francis' phonotelephote wires led to the mansion he owned on the Champs-Elysees, where Francis' wife was staying. The Champs-Elysees is the most famous and beautiful avenue in Paris, stretching for 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometres).
And when Francis Benett saw his wife appear on the screen, he blessed the inventor of the phonotelephote. He was overjoyed to see his wife via phonotelephote, when she appeared in front of him and began conversing to him, saying, "Francis... dear Francis!"
Meaning of difficult words:
S. No | Words | Meaning |
1 | Excerpt | A short piece taken from a book, music etc |
2 | Phonotelephote | A fictional equipment enabling a conversation which involving voice and picture similar to smart phones of the present age |
3 | Enormous | Extremely large |
4 | Glimpse | A quick sight of somebody / something |
5 | Temper | Refers to a way of feeling, especially irritability |
Reference:
State Council of Educational Research and Training (2018). English Standard-10. A day in 2889 of an American Journalist - Jules Verne (pp. 153-157). Published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation.
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