The Time Machine

What if you could travel thousands of years into the future? This classic science fiction novel has been adapted in modern English for learners at CEFR B2 · Lexile 1050L. Follow the Time Traveller as he explores a distant world where humanity has split into two species.

H.G. Wells · Level: B2 · 15 Chapters

Read the English chapter; select your language in the interactive lesson.

  1. Chapter 1. Introduction

    The Time Traveller explains his theory of time as a fourth dimension to skeptical dinner guests, hinting at a machine to travel through it.

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  2. Chapter 2. The Machine

    The Time Traveller demonstrates a model time machine to his skeptical guests, which vanishes before their eyes.

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  3. Chapter 3. The Time Traveller Returns

    The Time Traveller returns to his dinner party in a disheveled, exhausted state, then cleans up and begins telling his guests about his incredible journey.

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  4. Chapter 4. Time Travelling

    The Time Traveller activates his machine, experiences the disorienting sensations of rapid time travel, and arrives in a distant future where he encounters a strange statue and frail humanoid beings.

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  5. Chapter 5. In the Golden Age

    The Time Traveller meets the Eloi, delicate future humans, and is led to a decaying hall where he attempts to learn their simple language.

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  6. Chapter 6. The Sunset of Mankind

    The Time Traveller explores the future landscape, observing the Eloi's idle, childlike society and speculating that humanity has grown weak from achieving perfect comfort.

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  7. Chapter 7. A Sudden Shock

    The Time Traveller discovers his machine is missing, panics, searches frantically, and deduces it is hidden inside the bronze sphinx pedestal.

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  8. Chapter 8. Explanation

    The Time Traveller explores the future world, discovers mysterious wells and towers, and encounters a pale subterranean creature, leading him to theorize about a second human species.

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  9. Chapter 9. The Morlocks

    The Time Traveller descends into a well, discovers the subterranean world of the Morlocks, and flees after a terrifying encounter.

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  10. Chapter 10. When Night Came

    The Time Traveller, fearing the Morlocks, journeys with Weena towards the Palace of Green Porcelain to find refuge, spending a tense night on a hillside.

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  11. Chapter 11. The Palace of Green Porcelain

    The Time Traveller explores the decaying Palace of Green Porcelain, finding museum exhibits, weapons, matches, and evidence of Morlocks before preparing for nightfall.

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  12. Chapter 12. In the Darkness

    The Time Traveller and Weena flee through a dark forest, are attacked by Morlocks, and accidentally start a wildfire that consumes the woods.

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  13. Chapter 13. The Trap of the White Sphinx

    The Time Traveller finds his machine inside the open Sphinx, but the Morlocks trap him inside before he can escape.

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  14. Chapter 14. The Further Vision

    The Time Traveller journeys far into the future, witnessing Earth's final days under a dying sun and encountering strange, monstrous lifeforms.

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  15. Chapter 15. After the Story

    The Time Traveller returns to his laboratory, disoriented but safe, and recounts his arrival to his dinner guests.

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