Sometimes the mood is brought about by laughter at the humorous side of life, as when, abstracting ourselves from earth, we imagine people plodding on foot, or seated in ships and speedy trains, with the planet all the while whirling in the opposite direction, so that, for all their hurry, they travel back-foremost through the universe of space.

有时，这种心境来自对人生诙谐一面的发笑：譬如我们抽身于地球之外，想象人们艰难步行，或坐在船只与疾驰的列车里，而星球始终朝相反方向旋转；于是任凭他们怎样匆忙，在浩瀚宇宙中却仍是倒退着旅行。