Last Night of th World(世界的最后一晚).docxVIP

Last Night of the World By: Ray Bradbury Originally published in the February 1951 issue of Esquire What would you do?if you knew this was the last night of the world? What would I do; you mean, seriously? Yes, seriously. I dont know — I hadnt thought. She turned the handle of the silver coffeepot toward him and placed the two cups in their saucers. He poured some coffee. In the background, the two small girls were playing blocks on the parlor rug in the light of the green hurricane lamps. There was an easy, clean aroma of brewed coffee in the evening air. Well, better start thinking about it, he said. You dont mean it? said his wife. He nodded. A war? He shook his head. Not the hydrogen or atom bomb? No. Or germ warfare? None of those at all, he said, stirring his coffee slowly and staring into its black depths. But just the closing of a book, lets say. I dont think I understand. No, nor do I really. Its jut a feeling; sometimes it frightens me, sometimes Im not frightened at all — but peaceful. He glanced in at the girls and their yellow hair shining in the bright lamplight, and lowered his voice. I didnt say anything to you. It first happened about four nights ago. What? A dream I had. I dreamt that it was all going to be over and a voice said it was; not any kind of voice I can remember, but a voice anyway, and it said things would stop here on Earth. I didnt think too much about it when I awoke the next morning, but then I went to work and the feeling as with me all day. I caught Stan Willis looking out the window in the middle of the afternoon and I said, Penny for your thoughts, Stan, and he said, I had a dream last night, and before he even told me the dream, I knew what it was. I could have told him, but he told me and I listened to him. It was the same dream? Yes. I told Stan I had dreamed it, too. He didnt seem surprised. He relaxed, in fact. Then we started walking through offices, for the hell of it. It wasnt planned. We didnt say, lets walk around. We