مکالمه ی فعالانه قسمت ج

TIME PARADOX

ACTIVE SPEAKING - PART C

In the early 90s, the following classified ad appeared in Backwoods magazine.

When did this classified ad appear in Backwoods magazine? This classified ad appeared in Backwoods magazine in the early 90s.

“Wanted: Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. PO Box 322, Oak View California 93022. You’ll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I’ve only done this once before.” What was the ad looking for? The ad was looking for somebody to go back in time with.

Where was the address? The address was in California. When would the time traveler get paid? The time traveler would get paid after getting back. What did the time traveler need to bring? The time traveler needed to bring weapons. Was it a safe job? No, the ad said ‘Safety not guaranteed.’ How many times did the ad say he had time traveled? The ad said he had time traveled once before.

Backwoods magazine is not the kind of place you would expect to find time travelers.

Was this the kind of magazine you would expect to see a crazy time traveler classified ad? No, this was not the kind of magazine you would expect to see a crazy time traveler classified ad.

It’s a small survivalist magazine with articles about hunting, building cabins by hand and other skills that would come in handy during some future breakdown of society.

Is it a small survivalist magazine or a big survivalist magazine? It is a small survivalist magazine. Did it have articles about hunting and building cabins? Yes, it had articles about hunting and building cabins. Do those sound like handy skills to you? One day in 1992, the publisher Dave said to his friend John, I messed up.

What did Dave say to his friend John? Dave said to his friend John, I messed up.

We are about to publish this month’s magazine, and I need to fill some space.

What did he need to do? He needed to fill some space.

Can you write me some jokes? What did he ask John to write? He asked John to write some jokes.

John said how about I write some classified ads.

What did John offer to write instead of jokes? He offered to write some classified ads instead of jokes.

Dave agreed, and John wrote one serious personal ad looking for a girlfriend, and one joke ad about time traveling.

How many ads did he write? He wrote two ads. What was the serious ad about? The serious ad was looking for a girlfriend. Was the time traveling ad a joke or serious? The time traveling ad was a joke.

John didn’t expect much of a response, but he was soon flooded with letters.

What was John expecting? John was expecting he wouldn’t get much of response. What happened next? Next, he was flooded with letters.

One reply said, Yes, I want to time travel to 1984. My time machine was stolen, and I am stuck in 2010. Thank you.” What was stolen? Her time machine was stolen. Where was she stuck? She was stuck in 2010.

While some of the replies like this one were from people in on the joke, most of them were serious inquiries.

Was everyone in on the joke? No, not everyone was in on the joke.

John says people were really into it and had lots of questions.

What did John say about the people who wrote? He said the people were really into it and had lots of questions.

“How are we going? Why is it dangerous? Why do we need weapons? What kind of weapons should I bring? Will there be toilet paper or do I have to bring my own?” What did one person ask about toilet paper? One person asked if he needed to bring his own toilet paper.

The End.