British writer

February 18.

Both Lu Shi and Natsume Soseki got up early because they had to catch the train.

The two packed their things and rushed to King's Cross Station.

Those who have read "Harry Potter" should have an impression of this landmark station,

In fact, it was opened as early as 1852. It is located in the King's Cross area of ​​central London, connecting many big cities, such as Cambridge, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow...

Natsume Soseki took the train in London for the first time, a little excited,

"What platform are we on?"

Look at the ticket when you land,

"The third platform, London to Birmingham, Cambridge is the first stop."

they look over,

The front of the steam train was dark red, and there were signs on the outside of each carriage, which read:

London-Birmingham,

8:35 am.

Billows of smoke billowed from the locomotive's chimney, covering the sky.

Natsume Soseki looked around,

"Strange, why are there so few people?"

Lu Shi said: "Probably because today is Sunday, so few people would choose to travel far at this time."

It's not that far from London to Birmingham.

But in the early 20th century, this distance should not be underestimated.

Natsume Soseki said: "Cambridge University is really very honorable to let you give a speech to the students on Sunday."

Lu Shi responded to the open letter in the Manchester Guardian,

Afterwards, Cavendish personally visited and agreed on the time and location of the speech, which was at King's College, Cambridge University.

As for the content of the speech, there is no specific agreement.

Cavendish followed the advice of James and other literature professors, and decided to give Lu Shi full freedom.

Natsume Soseki joked, "Lu, are you and Cambridge University making peace without a match?"

Lu Shi was amused,

"We published an open letter in the newspaper, and we have been flirting with each other for a long time. How can it be regarded as a peace without a mediator? If we want to negotiate a peace, it should be a peace with a mediation."

The two got on the train while chatting.

Natsume Soseki sighed,

"London's trains are really good, they are all boxes."

Lu Shi let out a "hmm\

,"Whether it is the Qing Dynasty or Japan, only the first few sections of the trains in operation have boxes, and the rear compartments are simple seats, and the tickets are not sold on a one-to-one basis, causing many passengers to stand when they get on the train.

In contrast, Great Britain is indeed "extravagant".

The two choose a box,

As observed before, there were not many people on this train, not even the first car was full.

At this time, there was a sudden noise outside the train,

If you look out of the window, you can see groups of young students walking towards the train.

Lu Shi couldn't help frowning. He always felt that some faces were very familiar, so he listened attentively to the conversation of those students.

Someone asked: "You said, Professor Lu will not really join Cambridge?"

This question caused a thousand waves with one stone,

The students responded in one go:

"impossible!"

"Professor Lu is such a modest and prudent person, how could he go to Cambridge?"

"I believe in Professor Lu's character."

"Let's not talk about character, just talk about benefits. Have you forgotten that Professor Lu still has his own project in London Politics and Economics?"

"But wouldn't it be easier to do that project in Cambridge? Cambridge also has its own publishing house."

...

The last sentence hit the weakness of the students.

Everyone was silent.

Lu Shi whispered: "That group of students seems to belong to the University of London Union."

Natsume Soseki was stunned,

"ah?"

He stood on tiptoe and looked out of the window, looking at the endless long dragon, and asked in surprise, "Why are there so many people?"

Looking at that posture, it feels like a train can't fit it.

At this time, the leading students had already started boarding the train,

All kinds of discussions gradually arose.

Lu Shi hurriedly closed the door.

The students, however, jumped out of the box and kept the door of the box open after taking their seats, so that they could communicate "separately".

A student said: "I really want to thank the principal for sending us to Cambridge by train."

Someone immediately echoed: "And there are three full rows. Mr. Xiao and Earl Kimberley have already set off before us, which should be the previous shift."

Lu Shi: ...

Natsume Soseki: ...

One of them is a visiting professor of London Political Economy, and the other is a student of University College London, but they have never heard of this incident.

Lu Shi asked, "Didn't Professor Smith tell you?"

Natsume Soseki shook his head, and then asked, "Did Mr. Xiao not say anything?"

They looked at each other.

The students also stopped discussing the chartered car, and instead brought the topic to Lu Shi's works.

Someone said: "Have you read the article "On Narrative Tricks and Reasoning Works"? It is wonderfully written! I just took notes and wrote analysis, and I used up a whole bottle of ink, but I still feel that the research is not thorough. .”

This remark immediately resonated with others.

Someone replied: "Keman, you have studied so carefully, do you want to write a mystery novel?"

Koman smiled,

"What do you know? Even if you don't write a novel, you can't take notes? Don't you think that Professor Lu's article is very similar to a paper?"

These words caused everyone to ponder.

Many modern institutions of higher learning have Academic Writing, also known as "academic writing\

,"This course can teach students how to write papers systematically and logically, such as citations, annotations, literature references, literature reviews, proposal reports, abstracts and other common norms.

(Many domestic colleges and universities do not do enough in this regard. They only require students to write papers, but do not teach students how to write.)

Of course, there was no such class in Britain in 1901,

When we write papers, we often use a hammer to the east and a stick to the west. The relevance of each chapter is not strong.

Only those who are truly academically skilled can practice make perfect if they write a lot of papers.

silence for a while,

Someone said: "Coman, lend me your notes. Don't worry, I'll...no, I'll return it to you before I get off the train tonight."

Koman smiled,

"No, no, I have to do my own research~"

His classmates said in unison: "Stingy!"

Coman was dissatisfied,

"It's because you don't read seriously. Professor Lu has the real thing. You think that if you don't write novels in the future, you won't study that book review carefully, but you didn't notice that the writing structure of the book review itself is a good example of a thesis. You can blame me for that. ?”

A group of students shouted loudly.

Natsume Soseki poked Lu Shi's waist with his elbow,

"They're talking about your article."

Lu Shi scratched his head,

He himself did not expect that "A Brief Discussion on Narrative Tricks and Reasoning Works" could be regarded as an excellent example of a thesis,

It can only be said that as a time traveler, some things are indeed advanced, and because of unconsciousness, clues will be revealed subtly.

Lu Shi could only say: "Let's plant a willow inadvertently."

This is very Versailles.

Natsume Soseki was speechless for a while.

The two continued to listen to the students discussing various topics.

At the beginning, they only framed the content on Lu Shi, and then they flew, from the Anglo-Boer War to the current Prime Minister Cecil, and then to Queen Victoria,

There are also various hot topics,

women's elections,

conscription system,

...

Listening to them discuss all the way, it will not be boring.

Finally, the train arrived at Cambridge Station.

Lu Shi stopped Natsume Soseki, who was about to open the door of the box, and said, "Wait for the students to get out of the car first, so as not to be embarrassed."

Natsume Soseki understood.

The two waited for the others to leave, and the flight attendant began to inspect the carriages one by one before getting off the train.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they stepped on the platform, they were stopped by two groups of people.

A group of people was led by Cavendish, followed by more than a dozen professors from Cambridge University, all of whom were dressed as gentlemen and looked very elegant;

The other group was led by Wodehouse and Shaw,

Behind him, hundreds of students formed a huge welcome team,

Just heard a "pop--\

,"Some of the students pulled up a banner, which read: "Warmly welcome Professor Lu!"

Cavendish's face was black as ink,

This is so meow, is it still the home of Cambridge? ?