James Baquet Greater ease of travel in the late 19th century inspired Jules Verne’s adventure novel, “Around the World in Eighty Days.” In it, a British gentleman, Phileas Fogg, accepts a bet of 20,000 pounds (over US$3,000,000 today) from the members of his club that he cannot circumnavigate the globe in the allotted time. The argument was inspired by news of new railways in India and America, and completion of the Suez Canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, obviating the need for ships to sail around Africa. Fogg puts up his half of the fortune and takes the rest to cover expenses for himself and his French valet, Passepartout. They leave Oct. 2, 1872, and must return by Dec. 21. They reach Suez on time. Despite the many images to the contrary, Verne’s voyagers never traveled by hot air balloon; that detail was added in a 1956 film. To complicate matters, a Scotland Yard detective named Fix follows Fogg, mistaking him for a bank robber. Fogg has offered the Suez-to-Bombay steamer’s engineer a bonus for arriving early, and they do indeed: two days ahead of schedule. The railway across India had not in fact been completed, and Fogg and his valet must travel by elephant. Along the way, they rescue a young widow who was about to practice the ancient Indian custom of suttee — throwing herself on her deceased husband’s funeral pyre. They take the woman, Aouda, along with them. On a layover in Singapore, Fix has Fogg and Passepartout arrested. But they escape and reach Hong Kong, where Fix causes more trouble, and Fogg misses his steamer to Yokohama. He gets a smaller boat to Shanghai, and from there reaches Yokohama. They sail across the Pacific to San Francisco, and meet more mischief — bison on the tracks, a failing bridge, an Indian ambush — on the way to New York. From there they sail for France — until Fogg bribes the crew to mutiny and take him to Liverpool, England. There, Fix produces a warrant and arrests Fogg, who is cleared when they learn the real robber has been caught. But Fogg has missed his deadline by five minutes — or so he thinks. He has forgotten that he crossed the International Date Line, and is in fact a day early! Oh, and he marries Aouda. Vocabulary: Which word above means: 1. manservant 2. overthrow the captain 3. surviving wife 4. pause in a journey 5. travel all the way around 6. arrest document 7. time limit 8. making unnecessary 9. trouble 10. American buffalo | 