Question

Time Travel

If you could travel in time,where would you go?Perhaps you would watch a performance of a Shakespeare's play in Elizabethan England?What about hanging out with Laozi in the Spring and Autumn Period?Or maybe you'd voyage far ahead of the present day to see what the future holds.

The possibility of time travel is indeed appealing.Stories exploring the subject have been around for hundreds of years.Perhaps the best known example is science fiction novel The Time Machine,which was written by H.G.Wells and published in 1895 for the first time.It was adapted into at least two feature films of the same name,as well as two television versions, and a large number of comic book adaptations.It is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel using a vehicle that allows an operator to travel purposefully and selectively.The term"time machine",coined by Wells,is now universally used to refer to a vehicle transporting people into the far future.

But could time travel actually be possible?Some scientists say yes,in theory.They propose using cracks in time and space called"wormholes",which could be used as shortcuts to other periods.Einstein's theory of relativity allows time travel in extreme circumstances. And British physicist Stephen Hawking says you could travel into the future with a really fast spaceship-going at nearly the speed of light.Though building such a spaceship would of course be no simple task.

Even if you could travel into the past,there is something called the"grandfather paradox".It asks what would happen if a time traveler were to go back in time and have his own grandfather killed for some reason,and therefore prevent himself from being born.If the time traveler wasn't born,how would he travel back in time?

And would you really like to visit the future?In H.G.Wells' book,the main character travels into distant time where he arrives at a beach and is attacked by giant crabs.He then voyages 30 million years into the future where the only living thing is a black object with tentacles(触角）。

If that's what's in store,maybe we are better just living in the present day after all.

1.The novel The Time Machine mentioned in Paragraph 2 aims to show______.

A.the long history of time travel

B.the contribution of H.G.Wells

C.people's interest in time travel

D.the story's different features

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A.The Time Machine is one of the bestselling science fiction novels.

B.It was H.G.Wells who invented the term “time machine”.

C.Works of Literature about time travel first appeared one hundred years ago.

D.There are films,comic books and dramas adapted from the novel The Time Machine.

3.Einstein's and Hawking's theories______.

A.have similarities because both are based on experiments

B.suggest the possibility of time travel

C.have been proved wrong by some time travelers

D.have pushed the invention of the first spaceship

4.In Paragraph 4,"grandfather paradox”probably refers to the idea that______.

A.the reunion of the traveler and his grandfather brings happiness

B.the traveler is prevented from meeting his grandfather

C.the traveler goes back in time to seek for his grandfather

D.the grandfather's death makes the traveler's birth impossible

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.B

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。人类一直对时间旅行很感兴趣。从理论上来说，且根据一些科幻书籍以及科学家所说，时间旅行是可以的。但是，从另一个角度而言，时间旅行未必是好事。因此作者认为我们还是生活在现在的好。

1.

推理判断题。根据第二段中的“The possibility of time travel is indeed appealing. Stories exploring the subject have been around for hundreds of years. Perhaps the best known example is science fiction novel. The Time Machine, which was written by H.G. Wells and published in 1895 for the first time…”可知，时间旅行的可能性确实很吸引人。探索这个主题的故事已经有几百年了。小说The Time Machine就是一个例子。由此可推知，在第二段中提到The Time Machine这部小说就是想表明人们对时间旅行的兴趣。故选C项。

2.

细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句The term "time machine", coined by Wells, is now universally used to refer to a vehicle transporting people into the far future.可知，“时间机器”这个术语，由Wells创造，现在被普遍用于指把人们运送到遥远的未来。由此可知，是H.G.Wells发明了“时间机器”这个术语。故选B项。

3.

细节理解题。根据第三段第一句提出问题“But could time travel actually be possible?(但是时间旅行实际上是可能的吗？)”，接下来举了爱因斯坦和霍金的例子“Einstein’s theory of relativity allows time travel in extreme circumstances. And British physicist Stephen Hawking says you could travel into the future with a really fast spaceship going at nearly the speed of light(爱因斯坦的相对论使得在极端情况下可以进行时间旅行。英国物理学家斯蒂芬霍金说，你可以用一艘非常快的宇宙飞船以接近光速的速度旅行到未来。)”，由此可知，霍金和爱因斯坦的理论表明了时间旅行的可能性。故选B项。

4.

细节理解题。根据第四段中的there is something called the “grandfather paradox”. It asks what would happen if a time traveler were to go back in time and have his own grandfather killed for some reason, and therefore prevent himself from being born. If the time traveler wasn’t born, how would he travel back in time?可知，“grandfather paradox”提出一个问题：如果一个时间旅行者回到过去，他的祖父由于某种原因死亡，那么时间旅行者就无法出生。如果时间旅行者没有出生，他怎么会回到过去？ 故“grandfather paradox”提出的观点就是：祖父死亡导致时间旅行者无法出生。故选D项。