A
If you could travel in time, where would you go? Perhaps you would watch an original 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.
[语篇解读] 时光穿梭可能实现吗？有些科学家认为理论上是可能的。
1．The novel The Time Machine mentioned in Paragraph 2 aims to show________．
A．people's interest in time travel
B．the special feature of the book
C．the long history of time travel
D．the contribution of H．G.Wells
A [细节理解题。根据第二段中的“The possibility of time travel is indeed appealing.”可知，时光穿梭的可能性的确很吸引人，所以选A项。]
2．Einstein's and Hawking's theories________．
A．have similarities in many ways
B．push the invention of the first spaceship
C．have proved wrong by some time travelers
D．suggest the possibility to invent the time machine
D [细节理解题。根据第三段提到的“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.”可知，爱因斯坦的相对论允许在极端的环境下时光穿梭；英国物理学家斯蒂芬·霍金说你可以用接近光速的宇宙飞船到未来旅行。由此可知，两个人的理论证明了时间旅行的可能性，所以选D项。]
3．In Paragraph 4, “grandfather paradox” probably refers to the idea that________．
A．the traveler is prevented from meeting his grandfather
B．the traveler goes back in time to seek for his grandfather
C．the grandfather's death makes the traveler's
birth impossible
D．The reunion of the traveler and his grandfather brings happiness
C [推理判断题。根据第四段提到的“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.”可知，如果时光穿梭者回到过去，他的祖父因为某种原因而被杀死，那么时光旅行者就无法出生。如果时光旅行者没有出生，他怎么回到过去？所以选C项。]
4．What is probably the author's attitude towards time travel?
A．Unclear. B．Skeptical.
C．Supportive. D．Unconcerned.
B [推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“If that's what's in store，maybe we are better just living in the present day after all.”可知，如果这样的事情发生，我们还是最好活在现在，所以作者对时光穿梭持怀疑的态度，所以选B项。]
