1 . What if we had the power to control time, instead of moving from the past to the present to the future? What if we could jump and travel through time in a machine? What if we could go wherever and whenever we pleased?

The mysterious puzzle of time has kept people debating its nature for hundreds of years. Science fiction writers have turned it into imaginative stories. Some scientists have even attempted to explain it using math, trying to make the dream of time travel come true.

Albert Einstein said that time and space are one thing called “spacetime.” He said there are three dimensions in space: height, width and depth. A scientist named Hermann Minkowski added time as a fourth dimension.

Einstein introduced two ideas that have led to theories about the possibility of time travel. The first is relativity. The idea of relativity is that the force of gravity causes space to bend, which causes time to twist. The second idea focuses on special relativity. The idea is that a traveler moving super-fast through flat spacetime will enter the future. Einstein considered time “relative” because it is measured based on where we are on Earth or in space.

Stephen Hawking believes that a time machine will never be built. If it were possible, he thinks we would already know. If a time machine could be built, how come no one from the future has invaded us?

The first science fiction story with this theme is The Clock That Went Backward by Edward P. Mitchell, which was published in 1881. Since then, thousands of books, films and television shows have explored the idea of time travel, in which some tools such as phones, watches, photographs and old books take travelers backward and forward.

Will time travel ever happen? Who knows? Most important is to keep your eyes open and have a sense of wonder.

1. What is the author’s purpose of writing the first paragraph?

A．To show time and space are connected.

B．To show people’s interest in time travel.

C．To draw readers’ attention to time travel.

D．To make people believe time travel is possible.

2. Which of the following statements could Einstein agree with?

A．Time travel is possible in the future.

B．People can’t move faster than light.

C．Time travel is against scientific rules.

D．Spacetime is not a real thing in theory.

3. What is the last but one paragraph mainly about?

A．The first science fiction story.	B．Different works about time travel.
C．Edward P. Mitchell, the pioneer.	D．Some tools used in time travel.

4. What is the writer’s attitude toward time travel?

A．Negative.	B．Approving.
C．Doubtful.	D．Hopeful.

2 . People have always wanted to know what the future will look like. Then, how can we?     1       The world has changed a lot in the last 150 years, but we humans are driven by the same basic needs as we were 150 years ago, such as food, sleep, the feeling of being appreciated and loved.     2     No. In addition, generally speaking, the inventions for the last 150 years have been a human effort for freedom and communication, to be able to get in control of the time and world. Since there is still much to do in this area, this will be the focus at least for the next 150 years.

But why do we need to predict the future? Predicting the future is important for two reasons: First, we need to start to think about what kind of future we would like for ourselves and to pass on to the next generation.     3    

How about the virtual worlds? It might be in the future to experience the sand between your toes, and hear the waves, just lying in your bed at home.     4     So, even if a great invention is there for an affordable price, it’ll never take the place of the common experience if it is not real.

    5     What we’ll see in the next 50 years is the transition (过渡) from an oil-dependent society to a new society. Here there’ll be new medicine, continued exploration of space, challenges in the climate change, and new inventions that make life a little easier.

A．So what will the future look like then?

B．Will this change in the next 150 years?

C．Predicting the future can help us in many ways.

D．However, you’ll never get the feeling of being there.

E．Well, to understand the future, you must know the past.

F．However, no matter how real the experience will feel, it doesn’t happen for real.

G．Then we need to know what decisions we need to make today that will give the best result in the future.