时光机的艰辛研究史

周艳霞

難词探意

1. stumble /?st?mbl/ v. 跌跌撞撞地走

2. loop /lu?p/ n. 环;回路

3. ponder /?p?nd?（r）/ v. 沉思;考虑

When Ron Mallett was 10， his beloved father died suddenly of a heart attack， which changed the track of his life forever. For years hes been working to fulfill his dream of venturing back in time to see his beloved father again.

About a year after his fathers death， a grieving Mallett stumbled across an illustrated version of the classic sci?fi The Time Machine. Sixty years later， Mallett became a professor of physics at the University of Connecticut. Hes spent his career investigating black holes and general relativity， the theories of space， time and gravity famously explored by Albert Einstein. Mallett first encountered the concept of time travel back in the 1950s. After a couple of years of applying mathematical theories in this practical setting， he joined the University of Connecticut as an assistant professor of physics. He imagined that by twisting time into a loop， one could travel from the future back to the past， and then back to the future. He created a prototype（原型） illustrating how lasers could be used to create a circulating beam of light that twists space and time. It turned out that his understanding about lasers helped him in his breakthrough with understanding how he might be able to find a whole new way for the basis of a time machine.

But when Mallett began speaking openly about his ideas， he found people struck a chord with many others. Serious criticism of Malletts theory was voiced in 2005. His job was also threatened. Mallett was quick to clarify that his ideas were theoretical. He relished explaining concepts about time travel through cinematic examples.

While his desire to go back to the 1950s isnt anywhere closer to a reality， he remains optimistic， and continues to ponder possibilities.

“The idea that I will actually be able to see my father on the big screen will almost be like bringing him back to life for me，” said Mallett， poignantly.

“While not everyone agrees that his planned device would work， I think its an interesting enough proposition to go for an experimental trial，” said Brian Clegg，a British science writer.

1. Why does the author mention Ron Malletts fathers death in paragraph 1？

A. To describe what Ron Mallett experienced.

B. To show how deeply Ron Mallett loved his father.

C. To tell why Ron Mallett decided to travel back in time.

D. To illustrate what profession Ron Mallett would choose.

2. What can be inferred from paragraph 2？

A. Ron Mallett got rid of sorrow not long after his fathers death.

B. Ron Mallett managed to invent his time machine depending on lasers.

C. Ron Mallett has been working in the University of Connecticut for 60 years.

D. Ron Mallett was inspired by Albert Einsteins theory of space， time and gravity.

3. What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about？

A. The situation of Ron Malletts experiment.

B. The process and principle of his invention.

C. Ron Malletts challenge and his countermeasure.

D. Ron Malletts determination to realize his dream.

4. What is Brian Cleggs attitude towards Ron Malletts effort？

A. Favorable. B. Neutral. C. Objective. D. Opposing.

Sentence for writing

It turned out that his understanding about lasers helped him in his breakthrough with understanding how he might be able to find a whole new way for the basis of a time machine.

【信息提取】It turns out that...意為“结果是……;证明是……”，其中it是形式主语，代替that引导的主语从句。

【句式仿写】结果证明，迈克是个不靠谱的人。