Question

read the following excerpt from the passage, then choose the correct answer
excerpt from the time machine
it was almost four in the morning, and i had finished my work, so i measured the levers one last time, and now, only one thing was left to do. i had to give the time machine its first test.

i sat down in the seat of the time machine and looked at my pocket watch, it said nineteen minutes after four. i held my breath as i gripped the lever and pulled it down a tiny bit. how can i say what it felt like? only that it felt like falling, it felt like falling through endless space. my stomach was trying to squeeze into my throat, and my mouth was open, it looked like the mouth of a fish—a fish gasping in air.

1. what problem sets the events of the story in motion?

a the future is very different than the time traveler expected
b the time machine doesnt work like the time traveler expected
c the time traveler wants to test a machine that travels in time
d the time traveler isnt sure what year he has landed in

Explanation:

To determine the problem that sets the story in motion, we analyze each option:

• Option A: The excerpt focuses on the first test of the Time Machine, not the difference between the future and expectations about it. Eliminate A.
• Option B: The excerpt describes the Time Traveler testing the machine, and the experience (feeling like falling) is unexpected. This problem (the machine not working as expected during the test) initiates the story's events.
• Option C: The Time Traveler wants to test the machine, but this is the goal, not the problem that sets events in motion. Eliminate C.
• Option D: The excerpt doesn't mention uncertainty about the year landed in. Eliminate D.

Answer:

B. The Time Machine doesn't work like the Time Traveler expected