Science fiction is a popular kind of writing，and many people think of Jules Verne as the father of science fiction．He was born in France in 1828．His father wanted him to become a lawyer，but from his early 20s Verne decided to become a writer．At first he wrote plays for the theater．Then，in 1863，he wrote a story called Five Weeks in a Balloon．The success of this book encouraged him to write more stories such as A Journey to the Center of the Earth （1864）and From the Earth to the Moon（1865）．
In the 19th century，many people were interested in science and inventions．Jules Verne wrote about scientific subjects in his stories and，as a result，they were very popular．Verne’s writing included many predictions for the 20th century and many of them came true．He described space flight，movies，and air conditioning，a long time before they appeared．These books were very successful and they made Verne rich．
Jules Verne’s books have been the subjects for many movies．20，000 Leagues Under the Sea was a successful movie for Walt Disney．It was the first Disney movie to use real actors instead of cartoon drawings．Around the World in Eighty Days is another famous movie based on one of Verne’s books．The main character is an Englishman called Phileas Fogg．For him，the most important thing is to be always on time!
（ ）1．What does the phrase “the father of science fiction” mean?
A．The father who has several children．
B．The man who loves science and inventions．
C．The writer whose father wrote science fiction．
D．The man who first started writing science fiction successfully．
（ ）2．What encouraged Jules Verne to write more stories?
A．The plays he wrote for the theater．
B．The encouragement from his father．
C．The success of Five Weeks in a Balloon．
D．The scientific subjects in his stories．
（ ）3．Why were Jules Verne’s books very popular in the19th century?
A．Because his books made him rich and famous．
B．Because he wrote many plays for the theater at that time．
C．Because his books have been the subjects for many movies．
D．Because many people were interested in science and inventions．
（ ）4．Which of the following has the main character called Phileas Fogg?
A．Five Weeks in a Balloon．
B．Around the World in Eighty Days．
C．A Journey to the Center of the Earth．
D．From the Earth to the Moon．
（ ）5．According to the passage，which of the following is TRUE?
A．Jules Verne only wrote plays in the 19th century．
B．Many of the predictions in Verne’s stories came true．
C．The main characters in Verne’s books are always on time．
D．The space flight Verne described was different from others．