The War of the Worlds
by H. G. Wells [1898]
But who shall dwell in these worlds if they be
inhabited? Are we or they Lords of the
World? And how are all things made for man?-
KEPLER (quoted in The Anatomy of Melancholy)
BOOK ONE: THE COMING OF THE MARTIANS
CHAPTER ONE: THE EVE OF THE WAR, excerpt
No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter. It is possible that the infusoria under the microscope do the same. No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of human danger, or thought of them only to dismiss the idea of life upon them as impossible or improbable. It is curious to recall some of the mental habits of those departed days. At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment.
Yet so vain is man, and so blinded by his vanity, that no writer, up to the very end of the nineteenth century, expressed any idea that intelligent life might have developed there far, or indeed at all, beyond its earthly level. Nor was it generally understood that since Mars is older than our earth, with scarcely a quarter of the superficial area and remoter from the sun, it necessarily follows that it is not only more distant from time's beginning but nearer its end.
The secular cooling that must someday overtake our planet has already gone far indeed with our neighbour. Its physical condition is still largely a mystery, but we know now that even in its equatorial region the midday temperature barely approaches that of our coldest winter. Its air is much more attenuated than ours, its oceans have shrunk until they cover but a third of its surface, and as its slow seasons change huge snowcaps gather and melt about either pole and periodically inundate its temperate zones. That last stage of exhaustion, which to us is still incredibly remote, has become a present-day problem for the inhabitants of Mars. The immediate pressure of necessity has brightened their intellects, enlarged their powers, and hardened their hearts. And looking across space with instruments, and intelligences such as we have scarcely dreamed of, they see, at its nearest distance only 35,000,000 of miles sunward of them, a morning star of hope, our own warmer planet, green with vegetation and grey with water, with a cloudy atmosphere eloquent of fertility, with glimpses through its drifting cloud wisps of broad stretches of populous country and narrow, navy-crowded seas.
And we men, the creatures who inhabit this earth, must be to them at least as alien and lowly as are the monkeys and lemurs to us. The intellectual side of man already admits that life is an incessant struggle for existence, and it would seem that this too is the belief of the minds upon Mars. Their world is far gone in its cooling and this world is still crowded with life, but crowded only with what they regard as inferior animals. To carry warfare sunward is, indeed, their only escape from the destruction that, generation after generation, creeps upon them.
Which of the following states the central idea of the second paragraph? (4 points)
Humans were too proud to think that life could exist elsewhere.
Intelligent life has been continuously developing around the universe.
The end of the nineteenth century was lacking in intelligent life.
Writers did not write books about the inhabitants of Mars.
*I think A but am not sure
_________________
What key idea does the text below suggest?
No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. (4 points)
Humans were observed as if they were insects under a microscope.
Humans were engaged in important but unnecessary work.
The advanced human society had the tools to detect those spying on them.
The creatures swarming in water are as visible as the Martian inhabitants were.
*I think A but am not sure
____________________
Read this line from the text:
Perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.
What idea does the word transient suggest in this text? (4 points)
Humans are as temporary as insects that live only a few days.
Human behavior is much like that of insects.
Humans have not spent ample time securing their future.
Humans need water to survive their harsh environment.
*I think C but am not sure
The War of the Worlds
by H. G. Wells [1898]
But who shall dwell in these worlds if they be
inhabited? Are we or they Lords of the
World? And how are all things made for man?-
KEPLER (quoted in The Anatomy of Melancholy)
BOOK ONE: THE COMING OF THE MARTIANS
CHAPTER ONE: THE EVE OF THE WAR, excerpt
No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter. It is possible that the infusoria under the microscope do the same. No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of human danger, or thought of them only to dismiss the idea of life upon them as impossible or improbable. It is curious to recall some of the mental habits of those departed days. At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment.
Yet so vain is man, and so blinded by his vanity, that no writer, up to the very end of the nineteenth century, expressed any idea that intelligent life might have developed there far, or indeed at all, beyond its earthly level. Nor was it generally understood that since Mars is older than our earth, with scarcely a quarter of the superficial area and remoter from the sun, it necessarily follows that it is not only more distant from time's beginning but nearer its end.
The secular cooling that must someday overtake our planet has already gone far indeed with our neighbour. Its physical condition is still largely a mystery, but we know now that even in its equatorial region the midday temperature barely approaches that of our coldest winter. Its air is much more attenuated than ours, its oceans have shrunk until they cover but a third of its surface, and as its slow seasons change huge snowcaps gather and melt about either pole and periodically inundate its temperate zones. That last stage of exhaustion, which to us is still incredibly remote, has become a present-day problem for the inhabitants of Mars. The immediate pressure of necessity has brightened their intellects, enlarged their powers, and hardened their hearts. And looking across space with instruments, and intelligences such as we have scarcely dreamed of, they see, at its nearest distance only 35,000,000 of miles sunward of them, a morning star of hope, our own warmer planet, green with vegetation and grey with water, with a cloudy atmosphere eloquent of fertility, with glimpses through its drifting cloud wisps of broad stretches of populous country and narrow, navy-crowded seas.
And we men, the creatures who inhabit this earth, must be to them at least as alien and lowly as are the monkeys and lemurs to us. The intellectual side of man already admits that life is an incessant struggle for existence, and it would seem that this too is the belief of the minds upon Mars. Their world is far gone in its cooling and this world is still crowded with life, but crowded only with what they regard as inferior animals. To carry warfare sunward is, indeed, their only escape from the destruction that, generation after generation, creeps upon them.
Which line from the text most clearly explains how humans viewed themselves in relation to inhabitants of Mars? (4 points)
As alien and lowly as are the monkeys and lemurs
The transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water
The immediate pressure of necessity has brightened their intellects
There might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves
*I think D but am not sure
_______________
Part A: What have the inhabitants of Mars found as their "morning star of hope"?
A. A master generation to invade
B. A position closer to the sun
C. The technology to invade Earth
D. The warm, green planet of Earth
Part B:
Select two quotations that support your answer to Part A.
E. Perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm
F. Its equatorial region the midday temperature barely approaches that of our coldest winter
G. Looking across space with instruments, and intelligences such as we have scarcely dreamed of
H. Our own warmer planet, green with vegetation and grey with water
I. With glimpses through its drifting cloud wisps of broad stretches of populous country and narrow, navy-crowded seas
J. The destruction that, generation after generation, creeps upon them (6 points)
*I think D, G, and H
____________________
Read this line from The War of the Worlds:
And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment.
What does this line suggest happened in the twentieth century? (4 points)
People became tired of the fear that haunted them daily.
People grew weary of the way they had been living.
People gave up trying to contact other planets and beings.
People realized they had been naïve to think they were alone.
*I think D but am not sure
_________________
Read this line from The War of the Worlds:
That last stage of exhaustion, which to us is still incredibly remote, has become a present-day problem for the inhabitants of Mars
What does the last stage of exhaustion imply about Mars? (4 points)
The inhabitants have little physical strength left.
The inhabitants of Mars have become ancient.
The planet has moved farther away from the Sun.
The planet is about to use up its resources.
*I think A but am not sure
________________
Read this line from The War of the Worlds excerpt:
At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise.
In seven to 10 complete sentences, explain what the author most likely means by using the phrase "missionary enterprise"? Use information from the text to support your answer.
*Man have believed in the common idea that another civilization may welcome them with open arms. This civilization is particularly extra-terrestrials. In accordance, with this, man also belief that aliens may be a higher intelligence then of the human race. They adapt the common idea that aliens are inferior to humans. They believe that whatever civilizations are out their whether in Mars or other planets that they are physically observing us. They believe they are looking our our planet from afar and observing our own civilization like what we hope to do to theirs. This is what I believe H.G. Wells was referring to.
Can anyone help me?
In the line, "At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise," the author is most likely referring to the idea that humans believed that there might be beings on Mars who, although inferior to them, would be open to being converted to a different belief system or religion. This idea of a "missionary enterprise" suggests that humans thought they could bring their ideas and ways of life to the inhabitants of Mars and convert them to their own civilization. The reference to missionary work implies that humans believed they were superior to the beings on Mars and that it was their duty to spread their beliefs and way of life. The text also mentions that humans believed these beings on Mars would be ready and welcoming to this missionary enterprise, suggesting that humans saw themselves as benevolent and offering something valuable to the inhabitants of Mars.
The central idea of the second paragraph is that humans were observed as if they were insects under a microscope. The passage describes how intelligences greater than man's were closely watching and scrutinizing human activities, comparing it to a man with a microscope scrutinizing transient creatures in a drop of water.
The word "transient" in this text suggests that humans are as temporary as insects that live only a few days. The passage compares the scrutiny of human activities to a man with a microscope scrutinizing creatures that quickly come and go and multiply in a drop of water. Therefore, the idea conveyed by the word "transient" is that humans are seen as temporary beings in comparison to the observing intelligences.
The line from the text that most clearly explains how humans viewed themselves in relation to inhabitants of Mars is "There might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves." According to the passage, humans considered the possibility of there being other beings on Mars, but they believed these beings would be inferior to themselves and would welcome a missionary enterprise.
The inhabitants of Mars have found their "morning star of hope" in our own warmer planet, green with vegetation and grey with water. This is stated in the passage: "And looking across space with instruments, and intelligences such as we have scarcely dreamed of, they see, at its nearest distance only 35,000,000 of miles sunward of them, a morning star of hope, our own warmer planet, green with vegetation and grey with water."
The two quotations that support the answer to Part A (the inhabitants of Mars finding their "morning star of hope") are:
- "Looking across space with instruments, and intelligences such as we have scarcely dreamed of"
- "Our own warmer planet, green with vegetation and grey with water"
The line "And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment" suggests that in the twentieth century, people realized they had been naïve to think they were alone. The phrase "the great disillusionment" implies that people's previous beliefs or illusions were shattered, indicating a realization or awakening to the existence of other intelligences beyond Earth.
The last stage of exhaustion implies that Mars is about to use up its resources. The passage states, "That last stage of exhaustion, which to us is still incredibly remote, has become a present-day problem for the inhabitants of Mars." This suggests that the inhabitants of Mars are facing the depletion of resources and are in a state of exhaustion due to their planet's conditions.
The phrase "missionary enterprise" in the line "At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise" most likely means that humans believed they could bring their religious or cultural beliefs to the inhabitants of Mars. The passage mentions that humans thought there might be other men on Mars, and they believed these beings would be inferior to themselves and would welcome their missionary efforts. This suggests that humans saw the opportunity to spread their beliefs and civilization to the inhabitants of Mars in a similar way that missionaries bring their teachings to foreign lands.