The first breath-taking pictures of the Earth taken from space showed it as a solid ball covered by brown land masses and blue-green oceans. We had never seen the Earth from that distance before. To us, it appeared as though the Earth had always looked that way and always would. Scientists now know, however, that the surface of the Earth is not as permanent as we had thought.
Scientists explain that the surface of our planet is always moving. Continents moves about the Earth like huge ships at sea. They float on pieces of the Earth’s outer skin. New outer skin is created as melted rock pushed up from below the ocean floor. Old outer skin is destroyed as it rolls down into the hot area and melts again.
Only since the 1960s have scientists really began to understand that the planet Earth is a great living machine. Some experts have said this new understanding is one of the most important revolutions in scientific thought. The revolution is based on the work of scientists who study the movement of the continents—a science called plate tectonics.
The modern story of plate tectonics begins with the German scientist Alfred Wegener. Before World War One, Wegener argued that the continents had moved and were still moving. He said the idea first occurred to him when he observed that the coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. He proposed that the two continents might have been one and then split apart.
Wegener was not the first person to wonder about the shape of the continents. About 500 years ago, explorers thought about it when they made the first maps of Americas. The explorers noted the east coast of North America and South America would fit almost exactly into the west coast of Europe and South Africa. What the explorers did not do, but Wegener did, was to investigate the idea that the continents move.
1. What does the writer mainly tell us in the passage?
A. The first breath-taking pictures of the Earth taken from space.
B. Human’s recognition of the earth’s surface.
C. The German scientist Alfred Wegener.
D. The early explorers’ discovery.
2. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. We didn’t see the Earth from far away until we saw the picture taken in the space.
B. Our ancient thought that the surface of the earth is still.
C. Alfred Wegener was not the first person to investigate the idea that the continents move.
D. The coastline of India and Africa fit together.
3. The last word of the third paragraph “tectonics” mean “________”.
A. study of construction
B. study of architecture
C. earth surface
D. structural geology
4. What did the explorers find?
A. The coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together.
B. The coastlines of North America and Africa could fit together.
C. The east coastlines of North America and the west coast of Europe could fit together.
D.The coastlines of North America and India could fit together.
【答案與解析】
1. B 主旨大意題。根據文章第 1 段最后一句中的 however 及全文內容可知，文章主要談論人類對地殼表面的形成的認識。故答案選 B。
2. A 推理判斷題。根據文章第 1 段的第 1、2 句可知，人們直到看到從太空對地球所拍的照片后才知道從遠方看地球的情形。故答案選 A。
3. D 詞義猜測題。根據其所在的句子 who study the movement of the continents—a science called plate… 及地理常識可知答案選 D。
4. C 事實細節題。根據文章最后一段中的 The explorers noted the east coast of North America and South America would fit almost exactly into the west coast of Europe and South Africa 及倒數第 2 段中的 the coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together like two pieces of a puzzle 可知答案應該選 C。
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