Question

    Everybody knows that Earth spins from west to east. That is to say, it appears to be turning counterclockwise (逆时针) rapidly when viewed from above the North Pole. But what if Earth started spinning the other way?

Scientists from Germany have made a computer simulation in which Earth spins in the opposite direction—clockwise when viewed from above the North Pole. This showed them some interesting things about the weather and geography on Earth, Live Science reported.

As Earth spins in a counterclockwise direction, it shapes certain ocean currents(洋流). The direction of ocean currents, together with winds, produces different weathers around the globe. But a backward spin changes the ocean currents and winds. ▲ Western areas of the lands on Earth cool down as the eastern parts warm up. Winters become even colder in northwestern Europe, while eastern Russia becomes warmer than before. Rain no longer falls on the planet's wettest places.

Another result of a backward spin is that Earth becomes greener. Scientists found that global desert(沙漠) areas reduce from 42 million square kilometers to 31 million square kilometers. This may have something to do with the changing weather. Therefore, you can see rich green landscapes from Central Africa to the Middle East, which are mostly covered with deserts now. More surprisingly, the Sahara Desert becomes an oasis.

However, deserts don't disappear. They just appear in some places in which they never appeared before. Deserts would cover North America, where countries like the United States and Canada lie. Sand dunes would replace the Amazon rainforest in South America.

A backward spin would keep the main features of Earth's geography, such as the size, shapes and positions of lands and oceans. But it would change the interactions between circulating air, ocean and geography lead scientist Florian Ziemen told Live Science.

1.Which of the following sentences can be put in the blank of Paragraph 3?

A.Anyway deserts cover the planet. B.Therefore, the weather is different.

C.However the positions of oceans changes. D.Surprisingly the area of lands is larger.

2.The underlined word "oasis" in Paragraph 4 means________.

A.a place in a desert where there is sand and stones all over

B.a rich land in a desert where the water table is near the surface

C.a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land or an ocean

D.a large smooth area which is over 500 metres above the sea level

3.What would a backward spin bring to Earth?

A.The direction of ocean currents and winds would be different.

B.Rain would no longer fall on western areas of the lands on Earth.

C.Deserts would become larger and cover the planet's wettest places.

D.The size, shapes and positions of lands and oceans would be changed.

4.The passage is most probably taken from a magazine on ________.

A.history B.travel C.entertainment D.geography

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】

文章大意：文章主要讲的是每个人都知道地球从西向东转，那么如果颠倒了地球自转方向会发生什么呢？来自德国的科学家们做了这样一个假设的实验，他们颠倒了地球的自转方向，发现地球上的洋流、气候都发生了变化。

1.

.细节理解题。根据文中“But a backwards spin changes the ocean currents and winds. Therefore, the climate(气候)is different”“但是反向旋转会改变洋流和风。因此，气候是不同的”可知，句子“ Therefore, the weather is different.”可以放在第3段的空白处，故答案为B。

2.

词义猜测题。根据文中“Therefore, you can see rich green landscapes from Central Africa to the Middle East, which are mostly covered with deserts now. More surprisingly, the Sahara Desert becomes an oasis.” 因此，从中非到中东，你可以看到丰富的绿色景观，现在大部分都是沙漠。更令人惊讶的是，撒哈拉沙漠变成了____。可推出第4段中带下划线的“oasis”一词的意思是“绿洲”，故答案为B。

3.

细节理解题。根据文中“A backward spin would keep the main features of Earth's geography, such as the size, shapes and positions of lands and oceans. But it would change the interactions between circulating air, ocean and geography lead scientist Florian Ziemen told Live Science.” 向后旋转将保持地球地理的主要特征，如陆地和海洋的大小、形状和位置。但它将改变空气、海洋和地理之间的相互作用，首席科学家弗洛里安·齐曼告诉美国生命科学网。可知，向后旋转会给地球带来洋流和风的方向的不同。故答案为A。

4.

理解判断题。根据文章内容可知，主要讲的是每个人都知道地球从西向东转，那么如果颠倒了地球自转方向会发生什么呢？来自德国的科学家们做了这样一个假设的实验，他们颠倒了地球的自转方向，发现地球上的洋流、气候都发生了变化。可知，这段话很可能是从一本“地理”杂志上摘取的。故答案为D。