Question

We hope you've finally made your peace with Pluto being downgraded from a planet to an ice dwarf (冰矮星)，because we have some more jarring news for you : It seems your teachers may have been wrong about the number of continents on the earth，too.

Earlier this year, scientists published a report in the journal of the Geological Society of America detailing an eighth continent called Zealandia, roughly the size of India and almost completely hid itself under the Pacific Ocean east of Australia. Covering all of New Zealand as well as several nearby islands, Zealandia likely spent the best of its above-water days as part of the supercontinent Gondwana before fragmenting off Australia and Antarctica some 80 million years ago. This lost, underwater continent is just beginning to reveal its secrets, making for one of the most promising scientific discoveries this year.

While researchers have been aware of the 1. 9 million-square-mile mass for two decades， Zealandia has only recently become the object of serious study since the Geological Society paper argued that it fits all the criteria for a proper continent, including a continental crust (地壳)that's distinctly separate from the seabed in terms of elevation, thickness, and geology. A team of 32 scientists from 12 countries just completed their first visit to six dig sites around Zealandia, where they drilled up more than 8,000 feet of sediment cores (沉积物岩心)that will help explain the lost continent's 80-million-year history.

Because there is no official body that formally recognizes continents, whether or not Zealandia ends up in future geography textbooks will come down to its acceptance by the scientific community at large, possibly with a little help from travelers like you.

1.Why does the author mention Pluto?

A. To express his or her pity.

B. To introduce the topic.

C. To go against the teachers»

D. To explain the ice dwarf.

2.What do we know about Zealandia in Paragraph 2?

A. It neighbors Australia.

B. It belongs to Gondwana now.

C. It is similar to Antarctica in size.

D. It has a history of over 80 billion years.

3.What can most probably help discover more secrets about Zealandia?

A. The sediment cores on Zealandia.

B. The wildlife in New Zealand.

C. The standard for a continent.

D. The seabed near Antarctica.

4.Where does the text probably come from?

A. A travel brochure.

B. An advertisement.

C. An geography magazine.

D. A science fiction.

Answer

1. B

2. A

3. A

4. C

【解析】

本文为说明文。众所周知，地球上有七大洲，但是最近科学家们却发现，地球上有可能存在第八大洲，就是现在新西兰等周边岛屿所在的地方，但尚待科学的进一步论证。

1.推理判断题。从整篇文章来看，本篇文章主要是介绍可能存在的地球上的第八个大洲，这是令人吃惊的，第一段提到Pluto被降级这件事起初是非常吃惊的，但文章话锋一转提到地理上的大洲，从而引出本文话题。分析选项可知B符合题意，故选B。

2.推理判断题。文章第二段roughly the size of India表明它大体上与印度大小一致而不是南极洲，故C项不正确；“Zealandia likely spent the best of its above-water days as part of the supercontinent Gondwana before fragmenting off Australia and Antarctica some 80 million years ago”表明了它八千万年以前与澳洲和南极洲同属于古超级大陆冈瓦那大陆，故B和D项是错误的，A项正确。故选A。

3.细节理解题。根据第三段最后的“A team of 32 scientists from 12 countries just completed their first visit to six dig sites around Zealandia, where they drilled up more than 8,000 feet of sediment cores (沉积物岩心)that will help explain the lost continent's 80-million-year history”可知，通过获得钻出地下的沉积物岩心，科学家可以了解到具有八千万年的历史的Zealandia更多历史。故选A。

4.推理判断题。本篇文章讲述的是有关地理方面的一个隐藏很久的可能的世界第八大洲，就学科方面来讲属于地理方面的知识，因此，本篇文章很可能来自于某地理杂志。故选C。