场景分类训练(上)-地球科学

地球科学 第一篇（恐龙消失） 1. What are the speakers mainly discussing? A．The evolution of dinosaurs B．How craters are formed C．The effects of global climate change D．Why many species disappeared from North America 2. Why does the woman think the man would have enjoyed the class? A．He used to live in the northwestern United States. B．He is interested in dinosaurs. C．He wants to become a geologist. D．He has always been fascinated by comets. 3. What geological evidence did the researchers give to support their theory? A．Radiocarbon dating of rock layers B．The shape of the crater C．Dust from the comet found all over the world D．Fossils of dinosaur bones 4. Based on the conversation, why did some animal species survive the extinction of the dinosaur? A．They lived underground. B．Their body temperatures were constant year round. C．They were no bigger than mice. D．Their bodies were covered with hair. ★Listen to a conversation between two students W: I think you would have enjoyed my geology class this morning. M: Don’t bet on it. I’ve never cared much about rocks. W: But you do care about dinosaurs I recall and today we discuss the geological evidence about what may have killed off the dinosaurs at least here in North America. M: Oh, sure. They got hit by a comet or something. I think. W: Well, Yeah, about 60 million years ago, a huge comet did crash into earth down in Mexico and it plowed out as an enormous crater over a hundred miles across. M: And that’s what why death the dinosaurs, right? W: Well, it wasn’t exactly the impact itself but what happed right afterward. You see researchers figured out from the shape of the crater that the comet must be coming in pretty low across the Atlantic and so right after the impact a huge cloud of fire river must have swept clear across the north America, all in just a few minutes. And that what probably kill off not just the dinosaurs but a lot of different species of plants and animals. M: Amazing! W: Yeah! And even 2000 miles from the impact, plants would have been burst in the flames. M: And the fire that intense must destroy just about everything! W: Well, above ground anyway. M: Above ground? Say! I wonder if it that explains why the dinosaurs all disappeared but some other animals, like maybe small mammals, living underground managed to survive. W: Make sense. Anyhow later on the tons of dusts that thrown away out into the atmosphere may have caused some global climate change. So eventually the comet probably affected plants and animals species all around the world but nowhere as much as North America. 词汇讲解： 1. geology 地质学 2. rock 岩，岩石，磐石，岩壁 3. dinosaur 【古生物学】恐龙 4. comet 【天文学】彗星；【航空】彗星机 5. plow 犁，耕；开(沟)，作(畦)；【木工】挖沟(槽) 6. Atlantic .大西洋的 Correct answers: D B B A 第二篇（地球学） 1. What does the professor mainly discuss? A．The increased accuracy of scientific measurements B．Why so many reservoirs have been built C．Why the length of a day has changed D．The importance of water to human life 2. Why does the professor discuss reservoirs? A．To explain how human activity has affected the rotation of the Earth B．To illustrate how a serious problem has been corrected C．To give an example of how water affects human settlement D．To describe how a lot of people receive water nowadays 3. How have reservoirs affected the water on the surface of the Earth? A．They have changed its temperature. B．They have polluted it. C．They have increased its mineral content. D．They have redistributed it. 4. What does the professor say has happened to the length of a day since 1950 ? A．It has remained the same. B．It has increased a little. C．It has gotten slightly shorter. D．It has decreased greatly. 5. Why does the professor describe the spinning of an ice skater? A．To illustrate how water is drawn to reservoirs B．To compare it to the spinning of the Earth C．To explain the effect of gravity on the movement of water D．To give an example of using reservoirs for recreation ★Listen to part of the lecture in a class on Earth Science We’ve been talking about some of the affects that the human beings so act on the earth. One that you may not be aware of is that we’ve actually begun to change the length of the day. The other we say that one day is the amount of time the earth need to spend completely around on axis. And the imagery line runs through the center of the earth from north to south. And of course there are a lot of physical causes that can affect the spin of the earth rotation but there is only one that can direct result of the human activity. Since 1950, human beings have built about ten thousand artificial reservoirs all over the world. These reservoirs have redistributed tremendous amount of the earth water. When they are used to be in the area near the equator and the imagery line on surround the middle of the earth is now the reservoirs in the areas of different latitudes. The latitude matters because, well, think of the earth and its axis, the equator contains the areas on the earth that are the farthest way from axis. So water has been redistributed from the equator reasons, then wherever the water is, to it’s close to the earth axis. It’s like when ice skaters perform spins when those skaters put their arms enclose to their bodies they spin faster. So the earth is spinning faster because the reservoirs have redistributed the water closer to its axis. And because the earth is spinning fast, since 1950 the length of day has decreased by about 8 millionth of a second. I know that doesn’t sound like much but significant in that this is the first time that human beings ever had miserable affect on the earth motion. 词汇讲解： 1. axis 地轴 2. imagery line 意象线 3. spin 【物理学】自转 4. rotation 【天文学】自转 5. artificial reservoir 人工水库 6. redistribute 重新分配，再分配；重新划分 7. equator (地球或天球的)赤道 8. latitude 【天文学】黄纬 Correct answers: C A D C B 第三篇（气象学） 1. What is the talk mainly about? A．How scientists measure the temperature in cities B．How an urban environment affects the weather C．Effects of weather on urban lifestyles D．The process of evaporation 2. According to the professor, how do hard surfaces contribute to higher temperatures in cities? A．They reflect sunlight. B．They prevent evaporation. C．They create friction with moving vehicles. D．They are a source of dust particles. 3. According to the professor, what is one reason temperatures vary within cities? A．Paved areas do not release heat quickly. B．Areas near stoplights are cooler because cars are not moving quickly. C．Heavily traveled areas are warmer than less traveled areas. D．Parks are warmer than paved areas because trees draw heat from the air. 4. What two reasons does the professor give for increased rainfall in cities? Click on 2 answers. A．Low land elevation B．Low concentration of plant life C．High temperatures D．High concentration of dust E．High population density 5. What does the professor say about fog and clouds? A．They appear more often in cities than in surrounding areas. B．They usually form near tall buildings. C．They are more prevalent during certain seasons. D．They evaporate more quickly in the warmer urban environment. 6. What pattern do climatologists believe is emerging in cities? A．As cities grow larger, there is less rainfall. B．Average temperatures are decreasing every year. C．Increased rainfall is leading to more frequent flooding. D．There is more rainfall during the workweek than there is on weekends. ★ Listen to a talk given by a professor of Meteorology First of all, let’s look at why temperatures tend to be higher in city than in the rural area. This happens because almost 50 percent of the urban areas are comprised of hard surfaces like paved street, parking lot, buildings and roof tops. As the result, any amount of rainfall is quickly repelled by this service and carried away by storm drains and gutters. Especially water just doesn’t have the chance to stand around until evaporate and during the process of the evaporation that heat is removed from the air. So in cities where there is less evaporation temperatures will be higher and of course there are also be issue of added heat coming from building heating system, from industry, cars and even human body. Even we being in the city itself, temperatures can vary significantly. For example, in winter, streets that get a lot of use will be a lot of use will be 2 or 3 degree warmer than less travel streets. In place where car sits for a while like a stoplight can be in another 3 degrees warmer. On the other hand, low spots in the city where cold air collect will be much colder than higher places. Rain and snowfall are also affected by urbanization. Cities tend to get quiet less snowfall than the surrounding countryside because of warmer temperature in the city. But rainfall in the city can be 5 to 10 percent higher. That happens because of two factors. First, the warmer city temperature, second the larger number of dust particles in the urban air. It seems dust particles are important requirement for condensation. The water vapor in the atmosphere is able to change to liquid by planning to dust particles suspended in the air. So where there’s the higher number of dust particles, condensation take place more easily. That’s why fogs and clouds are usually more frequent around the city. Once condensation takes place the rainfall is not far behind. In the London area, for example, thunderstorms can produce 30 percent more rainfall than the surrounding countryside. Some urban climatologists go so far as they argue that they can see a pattern increasing the rainfall during the workweek. They believe rainfall amounts are small around the weekend because the dust particle generated by cars and factories are reduced. 词汇讲解： 1. comprise 包含，包括；由…组成 2. pave 铺(路) (with), 作铺设…之用 3. repel 【物理学】反拨，排斥，弹回 4. drain .排水渠；下水道，阴沟；〔pl.〕 (建筑物的)排水系统 5. gutter 沟，边沟，街沟，明沟 6. evaporation 蒸发(作用)，发散，升华沉淀作用 7. urbanization 城市化；使具有城市特点 8. condensation .浓缩；【物理学】冷凝(作用)，凝聚(作用)；压缩；缩 合；凝块 Correct answers: B B C C D A D 第四篇（地质学） 1. What is the main topic of the talk? A．The changing length of a day B．The formation of one kind of rock C．The cause of the tidal cycle D．The strength of the Moon's gravitational pull 2. What does the professor say about the origin of the rock samples? A．They were formed deep under the ocean. B．They were formed in the same way as rocks found on the Moon. C．They were worn away by the waves. D．They were once part of an ancient shoreline. 3. What was learned by studying rocks like those shown in class? A．The approximate age of the Earth B．The approximate date of the first living things C．The number of months in a year long ago D．The size of ancient oceans 4. Why does the professor mention a bicycle wheel? A．To show how the Moon circles the Earth B．To explain the effect of the Moon's gravity C．To illustrate patterns in the rock samples D．To describe the cycle of the seasons 5. According to the professor, how was the Earth different a billion years ago? A．It rotated faster. B．Its weather was more extreme. C．Its tides were not as high. D．The composition of its rocks was not as varied. ★Listen to a talk in a Geology class I often hear my friends say that the days pass much more quickly than they used to. But geologically speaking just the opposite is true. In fact, a complete day which now lasts 24 hours actually used to be much shorter only about 18. How do we know that? Because of a number of finally strata rocks like these. Rock form belong ancient shorelines almost billion years ago. The tiny lines of these samples show us layer of light and dark formed by dust blown over the shoreline from the landsite. Alternating was the mud and sand deposited by the waves. So the space between one dark strata and the next emphases of the time between on month high tide and the next. And very in fitness of layer show us the circle of the season as well. Together the data indicate there were fewer months for year way back then. That means that the Moon was moving more slowly than as it revolved around the Earth. So what caused the Moon do speed up so much over last billion years? It must be the tides. Think about it. As the gravity of Moon pulls on the oceans to form the tides, all that water is also pulling on the Moon and with each rotation it makes the Moon move a tiny bit faster. At the same time, like the brakes on the wheel of bicycle, the drag caused by the Moon’s gravity makes the Earth turn just a tiny bit slower. And so after a billion years or so, one rotation meaning one day takes a lot longer than it once did. 词汇讲解： 1. strata stratum 的复数形式 地层；层 2. shoreline 大陆海岸线 Correct answers: A D C B A 第五篇（火山） 1. What does the professor mainly discuss? A．How volcanoes are formed B．The destruction caused by volcanoes C．The material expelled from volcanoes D．Why volcanoes erupt 2. What does the professor say about the use of the term“eruption” in geology? A．It should be used only when talking about volcanoes. B．It does not always refer to an explosion. C．It should not be used to describe flowing lava. D．It is rarely used by volcano experts. 3. What does the word “pyroclastics” refer to? A．Locations where volcanoes are likely to occur B．Damage created by lava flows C．Volcanoes that erupt frequently D．Volcanic rock ejected during an eruption 4. According to the professor, what is emitted in a pyroclastic flow? A．Baseball-sized rocks B．An extremely hot mixture of gas and rock C．A slow-moving river of lava D．A large cloud of dust and ashes 5. What does the professor use the example of the eruption of Mount Pelée to show? A．How destructive a pyroclastic flow can be B．How scientists were able to predict a volcanic eruption C．How large some volcanic rocks can be D．How a volcano forms ★Listen to part of a lecture in a Geology class Most of you are probably familiar with the flow of lava that can result from a volcanic eruption. Lava actually being mixture of magma and convince to be produce underground. And many people think this eruption refers only to an explosion, but in geology an eruption is any release of magma. This can and often does common the form of the explosion. But sometimes the magma just blows out over the mouth of volcano. In any event, let's take a look now at some of the other hazards caused by volcanic events. Pyroclastics is the word used to describe the fragmentary rocks that were rejected during the volcanic eruption. A pyroclastics fall is combination of rock fragments and fluid fire lava that built in the air. This project tiles can be just tiny piece of ash or they can be rock fragments that are typically the size of baseball or volleyball. Although some can be so enormous they weigh many tons, the most dangerous of all volcanic events is what we call a pyroclastic flow, in this explosion, there are tremendous released pressure and these result in avalanche of super heated mixture of gas and rock. This glowing avalanche as it called can reach the temperature of 1000 degree centigrade and can travel as far as 600 kilometers in an hour. It can literally destroy everything as it passed. And that's what happen when Mount Pelée erupt on Martinique island in 1902. Within minutes after the volcano erupted, the town of Saint Pierre was completely wiped out. 词汇讲解： lava 【地质学；地理学】熔岩；火山岩 volcanic eruption 火山爆发 magma 【地质学；地理学】岩浆 hazard 危险；公害；事故，意外 fragmentary 【地质学；地理学】碎屑质的，断岩的 pyroclastics 【地质学；地理学】火成碎屑物(的) avalanche 雪崩，崩落，崩坠 Correct answers: C B D B A