托福阅读阅读节题专题讲义.docxVIP

1, In view of these facts, scientists hypothesized that a single large asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers across, collided with Earth, and the resulting fallout created the boundary clay. Their calculations show that the impact kicked up a dust cloud that cut off sunlight for several months, inhibiting photosynthesis in plants; decreased surface temperatures on continents to below freezing; caused extreme episodes of acid rain; and significantly raised long-term global temperatures through the greenhouse effect. This disruption of food chain and climate would have eradicated the dinosaurs and other organisms in less than fifty years.考虑到这些事实，科学家们就假设有一个较大的小行星，直径差不多有10到15公里，曾与地球相撞，所以碰撞扬起的灰尘等就形成了这层粘土层。他们的计算表明撞击扬起的灰尘遮挡了阳光达几个月之久，阻止了植物的光合作用，将陆地上的气温降到了零点之下，导致酸雨，通过温室效应造成了长期的、严重的全球升温。这种对食物链和气候的极大扰乱将可使恐龙和其他生物在不到50年的时间内绝迹。T8 (2) 12#12. Paragraph 6 mentions all of the following effects of the hypothesized asteroid collision EXCEPT○a large dust cloud that blocked sunlight○an immediate drop in the surface temperatures of the continents○an extreme decrease in rainfall on the continents○a long-term increase in global temperatures2, Some scientists speculate that Mars may have enjoyed an extended early Period during which rivers, lakes, and perhaps even oceans adorned its surface. A 2003 Mars Global Surveyor image shows what mission specialists think may be a delta―a fan-shaped network of channels and sediments where a river once flowed into a larger body of water, in this case a lake filling a crater in the southern highlands. Other researchers go even further, suggesting that the data provide evidence for large open expenses of water on the early Martian surface. A computer-generated view of the Martian north polar region shows the extent of what may have been an ancient ocean covering much of the northern lowlands. The Hellas Basin, which measures some 3,000 kilometers across and has a floor that lies nearly 9 kilometers below the basin’s rim, is another candidate for an ancient