戴爾美語練功坊 托福閱讀實力測驗題 6/30 - 英檢

戴爾美語練功坊 托福閱讀實力測驗試題(6/30日)

RUNNING WATER ON MARS


Photographic evidence suggests that liquid water once existed in great
quantity on the surface of Mars. Two types of flow features are seen:
runoff channels and outflow channels. Runoff channels are found in the
southern highlands. These flow features are extensive systems -
sometimes hundreds of kilometers in total length - of interconnecting,
twisting channels that seem to merge into larger, wider channels. They
bear a strong resemblance to river systems on Earth, and geologists
think that they are dried-up beds of long-gone rivers that once carried
rainfall on Mars from the mountains down into the valleys. Runoff
channels on Mars speak of a time 4 billion years ago (the age of the
Martian highlands), when the atmosphere was thicker, the surface
warmer, and liquid water widespread.

Outflow channels are probably relics of catastrophic flooding on Mars
long ago. (A)■ They appear only in equatorial regions and generally do
not form extensive interconnected networks. (B)■ Instead, they are
probably the paths taken by huge volumes of water draining from the
southern highlands into the northern plains. (C)■ The onrushing water
arising from these flash floods likely also formed the odd teardrop-
shaped "islands" (resembling the miniature versions seen in the wet
sand of our beaches at low tide) that have been found on the plains
close to the ends of the outflow channels. (D)■ Judging from the
width and depth of the channels, the flow rates must have been truly
enormous - perhaps as much as a hundred times greater than the 105
tons per second carried by the great Amazon River. Flooding shaped
the outflow channels approximately 3 billion years ago, about the same
times as the northern volcanic plains formed.

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 expanses 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 Martian sea.

These ideas remain controversial. Proponents point to features such as
the terraced "beaches" shown in one image, which could conceivably
have been left behind as a lake or ocean evaporated and the shoreline
receded. But detractors maintain that the terraces could also have been
created by geological activity, perhaps related to the geologic forces
that depressed the Northern Hemisphere far below the level of the
south, in which case they have nothing whatever to do with Martian
water. Furthermore, Mars Global Surveyor data released in 2003 seem
to indicate that the Martian surface contains too few carbonate rock
layers - layers containing compounds of carbon and oxygen - that
should have been formed in abundance in an ancient ocean. Their
absence supports the picture of a cold, dry Mars that never experienced
the extended mild period required to form lakes and oceans. However,
more recent data imply that at least some parts of the planet did in fact
experience long periods in the past during which liquid water existed
on the surface.

Aside from some small-scale gullies (channels) found since 2000, which
are inconclusive, astronomers have no direct evidence for liquid water
anywhere on the surface of Mars today, and the amount of water vapor
in the Martian atmosphere is tiny, yet even setting aside the unproven
implications of ancient oceans, the extent of the past. Where did all the
water go? The answer may be that virtually all the water on Mars is now
locked in the permafrost layer under the surface, with more contained
in the planet's polar caps.

1. The word " merge " in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) expand
(B) separate
(C) straighten out
(D) combine

2. What does the discussion in paragraph 1 of runoff channels in the
southern highlands suggest about Mars?
(A) The atmosphere of Mars was once thinner than it is today.
(B) Large amounts of rain once fell on parts of Mars.
(C) The river systems of Mars were once more extensive than Earth's.
(D) The rivers of Mars began to dry up about 4 billion years ago.

3. The word " miniature " in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) cognitive
(B) small
(C) weird
(D) countless

4. In paragraph 2, why does the author include the information that 105
tons of water flow through the Amazon River per second?
(A) To emphasize the great size of the volume of water that seems
to have flowed through Mars' outflow channels
(B) To indicate data used by scientists to estimate how long ago
Mars' outflow channels were formed
(C) To argue that flash floods on Mars may have been powerful
enough to cause tear-shaped "islands" to form
(D) To argue that the force of flood waters on Mars was powerful
enough to shape the northern volcanic plains

5. According to paragraph 2, all of the following are true of the outflow
channels on Mars EXCEPT:
(A) They formed at around the same time that volcanic activity was
occurring on the northern plains.
(B) They are found only on certain parts of the Martian surface.
(C) They sometimes empty onto what appear to have once been the
wet sands of tidal beaches.
(D) They are thought to have carried water northward from the
equatorial regions.

6. According to paragraph 3, images of Mars' surface have been
interpreted as support for the idea that
(A) the polar regions of Mars were once more extensive than they
are now
(B) a large part of the northern lowlands may once have been under
water
(C) deltas were once a common feature of the Martian landscape
(D) the shape of the Hellas Basin has changed considerably over time

7. According to paragraph 4, what do the 2003 Global Surveyor data
suggest About Mars?
(A) Ancient oceans on Mars contained only small amounts of carbon.
(B) The climate of Mars may not have been suitable for the formation
of large bodies of water.
(C) Liquid water may have existed on some parts of Mars' surface for
long periods of time.
(D) The ancient oceans that formed on Mars dried up during periods
of cold, dry weather.


Answers:
1. These flow features are extensive systems - sometimes hundreds of
kilometers in total length - of interconnecting, twisting channels that
seem to merge into larger, wider channels.
根據文章這些火星上之河流互相連結交錯形成大型且廣闊之渠道, 因此可清
楚判斷 " merge" 合併,答案為 D .

2. What does the discussion in paragraph 1 of runoff channels in the
southern highlands suggest about Mars?
根據題幹- key words 為 runoff channels / southern highlands
原文定位第一段, They bear a strong resemblance to river systems
on Earth, and geologists think that they are dried-up beds of long-gone
rivers that once carried rainfall on Mars from the mountains down into
the valleys. Runoff channels on Mars speak of a time 4 billion years
ago (the age of the Martian highlands), when the atmosphere was
thicker, the surface warmer, and liquid water widespread.
從上述解讀 --- 這些在火星上乾涸之河床過去曾經挾帶著雨水從高山往下游
河谷流過, 故而符合 (B) Large amounts of rain once fell on parts of Mars.
正確答案為: B

3. The word " miniature " in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) cognitive
(B) small
(C) weird
(D) countless
miniature --- 縮小圖 / 縮小的
答案為 (B) cognitive 認知的; weird奇怪的; countless 無數的

3. In paragraph 2, why does the author include the information that 105
tons of water flow through the Amazon River per second?
作者為何提出" 每秒105噸之河水流經亞馬遜河"
此題主要測驗"修辭目的" (Rhetorical Purpose)
原文 --- Judging from the width and depth of the channels, the flow
rates must have been truly enormous - perhaps as much as a hundred
times greater than the 105 tons per second carried by the great Amazon
River.
由廣闊級及深的河道可判斷出當時在火星上之流水必定是非常巨大如同
每秒105 噸之河水流經亞馬遜河" 一樣.
(A) To emphasize the great size of the volume of water that seems
to have flowed through Mars' outflow channels
答案為: A

5. 題目為關於outflow channels 何者為非?
針對此種否定訊息細節題型 ----
Except / Not ---- 可利用文中是否出現負向字詞(negative words)
或列舉 (enumeration) 之技巧進行解題.
(A) 選項對應原文 --- Flooding shaped the outflow channels
approximately 3 billion years ago, about the same times as the
northern volcanic plains formed.
(B) 選項對應原文 --- They appear only in equatorial regions and
generally do not form extensive interconnected networks.
僅只出現於火星之赤道地區.
(C) outflow channels 偶爾從一度曾是如有潮汐之濕地沙灘般而變乾,
原文並無此訊息.
(D) 選項對應原文 --- they are probably the paths taken by huge
volumes of water draining from the southern highlands into the
northern plains. Outflow channels 挾帶大量水由南方高地往北方
平原流.
除C 之外; A / B / D 於原文皆有提及.
答案為: C

6. 關於火星之地表之圖像可解釋:
Other researchers go even further, suggesting that the data provide
evidence for large open expanses 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.
(B) 火星之北部低地過去曾經為古代之海洋所覆蓋.
答案為: B

7. 有關2003 Global Surveyor data 可暗示出?
文章段落敘述--- Mars Global Surveyor data released in 2003 seem to
ndicate that the Martian surface contains too few carbonate rock layers
- layers containing compounds of carbon and oxygen - that should have
been formed in abundance in an ancient ocean.
指出火星地表上之碳酸鹽岩石層含量過少, 而此種岩石層由碳與氧所構
成之化合物, 此混合物是在古代海洋最豐富之元素.
因此可判斷火星上無法有利形成大量水之條件.
正確答案為 B .

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