高中英语Unit4AstronomythescienceofthestarsPeriodOneWarmingUpReading讲义新人教版必修3.docVIP

Unit 4 Astronomy the science of the stars Will the continents join again in the far future? In the beginning，more than 4.6 billion years ago，the world was a ball of burning gas，going round and round through space.At first，hot gases were able to escape into outer space，but as the Earth cooled，they were held by gravity to form the early atmosphere.Clouds began to develop as water vapour collected in the air.And then it began to pour with rain，causing the early oceans to rise up. It took hundreds of millions of years for the first land masses to appear.About 250 million years ago，long，long after the Earth had formed，all the continents of the time had joined together to form a super-continent called Pangaea. This super-continent broke up about 200 million years ago to form two giant continents，Gondwana and Laurasia.Gondwana was made up of what is now Africa，South America，Australia，Antarctica and India.The Indian sub-continent lay off the east coast of Africa，before it broke off and moved north rapidly. It collided with Asia，creating one of the world’s greatest mountain ranges，which extends for more than 2,400 kilometers—the Himalayas.By now，our world had started to look like something we would recognize.The amazing process of plate tectonics(板块构造)，in which the Earth’s land masses move slowly across the Earth’s crust(外壳)，is still continuing. Far in the future，some scientists have predicted that the present continents will join again，to form a new super-continent. Only time will tell... 1.Pangaea n.[海洋]泛大陆；盘古大陆 2.giant adj.巨大的 3.collide vi.碰撞，相撞 判断正(T)误(F) 1.The early oceans appeared because of the rain which developed from hot gases.(T) 2.Pangaea was made up of what is now Africa，South America，Australia，Antarctica and India.(F) 3.Only time will tell whether the present continents will join again.(T) Period One　Warming Up，Pre-reading Reading Ⅰ.单词检测 1.astronomy n.天文学 2.system n.系统；体系；制度 3.religion n.宗教；宗教信仰 4.theory n.学说；理论 5.violent adj.猛烈的；激烈的；强暴的 6.atmosphere n.大气层；气