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课件网) 语境20 地球与宇宙奥秘探索 语境20 地球与宇宙奥秘探索 Ⅰ.阅读理解 A The ocean covers approximately 70％ of Earth’s surface. It’s the largest livable space on our planet， and there’s more life there than anywhere else on Earth. Through exploration， we’re learning more about its biological， chemical， physical， and geological(地质的) aspects. Exploration leads to discovery， but before we can truly explore， we must map. Seafloor mapping provides a sense of what may lie beneath and guides decisions about where to explore. While the entire seafloor has been mapped using data collected from satellites， these data provide only a general picture of what’s there. Detail is limited on these maps， so some important geographical features like seamounts and objects like shipwrecks(失事船只) remain unseen. As of 2023， 24.9％ of the global seafloor had been mapped with modern high－resolution(高分辨率的) technology， usually fixed on ships， which can reveal the seafloor in greater detail. While almost 50％ of the seafloor beneath US waters had been mapped to these modern standards， the nation’s seafloor is larger than the land area of all 50 states. Thus， there’s still a significant amount of seafloor left to be mapped at high resolution. More is known about the seafloor than the species that call the ocean home. Seafloor maps can provide information about potential habitats， but they can’t identify species on the seafloor or provide information about how they interact with each other and their environments. Scientists estimate there may be between 700，000 and 1 million species in the ocean. Roughly two－thirds of these species have yet to be discovered or officially described， with almost 2，000 new species accepted by the scientific community each year. We have a great deal more to learn about our ocean and what lives in it， but progress is being made. We learn more and more each year. But the ocean will never be fully explored. Earth is constantly changing， and it’s important to understand these changes given the importance of the ocean in our everyday lives. 【文章大意】 本文是一篇说明文。作者详细解释了海洋探索的重要性、海底测绘的现状、海洋生物的多样性以及我们对海洋及其生物的了解程度。文章通过提供数据、事实和科学估计来支持其观点，并强调了继续探索和研究海洋的必要性。 1. Why is seafloor mapping important for exploring the ocean？ A. It reveals all objects on the seafloor. B. It shows the seafloor in greater detail. C. It guides decisions about where to sail. D. It provides a general picture of the earth. 解析：细节理解题。根据第二段“Seafloor mapping provides a sense of what may lie beneath and guides decisions about where to explore. While the entire seafloor has been mapped using data collected from satellites， these data provide only a general picture of what’s there. Detail is limited on these maps， so some important geographical features like seamounts and ... ...
