高中外研版英语教材选修8课文

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1、Module1Antarctica:thelastcontinent1______________________________AntarcticaisthecoldestplaceonEarth.It’salsothedriest.Withannualrainfallclosetozero,Antarcticaistechnicallyadesert.Coveringabout14millionsquarekilometresaroundtheSouthPole,itisthefifthlargestcontinentintheworld.Ahighmou

2、ntainrange,theTrans-Antarcticrange,runsfromeasttowest,cuttingthecontinentintwo.Therearevolcanoestoo,buttheyarenotveryactive.Antarcticaholds90%oftheworld’sice,andmostofitsfreshwater(70%)isinafrozenstate,ofcourse.98%ofthesurfaceiscoveredpermanentlyintheicecap.Onaverageitistwokilometre

3、sthick,butinsomeplacesitreachesadepthoffivekilometres.Strongwindsdrivenbygravityblowfromthepoletothecoastline,whileotherwindsblowroundthecoast.Itisdifficulttoimagineamoreinhospitableplace.2______________________________YetAntarcticaisfullofwildlife,whichhasadaptedtoitsextremecondit

4、ions.Therearedifferenttypesofpenguins,flyingbirds,seals,andwhales.ButthelongAntarcticwinternight,whichlastsfor182days(thelongestperiodofcontinuousdarknessonearth),aswellastheextremecoldandlackofrainfall,meansthatfewtypesofplantscansurvivethere.Onlytwotypesoffloweringplantsarefound,w

5、hiletherearenotreesonthelargecontinent.Therestoftheplantsaremadeupofmosses,algaeandlichen.Someformsofalgaehaveadaptedtogrowonice.3______________________________Mostoftheicehasbeenthereforthousandsofyears.Asaresult,ithasbecomeawindowonthepast,andcangiveresearcherslotsofusefulinformat

6、ion.Gasesandminerals,intheformofvolcanicdusttrappedintheice,cantellusalotaboutwhattheworldsclimatewaslikeinpastages.Antarcticrocksarealsoveryimportantforresearch.Mostofthemaremeteoritesfromouterspace.Onerock,knownusthe“Alien”rock,maycontainevidenceofextra-terrestriallife.SincemostAn

7、tarcticrocksarcdarkincolour,theystandoutagainstthewhilebackgroundandareeasytoidentifyandcollect.4______________________________Antarcticawasthelastcontinenttobediscovered.ButmorethantwothousandyearsagoGreekgeographersbelievedthattherewasalargelandmassinthesouthwhichbalancedthelandin

8、thenorth.Theycalled