阅读理解
For
centuries, people wondered how big the Earth was. Unfortunately, although the
Earth was flat, no one was able to figure out its size. Gradually, however,
people began to realize that the Earth was really round.
Then,
in the third century BC (2, 300 years ago), a Greek man named Eratosthenes had
an idea. Eratosthenes was sure that the Earth was a sphere. He used the sun and
geometry(几何学) to figure out the size of the Earth. He calculated that the
circumference(圆周) of the Earth was 28, 600 miles(46, 000
kilometers).The true size of the Earth is 25, 000 miles (40, 000 kilometers).
Eratosthenes'
measurement was wrong, but it was very close to the truth.
For
many centuries after Eratosthenes lived, people made maps of the Earth. However,
they did not know very much about the world outside of Europe, Asia, and North
Africa. Mapmakers could not draw accurate maps of the Earth until people began
traveling around the world in the fifteenth century, mapping small areas each
time. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, people began making correct
maps of countries, but the first accurate maps of the world were not made until
the 1890s.
Maps
today are reliable, inexpensive, and easy to understand. People depend on maps
every day. What would our lives be like without them?
(1)
A sphere is a ________.
A . large shape
B . planet
C . ball shape
D . member of the sun family
(2)
What's a synonym(同义词) for "figure out"?
A . geometry
B . calculate
C . make out
D . understand
(3)
The first correct maps of the world were made ________.
A . in the 15th century
B . in the 18th century
C . in the 19th century
D . in the 20th century
答案: C
B
C