消失上亿年的古老大陆被发现

A lost piece of land that broke off and fell to the bottom of the ocean 155 million years ago has been found. The discovery of the land has been like finding the missing piece of a puzzle for geologists studying the way Earth’s continents have changed over time. The almost 5000km-wide piece of land called “Argoland” is believed to have broken off Australia as part of the continental drift (大陆漂移) that occurred in the Jurassic period when dinosaurs such as the Tyrannosaurus and Stegosaurus lived on the Earth.
Geologists (地质学家) Eldert Advokaat and Douwe van Hinsbergen from Utrecht University in the Netherlands found the lost land deep in the Indian Ocean. They said Argoland had been very arduous to find and that some scientists had questioned whether it had fallen into the Earth’s mantle (地幔), the layer beneath the crust. The two geologists said they believe it broke off from Australia and then drifted toward Southeast Asia. But this theory had been impossible to prove until the land was discovered.
Another theory was that small pieces of the land had started to break off 300 million years ago. But, an empty area off Australia called the Argo Abyssal Plain, made geologists believe the missing piece of the lost continent could still be out there. When they found the missing piece of land, they were finally able to piece together enough evidence to prove it was real.
Hinsbergen said being able to piece together the way continents formed and broke apart was important because it helped scientists understand how the planet’s biological diversity and climate had evolved over time. It also helped scientists to understand how mountains had formed and how plate tectonics(板块构造) worked. Hinsbergen said the discovery of Argoland proved the land hadn’t disappeared into the mantle. If that theory had not been proved wrong it would have caused “a major scientific problem”, he said.

1.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the first paragraph?

A When the piece of land got lost.

B Who found the lost piece of land.

C The size of the lost piece of land.

D The name of the lost piece of land.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据第一段中的“155 million years ago”“The almost 5000km-wide piece of land called ‘Argoland’”可知，第一段中介绍了“消失的大陆”的消失时间、面积以及名称。第一段中没提到是谁发现它的。故选B。

2.What does the underlined word “arduous” probably mean?

A Important.

B Easy.

C Necessary.

D Difficult.

解析：选D。D 词义猜测题。根据后面部分“some scientists had questioned whether it had fallen into the Earth’s mantle”一些科学家曾质疑它是否沉入了地幔（因而找不到）可知，找到阿尔戈兰大陆的过程非常艰难。故选D。

3.What theory has been proved by Advokaat and Hinsbergen?

A Argoland fell into the Earth’s mantle.

B Argoland broke off 300 million years ago.

C Argoland moved toward Southeast Asia.

D Argoland could not be pieced together.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据第二段最后两句“The two geologists said they believe it broke off from Australia and then drifted toward Southeast Asia. But this theory had been impossible to prove until the land was discovered.”可知，这两名地质学家相信阿尔戈兰大陆分离出来后漂向了东南亚，这片大陆被发现后，这个理论被证实了。故选C。

4.What does the last paragraph mainly focus on?

A The importance of some continents.

B The significance of discovering the land.

C Another big problem scientists are facing.

D Why Argoland didn’t disappear into the mantle.

解析：选B。B 段落大意题。根据最后一段内容可知，阿尔戈兰大陆的发现证明了大陆消失在地幔中的理论是错误的，否则会导致“一个重大的科学问题”。即本段主要讨论了这个发现的重大意义。故选B。