The hypothesis of an expanding Earth has never attracted notable support,
and if it were not for the historical example of continental drift, such
indifference might be a legitimate response to an apparently improbable
concept. It should be remembered, however, that drift too was once regarded as
illusory, but the idea was kept alive until evidence from physicists compelled
geologists to reinterpret their data.
Of course, it would be as dangerous to overreact to history by concluding
that the majority must now be wrong about expansion as it would be to reenact
the response that greeted the suggestion that the continents had drifted.
The cases are not precisely analogous. There were serious problems with the
pre-drift world view that a drift theory could help to resolve, whereas Earth
expansion appears to offer no comparable advantages. If, however, physicists
could show that the Earth’s gravitational force has decreased with time,
expansion would have to be reconsidered and accommodated.
我有问题的是第一及第四题. 先谢谢大家!
1. The passage indicates that one reason why the expansion hypothesis has
attracted little support is that it will not
(A) overcome deficiencies in current geologic hypotheses
(B) clarify theories concerning the Earth’s gravitational forces
(C) complement the theory of continental drift
(D) accommodate relevant theories from the field of physics
(E) withstand criticism from scientists outside the field of geology
正确答案是(A),吴中东有解释了.但请问<B>为什么不对,如果这题是复选题<B>可以选吗?
4. It can be deduced from the passage that the gravitational force
at a point on the Earth’s surface is
(A) representative of the geologic age of the Earth
(B) analogous to the movement of land masses
(C) similar to optical phenomena such as mirages
(D) proportional to the size of the Earth
(E) dependent on the speed of the Earth’s rotation
答案是<D>.吴说解答在最后一句话.
他说: "此句在逻辑上认可:地球的大小与引力大小成反比"
我还是不知道怎么推论出答案?