06
Pangaea

In the early 1900s, German meteorologist Alfred Wegener was very interested by a scientific mystery．The fossilized remains of some plants had been found on more than one continent．For example, the remains of an extinct, freshwater reptile were discovered by archaeologists in both South America and southern Africa．

Prehistoric reptiles couldn't swim across oceans and the exact same plant doesn't evolve in two places at once．How could the fossils of the same animals appear in two places at the same time?

In Wegener's time, most scientists thought the animals had crossed the oceans on land bridges．However, Wegener wasn't so sure about this idea．

Wegener noticed that Earth's continents looked like puzzle pieces．The eastern edge of South America fit perfectly into the western edge of Africa if the continents could be put together．The landscapes also matched up．For example, a mountain range in South America matched perfectly with one in southern Africa.

In 1915, Wegener published his book The Origin of Continents and Oceans．His hypothesis was that continents move around the planet, an idea he called continental drift．At one time, all the landmasses were joined together in a single supercontinent called Pangaea.

Plants and animals moved freely across Pangaea and when the supercontinent broke up, the fossilized remains ended up on separate continents．

Many scientists thought Wegener's hypothesis was ridiculous．How could continents move? Wegener didn't have the answer, but he was sure he was correct.

In the 1950s, scientific equipment led to the theory of plate tectonics．Suddenly, many scientists began to accept Wegener's theory．Today it is accepted as fact, and Wegener is regarded as one of the greatest scientists ever.

Word List

meteorologist： someone who studies the science of weather

organisms： living things

land bridges： pieces of land that connect two larger landmasses

continental drift： the theory that continents move

plate tectonics： the theory that the Earth's crust is divided into sections, called plates, that move around the planet

You Practice

I．Answer the following questions.

1）What scientific mystery was Alfred Wegener interested in?

2）What is Pangaea?

3）What important detail did Wegener discover about the continents?

4）Why do you think many scientists thought Wegener's hypothesis was ridiculous?

5）Why is Wegener now regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time?

II．Word power—Use these words from the reading in sentences of your own.

1）meteorologist ____________________

2）drift ____________________

3）fossilized ____________________

4）evolve ____________________

5）mystery ____________________

III．True / False / Not Given—Write T if the sentence is true, F if it is not true, or NG if there is no information about this sentence.

____ 1）Alfred Wegener lived in Pangaea．

____ 2）At first most scientists agreed with Wegener about continental drift．

____ 3）Wegener discovered many types of plants and animals．

____ 4）Pangaea no longer exists．

____ 5）Wegener was correct about the continents moving． MK8qfMYU23fxrJ6nDMkbiGS1oW4Eyza9rbSUkd76i/56Ei3lF7Y1jHY5XfKUpM8s