单项选择题
We find that the moon is about 239,000
miles away from the earth, and that within a few thousand miles, its distance
always remains the same. Yet a very little observation shows that the moon is
not standing still. Its distance from the earth remains the same, but its
direction continually changes. We find that it is traveling in a circle — or
very nearly a circle — round the earth, going completely round once a month, or
more exactly, once every days. It is our nearest neighbor in space, and
like ourselves it is kept tied to the earth by the earth’s gravitational pull
(地心吸力).Except for the sun, the moon looks the biggest object in the sky. Actually it is one of the smallest, and only looks big because it is so near to us. Its diameter (直径) is only 2,160 miles, or a little more than a quarter of the diameter of the earth. Once a month, or, more exactly, once every days, at the time we call "full moon", its whole
disc (圆面) looks bright. At other times only part of it appears bright, and we
always find that this is the part which faces towards the sun, while the part
facing away from the sun appears dark. This shows that the moon gives no light
of its own. It merely reflects the lights of the sun, like a huge mirror hung in
the sky. |