单项选择题
Without the atmosphere, there would be
no weather, no wind, rain, snow, or clouds. Air is all around us; we live at the
bottom of a great ocean of air. It is invisible, but we can feel it when it
moves. There are miles of all above us, pressing down with great weight on the
earth and everything on it. Because air presses down on us from all directions
at the same time, and because we are able to bear (忍受) this weight, we do not
seem to feel it. But scientists have proved that air has this weight, and that
anything that has weight creates (产生) a force called pressure. As changes in air
pressure take place, they make air move. Air is a gas that expands (膨胀) when heated, gets lighter, and moves upward. When air is cooled, it gets heavier, sinks close to the earth’s surface, and flows like water in a great river. As warm air rises, cold air rashes to take its place. Thus winds originate (起源). The winds that blow high above us are caused by the warmer air running away from colder air. The wind we feel near the earth’s surface is the heavy colder air trying hard to catch the warmer air. Changes in temperature cause the air to move. And of course there are many changes, so air movements are taking place practically all the time. |