Question 53
MediumOriginal questionThe Earth wears a jacket. It is not made of cloth but of gases, and we call it the atmosphere.
This jacket does a great deal for us. It keeps the planet warm. It gives us the oxygen we breathe. And it is where all our weather happens, from a light to the heaviest monsoon rain.
The atmosphere wraps around the Earth rather like the peel around an orange. But unlike an orange peel, it is not the same all the way through. It is made of layers, each with its own , stretching from the ground all the way up to outer space.
Scientists name six of them. Closest to the ground is the troposphere, where we live and where the clouds and weather are. Above it come the stratosphere, the mesosphere and the thermosphere. The ionosphere with some of these higher layers, and last of all, away into space, is the exosphere.
The Earth is a good planet to live on for many reasons, and its atmosphere is one of the most important. Without that thin jacket of air, there would be no breath, no weather and no warmth.
Why does the writer compare the atmosphere to the peel of an orange, and then say "But unlike an orange peel"?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The first part of the comparison shows the atmosphere wrapping the Earth.
"But unlike an orange peel" corrects the picture: the atmosphere is not the same all the way through.
Worth noting
A good comparison can be useful and still need a correction, which is what the writer does here.
- Concept
- Understanding how a comparison is used and limited
- Typical timeTypical
- 45 s
- Your timeYours
- —
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