Of the six outer planets, Mars, commonly called the Red Planet, is the closest to Earth. M
For many years, Mars had been thought of as the planet with the man made canals, supposedly discovered by an Italian astronomer, Schiaparelli, in 1877. With the United States spacecraft Viking I's landing on 'Mars in 1976, the man-made canal theory was proven to be only a myth.
Viking I, after landing on the soil of Mars, performed many scientific experiments and took numerous pictures. The pictures showed that the red color of the planet is due to the reddish, rocky Martian soil. No biological life was found, though it had been speculated by many scientists. The Viking al so monitored many weather changes including violent dust storms. Some water vapor, polar ice and permafrost were found, indicating that at one time there were significant quantities of water on this distant planet. Evidence collected by the spacecraft shows some present volcanic action, though the volcanoes are believed to be dormant, if not extinct.
Which of the following is true?
A.Mars is larger than the Earth.
B.Mars had Viking as its moon.
C.Martian soil is brownish rod.
D.It takes longer for Mars to circle the Sun than it takes the Earth.
解析:此题为细节题。A根据第一段第二句可知它比地球小将近一半,故此项错误。B根据第二段,“Viking I”为“spacecraft”,而不是“moon”。C根据第三段,这种土为“reddish”,而不是“brownish red”。D)答案在第一段最后一句,线索词为“1.88 years”和“365 days”,孰长孰短一目了然。