Question

\spaceship earth\
by mary kay carson
1 a visit to walt disney world resort in florida will inevitably lead you to the highly recognizable dome in
epcot center called spaceship earth. epcot stands for \experimental prototype community of tomorrow.\
epcot is designed to be a futuristic world, giving visitors a timeline of where we started as a culture and
where we are headed in the future. spaceship earth is an 18 - story geodesic sphere within epcot center that
is actually a ride that gives guests a peek into that future.
2 the geodesic sphere was no easy creation to construct. it is a complete sphere with three main legs. it has
approximately 11,320 isosceles triangles forming 3840 points. it has a circumference of 518.1 feet and weighs
15,520,000 pounds. it was designed so that when it rains, no water pours off the sides onto the ground.
there is a gutter system to collect water that flows through one - inch gaps in the facets. it took 26 months to
complete the structure and 40,300 hours of labor. it opened in 1982.
3 this amazing structure is not only a wonder to view, but it is also an ingenious ride. the sixteen - minute ride
shows how advancements in communication have helped establish the future one step at a time. guests sit in
a \time - machine\ vehicle that moves up the geodesic structure through a lighted tunnel. the vehicles rise
through dark spaces featuring a series of lighted scenes. each scene utilizes animatronic figures performing
certain tasks. voices describing each scene can be heard in the background. the first scene guests see is the
prehistoric man fighting for survival. then cavemen can be viewed along with a wooly mammoth. as they
continue to rise, patrons will see an image of egyptians inventing a writing system (hieroglyphics),
phoenicians developing a written alphabet, and ancient greeks performing in the tradition of greek theater.
alas, ancient romans are shown forming the first roads in europe. as guests continue on the ride, time
passes. they are shown a depiction of the middle ages, then the european renaissance. in one scene, a
monk is shown falling asleep as he is inscribing a text. in another, the guests can see michelangelo painting
the sistine chapel. later, to suggest the rush of the 20th century, advancements in communication are shown
melting together, including the development of newspapers, telegraphs, radio, telephones, movies, television,
and the computer. movie and film clips can be seen hurrying by, and the sounds of the telephone and
computer can be heard.
4 as the vehicles reach the large space at the peak of the ride, guests can see projections on the ceiling of the
dome. it is like being in a planetarium. patrons can see stars, planets, and the milky way depicted on the
ceiling. in fact, the vehicles are rotated 180 degrees so that passengers are lying backward facing the sky as
they begin the descent down the dome. this descent back to earth is interactive. at the beginning of the ride,
a touch screen will ask guests how they would like to live, work, and play in the world of tomorrow. then a
camera takes a picture of each guest. at the end of the ride, image capture and face recognition technology is

which sentence most clearly conveys the author’s opinion that spaceship earth is something
everyone should experience?

○ \the sixteen minute ride shows how advancements in communication have helped establish the
future one step at a time.\ (paragraph 3)

○ \this descent back to earth is interactive.\ (paragraph 4)

○ \passengers can actually see themselves living, working, and playing in the future.\ (paragraph 4)

○ \where else can a person enter a giant golf ball and see visions of our amazing past and catch
glimpses of our exciting futures?\ (paragraph 5)

Explanation:

To determine the sentence that conveys the author's opinion that everyone should experience Spaceship Earth, we analyze each option:

• The first option describes the ride's focus on communication advancements, not the author's opinion on experiencing it.
• The second option mentions the descent being interactive, which is a feature, not an opinion on everyone experiencing it.
• The third option describes what passengers see during the ride, not the author's opinion on experiencing it.
• The fourth option ("Where else can a person enter a giant golf ball and see visions of our amazing past and catch glimpses of our exciting futures?") is a rhetorical question that implies this is a unique and valuable experience that everyone should have, as it suggests there are few other places to get such an experience.

Answer:

The sentence "Where else can a person enter a giant golf ball and see visions of our amazing past and catch glimpses of our exciting futures?" (paragraph 5)