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.

1. the geodesic sphere was no easy creation to construct. it is a complete sphere with three main legs. it has

opproximately 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 40,000 hours of labor. it opened in 1982.

1. 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 woolly 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.
also, 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
including the computer. movie and film clips can be seen hurrying by, and the sounds of the telephone and
computer can be heard.

1. 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
used to create a scenario of their future. passengers can actually see themselves living, working, and

part b
which two details support the answer to part a?
□ “this amazing structure is not only a wonder to view, but it is also an ingenious ride.” (paragraph 3)
□ “the first scene guests see is the prehistoric man fighting for survival” (paragraph 3)
□ “as the vehicles reach the large space at the peak of the ride, guests can see projections on the
ceiling of the dome.” (paragraph 4)
□ “it is like being in a planetarium. patrons can see stars, planets, and the milky way depicted on the
ceiling.” (paragraph 4)
□ “this descent back to earth is interactive.” (paragraph 4)

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option by matching it to the text (assuming Part A's answer relates to the ride's features or the dome's design/experience):

1. Option 1: "This amazing structure is not only a wonder to view, but it is also an ingenious ride." (paragraph 3) – Paragraph 3 describes the ride’s content (time - machine, scenes) and calls it an ingenious ride, so this supports details about the ride.
2. Option 2: "The first scene guests see is the prehistoric man fighting for survival" (paragraph 3) – This is a specific scene detail, not a broad support for the main answer (likely about the ride/structure’s purpose or design).
3. Option 3: "As the vehicles reach the large space at the peak of the ride, guests can see projections on the ceiling of the dome." (paragraph 4) – This is a specific ride - moment detail, not a core support.
4. Option 4: "It is like being in a planetarium. Patrons can see stars, planets, and the Milky Way depicted on the ceiling." (paragraph 4) – This describes the planetarium - like experience, which is part of the ride’s design, supporting details about the ride/structure.
5. Option 5: "This descent back to earth is interactive." (paragraph 4) – This is a specific interactive feature, not a core support.

The two details that best support (assuming Part A’s answer is about the ride/structure’s nature) are:

• "This amazing structure is not only a wonder to view, but it is also an ingenious ride." (paragraph 3)
• "It is like being in a planetarium. Patrons can see stars, planets, and the Milky Way depicted on the ceiling." (paragraph 4)

Answer:

• "This amazing structure is not only a wonder to view, but it is also an ingenious ride." (paragraph 3)
• "It is like being in a planetarium. Patrons can see stars, planets, and the Milky Way depicted on the ceiling." (paragraph 4)