We were [taught / teach] at school that there were nine planets, but now there are eight (scientists said Pluto is not [the / a] planet). Now we may have to change our [thinks / thinking] about how many continents there [be / are] . We are taught there are seven continents - Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Geologists (people who study the land and [the / an] earth) now say there is an eighth continent - Zealandia. This is a huge, [largely / enlarge] underwater landmass in the southern Pacific Ocean. Six per cent [for / of] this landmass is above water and is what we [know / known] as New Zealand and New Caledonia. Around 94 per cent of it is under the ocean. In [totally / total] , it measures five million square kilometres, which scientists say is big enough to [do / be] a continent.
Geologists [explanation / explained] why they think Zealandia is a continent. They wrote a research paper and published it [on / in] the Geological Society of America's Journal. They argue that the land does not have to be [higher / above] water for it to be a continent. They said four [different / difference] points make Zealandia a continent. It is a [much / lot] higher than the surrounding area, it has a [unique / uniquely] geology, it is easy to find the shape of the continent, and it is a lot [thicken / thicker] than the ocean floor. Nick Mortimer, a geologist at GNS Science in New Zealand, said it would be easy to understand that Zealandia is a continent, "if you could [push / pull] the plug on the world's oceans" and let the water [out / in] . However, it may take some time [then / before] scientists agree that there are eight continents.
