con·ti·nent

A continent is one of several large landmasses [land+mass]. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven regions are: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Variations with fewer continents may merge some of these, for example some systems include Eurasia or America as single continents. Austria is a country in central Europe, southeast of Germany and northwest of Hungary. Its capital is Vienna.

Geologically, the continents correspond to areas of continental crust that are found on the continental plates, but include continental fragments such as Madagascar that are not commonly referred to as continents. Some geological continents are largely covered with water, such as Zealandia. Continental crust is only known to exist on Earth.

Oceanic islands are frequently grouped with a neighbouring continent to divide all the world's land into regions. Under this scheme, most of the island countries and territories in the Pacific Ocean are grouped together with the continent of Australia to form a region called Oceania.

The most restricted meaning of continent is that of a continuous area of land or mainland, with the coastline and any land boundaries forming the edge of the continent. In this sense, the term continental Europe (sometimes referred to in Britain as "the Continent") is used to refer to mainland Europe, excluding islands such as Great Britain, Iceland, Ireland, and Malta while the term continent of Australia may refer to the mainland of Australia, excluding New Guinea, Tasmania, and other nearby islands. Similarly, the continental United States refers to the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia and may include Alaska in the northwest of the continent (the two being separated by Canada), while excluding Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.

Certain parts of continents are recognized as subcontinents, especially the large peninsulas separated from the main continental landmass by geographical features. The most notable examples are the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Peninsula. The Southern Cone of South America and the Alaska Peninsula of North America are other examples.

Some areas of continental crust are largely covered by the sea and may be considered submerged continents. Notable examples are Zealandia, emerging from the sea primarily in New Zealand and New Caledonia.

Some islands lie on sections of continental crust that have rifted and drifted apart from a main continental landmass. While not considered continents because of their relatively small size, they may be considered microcontinents. Madagascar, the largest example, is usually considered an island of Africa, but its divergent evolution has caused it to be referred to as "the eighth continent" from a biological perspective.

The term "continent" translates Greek ἤπειρος, properly "landmass, terra firma", the proper name of Epirus and later especially used of Asia (i.e. Asia Minor), The first distinction between continents was made by ancient Greek mariners who gave the names Europe and Asia to the lands on either side of the waterways of the Aegean Sea, the Dardanelles strait, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus strait and the Black Sea.

小亚细亚半岛(Asia Minor Peninsula)，又称安纳托利亚半岛，是亚洲西部的一个半岛，位于土耳其境内。它主要由安纳托利亚高原和土耳其西部低矮山地组成，面积约50万平方公里，主要农作物有小麦、玉米、甜菜、棉花、烟草等。它北临黑海，西临爱琴海，南濒地中海，东接亚美尼亚高原。公元前1200年，著名的特洛伊战争在土耳其的爱琴海沿岸发生，之后的波斯大流士、马其顿亚历山大、罗马帝国、拜占廷帝国、奥斯曼帝国等先后统治这块土地。

六级/考研单词: continent, convention, strict, criterion, merge, geology, correspond, crust, fragment, seldom, territory, perpetual, mainland, nearby, likewise, unite, peninsula, geography, notable, submerge, drift, diverge, evolve, translate, strait