adapted from Curiosities of the Sky
by Garrett Serviss
The Milky Way is one of the most delicately beautiful phenomena in the entire realm of nature—a shimmer of silvery gauze stretched across the sky; but studied in the light of its revelations, it is the most stupendous1 object presented to human ken. Let us consider, first, its appearance to ordinary vision. Its apparent position in the sky shifts according to the season. On a serene2, cloudless summer evening, in the absence of the moon, whose light obscures3 it, one sees the Galaxy spanning the skies from north to southeast of the zenith4 like a shining arch. In early spring it forms a similar but, upon the whole, less brilliant arch west of the zenith. Between spring and summer, it lies like a long, faint, twilight band along the northern horizon. At the beginning of winter, it again forms an arch, this time spanning the sky from east to west, a little north of the zenith. These are its positions as viewed from the mean latitude of the United States. Even the beginner in star-gazing does not have to watch it throughout the year in order to be convinced that it is, in reality, a great circle, extending entirely around the celestial5 sphere. We appear to be situated near its center, but its periphery6 is evidently far away in the depths of space.
1. something that is extraordinary
2. something that is calm and peaceful
3. keep from being seen; hide
4. the imaginary point that is directly above a particular location in the sky
5. positioned in or relating to the sky or outer space
6. the outer limits or edge of an area or object
1
Which word would best replace the word serene in the passage?
A.
unusual
B.
peaceful
C.
extreme
D.
imaginary