keannu
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Does the writer think the continents were not joined with "[FONT=돋움]had once been joined[/FONT]" to denote a counterfactuality or is it a past perfect like "had moved" to denote a past possibility? What kind of conditional is this? I think "had+p.p" to denote a past possibility is quite rare.
st168)In 1912, a German scientist, Alfred Wegener, proposed a hypothesis called continental drift, which stated that the continents had moved. Wegener hypothesized that the continents once formed part of a single giant landmass, which he named Pangaea, meaning "all lands." In addition to the similarities in the coastlines of the continents, Wegener soon found other evidence to support his hypothesis. If the continents had once been joined, research should uncover fossils of the same plants and animals in areas that had been adjoining parts of Pangaea. Wegener knew that identical fossil remains had already been found in both eastern South America and western Africa. The age and type of rocks in the coastal regions of widely separated areas, such as western Africa and eastern Brazil, matched closely . Despite the evidence supporting the hypothesis of continental drift, Wegener's ideas met with strong opposition.
st168)In 1912, a German scientist, Alfred Wegener, proposed a hypothesis called continental drift, which stated that the continents had moved. Wegener hypothesized that the continents once formed part of a single giant landmass, which he named Pangaea, meaning "all lands." In addition to the similarities in the coastlines of the continents, Wegener soon found other evidence to support his hypothesis. If the continents had once been joined, research should uncover fossils of the same plants and animals in areas that had been adjoining parts of Pangaea. Wegener knew that identical fossil remains had already been found in both eastern South America and western Africa. The age and type of rocks in the coastal regions of widely separated areas, such as western Africa and eastern Brazil, matched closely . Despite the evidence supporting the hypothesis of continental drift, Wegener's ideas met with strong opposition.