Earth’s surface consists of rigid plates that are constantly shifting and jostling one another. Plate movements Line are the surface expressions of motions (5) in the mantle—the thick shell of rock that lies between Earth’s crust and its metallic core. Although the hot rock of the mantle is a solid, under the tre- mendous pressure of the crust and (10) overlying rock of the mantle, it flows like a viscous liquid. The mantle’s motions, analogous to those in a pot of boiling water, cool the mantle by carrying hot material to the surface and returning (15) cooler material to the depths. When the edge of one plate bends under another and its cooler material is con- sumed in the mantle, volcanic activity occurs as molten lava rises from the (20) downgoing plate and erupts through the overlying one. Most volcanoes occur at plate boundaries. However, certain “mis- placed” volcanoes far from plate (25) edges result from a second, indepen- dent mechanism that cools the deep interior of Earth. Because of its prox- imity to Earth’s core, the rock at the base of the mantle is much hotter than (30) rock in the upper mantle. The hotter the mantle rock is, the less it resists flow- ing. Reservoirs of this hot rock collect in the base of the mantle. When a reservoir is sufficiently large, a sphere (35) of this hot rock forces its way up through the upper mantle to Earth’s surface, creating a broad bulge in the topography. The “mantle plume” thus formed, once established, continues to (40) channel hot material from the mantle base until the reservoir is emptied. The surface mark of an established plume is a hot spot—an isolated region of volcanoes and uplifted terrain (45) located far from the edge of a surface plate. Because the source of a hot spot remains fixed while a surface plate moves over it, over a long period of time an active plume creates a chain (50) of volcanoes or volcanic islands, a track marking the position of the plume relative to the moving plate. The natural history of the Hawaiian island chain clearly shows the movement of the Pacific plate over a fixed plume. Q24: The author’s reference to the Hawaiian Islands serves primarily to A. provide an example of a type of volcanic activity that does not occur elsewhere B. identify the evidence initially used to establish that the Pacific plate moves C. call into question a theory about the source of the volcanoes that created the Hawaiian Islands D. illustrate the distance from plate edges at which volcanoes typically appear E. provide an example of how mantle plumes manifest themselves on Earth’s surface
定位 The natural history of the Hawaiian island chain clearly shows the movement of the Pacific plate over a fixed plume. B为什么不对?E中的on the surface从哪里能看出来? Q25: According to the passage, a hot spot on Earth’s surface is an indication of which of the following?
A. An untapped reservoir of hot rock in the base of the mantle B. Volcanic activity at the edge of a plate C. Solid mantle rock under tremendous pressure D. The occurrence of a phenomenon unique to the Pacific plate E. A plume of hot mantle rock originating near Earth’s core
定位:The surface mark of an established plume is a hot spot—an isolated region of volcanoes and uplifted terrain (45) located far from the edge of a surface plate. E为什么对?我没有看出来near Earth's core. 非常感谢 |