【英语时差8,16】奇怪的熔岩（上）

 Today’s mystery concerns geological formations along the slopes of Mount Rainier in Washington State. Mount Rainier is a volcano, so we aren’t surprised to see hardened lava¹ flows left over from past eruptions². We are surprised to see these flows sticking to high ridges³ and hilltops, ignoring deep valleys to either side. If molten lava flows like other liquids, we’d expect it to follow the path of least resistance and flow down into valleys. We can solve the mystery of the mountain-climbing lava through investigation⁴. For decades, the prevailing⁵ theory of how these features formed went something like this: Long ago, when the molten lava first poured out of the volcano, those hill tops were the bottoms of low-lying valleys.

1 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。

2 eruptions   

n.喷发，爆发( eruption的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year. 今年火山爆发了好几次。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Over 200 people have been killed by volcanic eruptions. 火山喷发已导致200多人丧生。 来自辞典例句

3 ridges   

n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊

参考例句：

• The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
• Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上，这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。