【英语时差8,16】纵观火山温度

Oost of the time, volcanos look like other mountains: solid, serene¹, capped with snow--a nice place to go camping.  Unless, of course, it happens to explode and pour molten lava² all over your campsite! Wouldn't it be nice if we could predict when a volcano was about to erupt? Scientists have recently taken a big step closer toward doing just this.

Let's look inside a volcano. At the center is a reservoir of molten rock, known as magma. This magma is very hot, and under a lot of pressure. When rainwater seeps³ into cracks in the mountain, the magma turns it into steam and forces it out again. The magma also vents⁵ away hot gasses through these same cracks.

This is a volcano's normal state. When gasses and steam vent⁴ from a volcano's cracks, it's probably not about to erupt. Sometimes, however, the top layer of magma can cool, and form a hard crust over the rest of the molten rock. When this happens, rainwater is able to collect in the cracks without evaporating, and this water captures a lot of gasses that would ordinarily vent from the magma. Scientific instruments inside the volcano's cracks record a sudden drop in temperature, and much less volcanic⁶ gas.

This is a warning sign for an imminent⁷ eruption⁸. That cool magma seal allows pressure to build up inside the liquid magma, much like your thumb over the top of a shaken soda⁹ bottle will seal in the pressure. When that magma seal gives way it's like taking your thumb off the top of the bottle, and you don't want to be camping on the volcano when that happens!  

1 serene   

adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的

参考例句：

• He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
• He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多，只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。

2 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。

3 seeps   

n.（液体）渗( seep的名词复数 )；渗透；渗出；漏出v.（液体）渗( seep的第三人称单数 )；渗透；渗出；漏出

参考例句：

• Water seeps through sand. 水渗入沙中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Water seeps out of the wall. 水从墙里沁出。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 vent   

n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄

参考例句：

• He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
• When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时，发动机就会停转。

5 vents   

（气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )； （鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门； 大衣等的)衩口； 开衩

参考例句：

• He always vents his anger on the dog. 他总是拿狗出气。
• The Dandelion Patch is the least developed of the four active vents. “蒲公英区”在这四个活裂口中是发育最差的一个。

6 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

7 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

8 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

9 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。