99年关于火成岩托福文章翻译.docVIP

99年关于火成岩的托福文章的翻译 　Any rock that has cooled and solidified from a molten state is an igneous rock. Therefore, if the Earth began as a superheated sphere in space, all the rocks making up its crust may well have been igneous and thus the　ancestors of all other rocks. Even today, approximately 95 percent of the　entire crust is igneous. Periodically, molten material wells out of the　Earths interior to invade the surface layers or to flow onto the surface itself. This material cools into a wide variety of igneous rocks. In the　molten state, it is called magma as it pushes into the crust and lava when　it runs out onto the surface.　All magma consists basically of a variety of silicate minerals (high in silicon-oxygen compounds), but the chemical composition of any given flow　may differ radically from that of any other. The resulting igneous rocks　will reflect these differences. Igneous rocks also vary in texture as well　as chemistry. Granite, for instance, is a coarse-grained igneous rock　whose individual mineral crystals have formed to a size easily seen by the　naked eye. A slow rate of cooling has allowed the crystals to reach this　size. Normally, slow cooling occurs when the crust is invaded by magma　that remains buried well below the surface. Granite may be found on the　surface of the contemporary landscape, but from its coarse texture we know　that it must have formed through slow cooling at a great depth and later　been laid bare by erosion. Igneous rocks with this coarse-grained texture　that formed at depth are called plutonic.　On the other hand, if the same magma flows onto the surface and is quickly　cooled by the atmosphere, the resulting rock will be fine-grained and　appear quite different from granite, although the chemical composition　will be identical. This kind of rock is called rhyolite. The most finely　grained igneous rock is volcanic glass or obsidian, which has no crystals.　Some researchers believe this is because of rapid cooling; others believe　it is bec