科技英语（地质英语）3.doc

READING MATERIAL This lifting up and wearing down of lithosphere, now here and now there, is reflected in the rocks we see at Earth’s surface. Examining the rocks, we gradually realize that they have originated in three very different ways. Hence we classify them, according to these different origins, into three families that have been labeled igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Although we shall treat them in more detail in Chapter 5, we must characterize them here so that we can use the family names in the three chapters that intervene. Igneous rock is rock that is made by the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. Most sedimentary rock, as its name implies, consists of particles of sediment derived from older rock. The particles were transported by one of Earth’s external processes, deposited and later cemented so as to make firm new rock. Most metamorphic rock consists of igneous or sedimentary rock that became deeply buried and so was subjected to high pressure and great heat, which changed the character of the rock. Most of the metamorphic-and igneous rocks we see at Earth’s surface today have reached their present positions by a combination of lifting up and wearing down. They are lifted up as parts of the lithosphere rise, and as the rocks that lie above them are gradually worn away. In contrast, sedimentary rocks are the rearranged, re-sorted wreckage of older rocks that have been lifted up. Sedimentary rocks, therefore, are wholly the product of Earth’s external processes, while the other two families are direct products of internal processes. 12 FOLDS AND FAULTS Folds are the typical features of most mountain chains. Up-arched strata are called anticlines, and down-bent strata are called synclines. Anticlines and synclines occur in all sizes from almost microscopic to great folds scores of miles across. When beds are hard and brittle and the folding is pronounced, the deformation is accomplished by breaking of the massive beds. The shale be