Test yourself

Task: Tell whether the sentences are true or false. Correct the false ones.

1. Geologists divide rocks into three major groups: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.

2. Crystallization may occur only beneath the surface of Earth.

3. Weathering is the process when the day-in and day-out influences of the atmosphere slowly disintegrate and decompose rocks.

4. Lithification is a term meaning “conversion from rock.”

5. When metamorphic rock is subjected to additional pressure changes or to still higher temperatures, it will melt, creating magma.

6. The upper crust has an average composition of a granitic rock called granodiorite.

7. The dominant rock type in the uppermost mantle is granodiorite.

8. The upper mantle can be divided into three different parts.

9. The composition of the core is thought to be an iron alloy with minor amounts of oxygen, silicon, and sulphur.

10. The core is divided into two regions that exhibit very different mechanical strengths.

Unit 3 The Face of Earth

Task 1. Read and memorize the following words:

protrude - видаватися	ancient – древній, стародавній
terrain - рельєф	appearance - поява
dome – купол, куполоподібнй	basin – басейн, поклад
average - середній	erode away – бути поступово зруйнованим
warp – бути деформованим, скривленим	flat – горизонтальний, пологий (пласт)
elevation – висота (над рівнем моря),	sample – зразок, модель
significant – важливий, істотний	shield - щит
expansive - широкий	veneer – поверхневий шар відкладень

Task 2. Transcribe and translate the following proper names: the Aleutian Islands, Japan, the Philippines, and New Guinea, the Appalachians, the Urals.

Task 3. Read the following text, translate it into Ukrainian. Pay special attention to the pronunciation of the following words: continents, plateaus, the Aleutian Islands, Japan, the Philippines, and New Guinea, the Appalachians, the Urals.

The two principal divisions of Earth’s surface are the continents and the ocean basins. A significant difference between these two areas is their relative levels. The continents are remarkably flat features that have the appearance of plateaus protruding above sea level. With an average elevation of about 0.8 km, continents lie close to sea level, except for limited areas of mountainous terrain. By contrast, the average depth of the ocean floor is about 3.8 km below sea level.

The largest features of the continents can be grouped into two distinct categories: (1) extensive, flat stable areas that have been eroded nearly to sea level and (2) uplifted regions of deformed rocks that make up present-day mountain belts. When the youngest mountains are considered we find that they are located principally in two major zones. The circum-Pacific belt (the region surrounding the Pacific Ocean) includes the mountains of the western Americas and continues into the western Pacific in the form of volcanic island arcs. Island arcs are active mountainous regions composed largely of volcanic rocks and deformed sedimentary rocks. Examples include the Aleutian Islands, Japan, the Philippines, and New Guinea. The other major mountainous belt extends eastward from the Alps through Iran and the Himalayas and then dips southward into Indonesia. Older mountains are also found on the continents: the Appalachians in the eastern United States and the Urals in Russia.

Unlike the young mountain belts, which have formed within the last 100 million years, the interiors of the continents have been relatively stable (undisturbed) for the last 600 million years or even longer. Within the stable interiors are areas known as shields, which are expansive, flat regions composed of deformed crystalline rocks. It is called Precambrian-age rocks that are more than 1 billion years old, with some samples approaching 4 billion years in age. These rocks were once part of an ancient mountain system that has since been eroded away to produce these expansive, flat regions. Other flat areas of the stable interior exist in which highly deformed rocks, like those found in the shields, are covered by a relatively thin veneer of sedimentary rocks. These areas are called stable platforms. The sedimentary rocks in stable platforms are nearly horizontal except where they have been warped to form large basins or domes.

Task 4. Answer the following questions, using the vocabulary from Task 1.

1. What is Earth’s surface divide into?

2. What is a significant difference between continents and the ocean basins?

3. What can the continents be grouped into?

4. Where are the youngest mountains located?

5. Where are the older mountains found?

6. Are the interiors of the continents relatively stable?

7. What are shields?

8. What areas are called stable platforms?

Task 5. Complete the following sentences from the text in Task 3.

1. When the youngest mountains are considered we find that they are located principally in … major zones.

2. Island arcs are … … regions composed largely of volcanic rocks and deformed sedimentary rocks.

3. The young mountain belts have formed within the last … years.

4. … are expansive, flat regions composed of deformed crystalline rock.

5. … in stable platforms are nearly horizontal except where they have been warped to form large basins or domes.

Task 6. Find English equivalents for the following (see the text).

Два основних види поділу земної поверхні; вагома різниця; середня висота над рівнем моря; активні гірські регіони; простягатися на схід; поглибитися на південь; знайти на материках; відносно сталий (спокійний); древня гірська система; вкритий відносно тонким поверхневим шаром осадових відкладень; нерухомі платформи.

Task 7. Give a short summary of the text from Task 3.