A Landforms Adventure

A Landforms Adventure, written by Rose Brooker.

《地形大冒险》，罗斯·布鲁克 著

Road trip. I just found out that I'm going on a road trip this summer. My parents and I are going all the way from Boston to Seattle. My class is studying landforms in school. Mom says we're going to see some amazing landforms along the way.

公路旅行。 我刚得知，今年夏天我要去公路旅行啦。 我和爸爸妈妈要从波士顿一路开到西雅图。 我们班最近正在学校学习地形知识。 妈妈说我们一路上能看到好多奇妙的地形。

in class. My teacher, Mr. Lopez, explained that Earth has layers like a hard -boiled egg. Both have a shell that's thin and hard. Earth's crust is broken in pieces, like a cracked eggshell. Earth's mantle is like the white of the egg. Earth's core is in the center, like the egg yolk.

在课堂上。 我的老师洛佩兹先生告诉我们，地球就像熟鸡蛋一样是分层的。 它们都有一层又薄又硬的外壳。 地壳裂成了许多碎块，就像敲裂的蛋壳。 地幔就像鸡蛋的蛋清。 地核在地球的中心，就像鸡蛋的蛋黄。

We also learned that Earth's crust is made up of huge pieces of rock called tectonic plates. The plates sit above soft, almost melted rock and slowly slide around because of heat deep inside Earth. These movements are the most important underground forces that create landforms.

我们还学到，地壳由一块块巨大的岩石构成，它们叫做构造板块。 这些板块漂浮在柔软、近乎融化的岩石之上，因为地球深处的热量，会慢慢移动。 这些运动是塑造地形最重要的地下力量。

Mr. Lopez also explained that Earth's surface is always changing. He said that some changes take place slowly, while others happen really fast. Both types can change existing landforms and create new ones. Sometimes small areas high in the mantle get hot enough to melt and become magma. This melted rock can push up and erupt at the surface as lava. As lava cools and hardens, it can build up and form a volcano, which is a type of mountain.

洛佩兹先生还说，地球表面一直都在变化。 有些变化发生得十分缓慢，有些变化却发生得非常快。 这两种变化都能改变原有地形，还能形成新的地形。 有时候地幔上层的小块区域温度太高，岩石融化变成岩浆。 这些融化的岩石会向上涌动，喷出地表后成为熔岩。 熔岩冷却变硬后会不断堆积，形成火山，火山属于山地的一种。

As tectonic plates and magma change Earth under the ground, other things are happening on the surface. Weathering breaks down rock and shapes it. Erosion carries away the pieces that have broken off, called sediments, and later deposits them. Wind, water, and ice are the main tools of weathering and erosion. Mr. Lopez handed out a list of different landforms. I'm going to take the list on my trip and try to see them all.

当构造板块和岩浆在地下改变地球时，地表也在发生着变化。 风化作用会分解岩石，重塑它的形状。 侵蚀作用会带走碎裂的岩块，也就是沉积物，之后再将它们沉积下来。 风、水和冰是风化和侵蚀最主要的作用力。 洛佩兹先生给每个人发了一张不同地形的清单。 我要带着这张清单去旅行，争取把所有地形都认一遍。