The Ring of Fire
Pre-Reading
Think about the following questions.
1. What causes earthquakes?
2. How are volcanoes formed?
3. Does the ground move even when there are no
earthquakes?
Vocabulary Preview
Write the letter of the word or phrase with the same meaning as the
underlined word or phrase.
a. often d. goes up
b. is made of e. idea; assumed law in science
c. top; covering f. steps toward achieving some result
1. ____ Earthquakes frequently occur in Japan.
2. ____ Scientists did not prove the theory yet, so many people don’t believe it.
3. ____ One idea says the surface of the Earth is covered by huge plates of land.
4. ____ Lava rises from under the Earth and comes out of volcanoes.
5. ____ The process of creating new land involves lava becoming solid rock.
6. ____ Lava consists of various kinds of rock melted together.
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Track 5
The Ring of Fire
T
he Ring of Fire is an enormous chain of volcanoes all around the Pacific Ocean.
The ring goes from New Zealand up to Asia and across the ocean to Alaska. From
Alaska, the ring continues southward along the coast of both North and South
America. More than seventy-five percent of the world’s volcanoes are located in this
5 ring.
Scientists are interested in studying the Ring of Fire because they can observe
plate tectonics at work there. In 1912, a German scientist, Alfred Wegener, came up with
the first theory of land movement. Wegener said continents are made up of lighter
rocks resting on heavier material. Similar to the way large things move while floating
10 on water, Wegener suggested that the positions of the continents were not fixed, but
that they moved slightly. Later, scientists discovered most of Wegener’s ideas were
right on the mark. They then developed the theory called plate tectonics.
According to plate tectonics, the surface of the Earth consists of a number of
enormous plates or sections of rock, each about eighty kilometers thick. The plates
15 float and slowly move at speeds between one to ten centimeters every year. That is
about the rate your fingernails grow! Within the Ring of Fire, new material for the
Earth’s plates is constantly being created as hot liquid rock called magma flows from
the center of the Earth up to the ocean floor. All the existing plates on the Earth’s surface
have to move slightly to make room for the new material.
20 As plates move both away from and toward
each other, they run into each other. When they hit
each other, one plate might move under another.
This process is called subduction. Subduction
frequently causes earthquakes. It may also result
25 in the bottom plate melting due to the extreme
temperatures under the top plate. The magma
created in this process can rise to the Earth’s
surface and come out through volcanoes, as can
be seen along the Ring of Fire.
Reading Time _______ minutes _______ seconds 333 words
1 11
ring: a circle slightly: a little; to a small degree or extent
1 14
chain: a connected series of things section: a part that is cut off or separated
3 15
southward: in the direction of south float: to stay on the surface of a liquid
8 16
continent: a large area of land including many rate: the speed
countries, like Asia, Europe, Africa, etc. 17
flow: to move like liquid
9
material: what something is made of 25
melt: to become liquid
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Reading Comprehension
Choose the best answer.
1. What is the main focus of this reading?
a. The most active volcanoes found in the Ring of Fire
b. The location of the Ring of Fire
c. How the plates on the Earth’s surface move in different ways
d. How plate tectonics, volcanoes, and earthquakes are related
2. According to the reading, which is true about the Ring of Fire?
a. All of the volcanoes along the ring are active.
b. Most of the volcanoes on Earth are part of the ring.
c. The ring gets bigger each year.
d. The ring was discovered in the 20th century.
3. What does “subduction” mean in this reading?
a. Rocks moving under volcanoes b. Erupting liquid rock
c. The theory of moving plates d. Movement of a plate under another
4. What is NOT a result of shifting tectonic plates?
a. Earthquakes b. Extreme temperatures inside the Earth
c. Volcanoes d. Subduction
5. Which question is NOT answered in the reading?
a. How fast do tectonic plates move?
b. How thick are the plates in tectonic theory?
c. What is the most active volcano today?
d. Where is the Ring of Fire?
Idiomatic Expressions
Find these idioms in the reading.
come up with [ to think of first; to have an original idea ]
I hope the politicians can come up with a way to avoid war.
right on the mark [ exactly correct ]
The advice you gave me for fixing my essay was right on the mark.
run into [ to hit or bump; to meet by chance ]
I ran into an old friend yesterday on my way to work.
Fill in the blank with one of the above idioms. Change its form if necessary.
1. I finally ____________________ a good topic for my essay.
2. She frequently tries to guess people’s age, and most of the time she’s ____________________.
3. It’s important to drive carefully so you don’t ____________________ anything.
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1
Summary
Read the sentences from the reading passage. Paraphrase the sentences
to create a summary of the passage.
a. The Ring of Fire is an enormous chain of volcanoes all around the Pacific
Ocean.
b. More than seventy-five percent of the world’s volcanoes are located in this
ring.
1. a + b: Around the Pacific Ocean is a chain of volcanoes called the Ring of Fire,
in which ___________________________________.
c. According to plate tectonics, the surface of the Earth consists of a number
of enormous plates or sections of rock, each about eighty kilometers thick.
d. The plates float and slowly move at speeds between one to ten centimeters
every year.
2. c + d: Movement of sections of the Earth’s surface is explained by the theory
of plate tectonics, according to which __________________________________________.
e. When they hit each other, one plate might move under another.
f. This process is called subduction.
3. e + f: During the process of subduction, ___________________________________________.
Listening
More Interesting Facts
Track 6
Listen to the dialog. Check True or False for each sentence.
True False
1. Mt. Fuji is the tallest volcano in the world.
2. Mauna Loa erupted over thirty times last year.
3. Kilauea has been continuously erupting since the 1980s.
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Discussion
Discuss the following questions.
1. Have you ever seen a volcano erupt? Would you like to?
2. Have you ever experienced an earthquake? If yes, describe your experience.
3. Which of these events was most recently in the new: a volcanic eruption or an
earthquake? Where was it and what happened?
Grammar
Adverbial Phrases and Adverbial Clauses
An adverbial phrase does not include a subject and a verb, while an adverbial clause includes
a subject and a verb. Both should be followed by a comma at the start of a sentence.
(According to / According as) plate tectonics, the surface of the Earth consists of a number of
enormous plates or sections of rock, each about eighty kilometers thick.
(Because of / As) plates move both away from and toward each other, they run into each other.
Writing
g
Write your own short paragraph by answering the questions below.
A Recent Event
Example
(1) What recent natural disaster A recent natural disaster was
happened? (2) How did you hear a hurricane. I heard about the
about it? (3) Where and when did hurricane on television. The
it happen? (4) What damage was hurricane hit Florida last spring.
Lots of houses fell down, but
done? (5) What happened after the
nobody died. After the hurricane,
disaster? people fixed their houses and life
went back to normal.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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Vocabulary and Idiom Review
A. Choose the best word or phrase to fill in the blank.
1. Because of the heavy rain, the water level of the river is ______.
a. absorbing b. floating c. moving d. rising
2. The ______ of the lake was very calm.
a. drop b. plate c. ring d. surface
3. This problem is difficult, but I need to _____ the answer.
a. exchange b. figure out c. flow d. slide
4. Please help me with this math problem. I can’t ______ the answer.
a. end up b. face up to c. come up with d. run into
5. The book describes the ______ of events that started World War II.
a. chain b. culture c. process d. rate
6. Walking to work instead of driving every day has ______ my health.
a. improved b. located c. released d. touched
7. The class ______ students from many different countries.
a. consists of b. hangs around c. is right on d. slightly moves
B. Choose the correct form of the word to fill in the blank.
8. According to scientific ______, the universe began several billion years ago.
a. theory b. theorize c. theoretical
9. He decided not to buy the vase because it had a ______ crack.
a. slight b. slightly c. slightest
10. The manager ______ asks members of our team to work overtime.
a. frequency b. frequent c. frequently
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