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Listen to an Academic Talk Test #069
Listen to an Academic Talk
1. What is the main purpose of the lecture?
A) To compare different types of mountains
B) To explain one way that mountains are formed
C) To discuss the history of geological theories
D) To describe the composition of tectonic plates
2. The professor mentions the Himalayas as an example of what?
A) A mountain range created by a plate collision
B) A volcano formed from cooling magma
C) A mountain range that has stopped growing
D) The oldest mountain range on Earth
3. What does the professor imply about the Himalayas?
A) Their location is shifting to the south.
B) Their height is gradually increasing.
C) They are mainly composed of volcanic rock.
D) They are difficult for geologists to study.
4. Why does the professor first mention tectonic plates?
A) To question an old theory about geology
B) To introduce a different lecture topic
C) To provide essential background for the main topic
D) To define a complex geological term
Professor: Today I want to focus on a major geological process: mountain building. The theory of plate tectonics explains that the Earth's outer layer is broken into large, moving pieces called tectonic plates. Mountains are often formed at what we call convergent boundaries, where two plates collide. When two continental plates crash into each other, the rock can't be pushed down into the mantle, so it has nowhere to go but up. The crust crumples and folds, creating massive mountain ranges. A textbook example of this is the Himalayan mountain range. It was formed—and is still growing—due to the ongoing collision of the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. This process is incredibly powerful but also incredibly slow, unfolding over millions of years.
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