What is the important discovery about seismic waves mentioned by the instructor?

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问题 What is the important discovery about seismic waves mentioned by the instructor?
  
There were several important discoveries in the early part of last century that helped geologists develop a more accurate picture of the earth’s interior. The first key discovery had to do with seismic waves. Remember they are the vibrations caused by earthquakes. Well, scientists found that they travel thousands of miles through the earth’s interior. This finding enabled geologists to study the inner parts of the earth. You see, the studies revealed that these vibrations were of two types: compression, or P waves, and shear, or S waves. And researchers found that P waves travel through both liquids and solids, while S waves travel only through solid matter. In 1906, a British geologist discovered that P waves slowed down at a certain depth but kept traveling deeper. On the other hand, S waves either disappeared or were reflected back. So he concluded that the depth marked the boundary between a solid mantle and a liquid core. Three years later, another boundary was discovered that was between the mantle and the earth’s crust. There is still a lot to be learned about the earth. For instance, geologists know that the core is hot. Evidence of this is the molten lava that flows out of volcanoes. But we are still not sure what the source of the heat is.

选项 A、How deep they are.
B、Where earthquakes form.
C、How hot they are.
D、What purpose they serve.

答案A

解析 语义理解题。文中提到“And researchers found that P waves travel through both liquids and solids,while S waves travel only through solid matter.”可知,两者传播的介质不同,P形波在液体和固体中都能传播,而S形波只能在固体中传播。接着又说到1906年,一位英国地质学家根据P形波在地球内部一定的深度上传播速度减慢,但是还保持向深处传播,而S形波或者消失,或者反射回来,因此断定,这个深度就是地球内部固体外壳和液体地核的分界点。三年以后,地球内部的另外一个分界线也被发现。由此可知 S形波和P形波的最有用处的地方是帮助科学家了解地球内部各个层次的深度,选项A为正确答案。
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