夏威夷“熱點”

H o t ， m e l t e d1 rock called lava2 is coming out of a volcano3 in Hawaii. Kilauea Volcano（基拉韋厄火山）started to erupt4 in early May，2018. Lava has covered more than six hundred homes on the Big Island. Many people have had to leave. The lava has slowed down， but scientists do not know when it will stop.

O n M a y 3 ， earthquakes made cracks（裂痕）in the ground. Red-hot lava shot out of the cracks. Rivers of lava flowed into places where people live. The lava buried cars， roads， and houses. After two weeks， explosions5 started at the top of Kilauea. The volcano made clouds of smog6 that is not safe to breathe.

In June， lava poured into a big lake. All the water boiled away7！ The lava buried more houses. Then it reached the ocean and started to cool down. When lava cools， it turns to rock. The rock builds up and makes new land. The islands get bigger！

All the land in Hawaii comes from volcanoes. Hot， melted rock moves up from a hot spot deep under the surface. The hot spot stays in one place， but Earths surface moves over it. A chain8 of volcanoes form on the surface. Kilauea Volcano sits right above the hot spot. It probably will not cool off anytime soon.

熔化后的炙熱巖石——巖漿，正從夏威夷的火山中噴涌而出。在2018年5月初，位于夏威夷群島大島的基拉韋厄火山開始噴發。超過600棟民居被巖漿覆蓋，居民被迫撤離。噴發現雖已減弱，但科學家們表示尚難判斷其結束時間。

5月3日發生的地震使得地面出現裂痕。隨后，火紅的熔巖噴射而出，流入住宅區，摧毀汽車，燒毀道路和房屋。兩周后，基拉韋厄火山頂部再次爆發，形成大片有毒煙霾，嚴重威脅人們的健康。

6月，火山巖漿灌入一處大面積湖泊，湖水被全部蒸干！更多房屋被吞沒。隨后巖漿流入海洋，開始冷卻。冷卻后的巖漿重新變成巖石，竟誕生出大片新的陸地，增加了島嶼的面積！

整個夏威夷群島皆因火山形成。地表深處的“熱點”產生炙熱的熔巖，沖出地殼。熱點的位置是固定的，但地球板塊會移動，于是逐漸形成了一串火山鏈?；f厄火山恰恰位于熱點上方，一時半會兒是無法“降溫”了。