What does the word 'population' most likely refer to in the context of the sentence 'From an analysis of the hot-spot population it appears that the African plate is stationary and that it has not moved during the past 30 million years.'?
答案解析
The core concept tested here is the understanding of vocabulary in context. The correct answer is B, 'The distribution of hot spots', as 'population' in this context refers to the number and distribution of hot spots, not people or geological features. Option A is incorrect because it misinterprets 'population' as referring to people. Option C is incorrect because it confuses 'population' with geological features. Option D is incorrect because it misinterprets the context as being about the movement of tectonic plates rather than the distribution of hot spots.
正确答案：B