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Here is the topic sentence from a news article recently published
by National Geographic News:
«Yellowstone National Park's supervolcano just took a deep
"breath," causing miles of ground to rise dramatically,
scientists report.»
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/01/110119-yellowstone-park-supervolcano-eruption-magma-science/
Now let's have a little reading-comprehension test, based on what
you just read:
1) True or false: The ground in the Yellowstone area is rising.
2) True or false: This is dramatic news because the rate of
rise is new and/or newly discovered.
3) True or false: The ground in the Yellowstone area is not
rising just now. In the most recent year there has been a
bit of subsidence. Nothing about this is new; the area has
a longstanding pattern of rising and falling.
Based on the quoted topic sentence, you might think the answers are
T, T, and F. On the other hand, if you actually look at the data
reported by the scientists in question, you find that the answers
are F, F, and T.
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/publications/2010/GRL2010.php
especially the last figure therein; see also references therein
Actually, if you read the /entire/ National Geographic News article,
it's not too bad, except for the "hook" i.e. the topic sentence.
The problem is, the hook has now been disseminated in thousands of
blog posts, tweets, and retweets. Run for your life! The Yellowstone
Supervolcano is about to explode and wipe out all of North America!
No, no, it's going to wipe out all life on earth!
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