单选题 . ①Most seismologists assume that following a major earthquake and its aftershocks, the fault (a break in Earth's crust where pressure can trigger an earthquake) will remain quiet until stresses have time to rebuild, typically over hundreds or thousands of years. ②Recent evidence of subtle interactions between earthquakes may overturn this assumption, however. ③According to the stress-triggering hypothesis, faults are unexpectedly responsive to subtle stresses they acquire as neighboring faults shift. ④Rather than simply dissipating, stress relieved during an earthquake travels along the fault, concentrating in sites nearby; even the smallest additional stresses may then trigger another quake along the fault or on a nearby fault. ⑤Although scientists have long viewed such subtle interactions as nonexistent, the hypothesis has explained the location and frequency of earthquakes following several destructive quakes in California, Japan, and Turkey.39. According to the passage, which of the following is an assumption that may be invalidated by recent seismological evidence? ______

A、 Earthquakes are caused by stresses building up in faults within Earth's crust.
B、 Most major earthquakes can be predicted with reasonable accuracy.
C、 Faults are highly responsive to even minor stresses in neighboring faults.
D、 Most major earthquakes are followed by predictable aftershocks.
E、 A fault that has resulted in a major earthquake becomes quiet for a long period.

【正确答案】 E

【答案解析】 E：根据题干可知，本题正确答案应定位在第①句的老观点，因此选现E正确。
A：在第①句确实提到了选项A，但是这是所有地震发生的本质原理，并非是最近的证据所要推翻的内容，最近的证据讨论的是地震之间是否有相互作用。
B：文中未提及。
C：是一个新观点。
D：文中未提及。