阅读理解
When we
dig to obtain a precious metal, a fuel, or an ancient mine, we remove a chapter
of another time. Such materials take millions of years to settle, then only moments
to remove with machine and explosive.
Ever since
humans first realized that the ground beneath them held hidden riches, we have
dug down to discover what lies beneath. Mining makes almost every aspect of our
modern lives possible, and often the effects on the natural world are far, far
away from home. Unlike many of the changes humanity has brought on the planet's
surface, which will disappear in time, some of our underground doings have left
permanent horrible scars (伤疤).
"The
underground world for most of us is out of sight, out of mind," observes geologist
Jan Zalasiewicz in England. "Yet it is seeing significant change that in
some ways is as striking as any that humans have made to the Earth's geology,
and that is permanent." At present, while certain tree roots can reach as
much as 68 meters deep somewhere in South Africa, miners in that country have
dug five kilometers below Earth's surface in pursuit of gold. The world's
deepest borehole (钻孔) plunges (陡降) more than 12 kilometers into the ground.
"Things
like mines and boreholes, even pressed by pressure and chemically changed by
underground liquids, are big and obvious holes in the rock. They're not subtle,"
Zalasiewicz says. Zalasiewicz and his co-authors propose a new term for such underground
disturbances: "anthroturbation". The name originates from the word "bioturbation",
which refers to the kind of trace left behind in the Earth by animals such as
ants when they dig their homes. Humans take this kind of disturbance to a much deeper
level.
"The
only way these marks can go away is by coming to the surface and being destroyed,
or getting caught up in a continental crash, or some other activities," Zalasiewicz
told me. "Any of these ways for erasing them will take tens to hundreds of
millions of years."
(1)
What's the author's attitude to humans' underground digging?
A . Negative.
B . Approval.
C . Unconcerned.
D . Neutral.
(2)
What does the author want to show by giving examples in paragraph 3?
A . To show humans' super ability.
B . To praise humans' determination.
C . To reveal humans' destructive power.
D . To introduce humans' new discoveries.
(3)
What does the underlined word "subtle" in paragraph 4 mean?
A . Apparent.
B . Unnoticeable.
C . Incredible.
D . Mysterious.
(4)
What can we learn from this passage?
A . The modem lives depend on the underground digging.
B . The protection of the underground is well underway.
C . The underground doings by humans will soon disappear.
D . The disappearance of the underground scars will take ages.
答案: A
C
B
D