首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
One day a group of people walked into a cave and painted handprints all over the walls. Ten thousand years later, archaeologists
One day a group of people walked into a cave and painted handprints all over the walls. Ten thousand years later, archaeologists
admin
2014-06-20
66
问题
One day a group of people walked into a cave and painted handprints all over the walls. Ten
thousand years later, archaeologists have no idea why.
【R1】______
But this is the kind of challenge now facing a group of scientists, historians and futurists who are trying to send a message to the people of the distant future. In what has been called the first ever attempt at "reverse archaeology" , they are designing a sign that will last at least 10, 000 years. The message: Don’t dig here, we buried nuclear waste.
The repository in question, the Waste Isolation Pilot Project, or WIPP, was constructed in the 1970s and 80s in a disused salt mine near Carlsbad, New Mexico. In 1999, it became the first underground repository in the world licensed to house waste from the production of nuclear weapons. Once it reaches full capacity in 2033, it will be monitored by the US Department of Energy for 1000 years before being abandoned. Computer models predict that within 1000 years the mine will collapse in on itself, sealing the chemical sludge, toxic waste and contaminated lab equipment inside.
【R2】______
This is a major challenge. In 10, 000 years our descendants may have no recollection of our culture, languages or technologies. They may be more technologically advanced than we can imagine , or civilisation as we know it may have long since crashed and burned.
Clearly the survival of the WIPP message depends on more than paper or digital records. Maps and technical details will be stored in libraries around the world, but the warning signs on the site itself will need to be big, obvious and permanent. They will need to survive over thousands of years without eroding, being looted or being destroyed by vandals.
【R3】______
But making sure the message remains legible is only half the battle. It will also need to be understood, and, equally critically, believed. This is where things get tricky. Chances are the people of the future will no longer use language in the same way that we do. Even if they do use the spoken and written word to communicate, there is no guarantee their language will bear any relation to ours.
In the early 1990s, Nelson gathered two teams of historians, anthropologists and semioticians—experts in signs—and challenged them to come up with the perfect warning sign.
【R4】______
Anthropologists say there is no universal symbol that will convey danger to any human past, present or future. Interpretations of colours vary between cultures, and while depictions of animals like spiders and snakes may inspire fear, they don’t tell you what you should be frightened of.
【R5】______
So if the symbols no longer mean anything to our descendants, will the two faces be enough to get the message across? "Both are relevant, I suppose, " says Robert Aunger, "although we argue that disgust is a response to threat only of infectious disease: radioactivity is not contagious. Fear is more relevant than disgust. " Barring extreme genetic modification, chances are faces will look much the same in 10, 000 years.
A. All things going well it should stay that way for the 250, 000 years it will take for most of the waste to become safe. However, according to legislation drawn up in 1985 by the US Department of Energy, a repository must be safeguarded for at least 10, 000 years, and that means it must be marked.
B. All we know is that nuclear waste is dangerous now and is likely to stay that way for a very long time, and that means we have to try.
C. To be fair to the artists in question, they probably didn’t set out to create something that would make sense in 400 generations’ time. Even if thoughts of the future had crossed their minds, how could they possibly have imagined what would have become of the human race? Since that day, mankind has invented the wheel, developed hundreds of languages and got through several major civilisations, not to mention remodelled the planet and its climate.
D. Facial expressions, though, are universally understood. "Fear is the most basic of emotions, and so would survive any cultural evolution, " says Robert Aunger, a biological anthropologist. With this in mind, the WIPP designers came up with two symbols: a human face showing fear and another showing revulsion and disgust. There will also be a description of the site in seven languages, plus the word "Danger" and today’s symbols for biohazards and radioactivity.
E. The biggest challenge was choosing an image. Symbols do exist to illustrate radiation and biohazards, but symbols have a habit of changing their meanings over time. The swastika, for example, was first used by European tribes in 4000BC and was a Hindu holy symbol long before the Nazis got hold of it.
F. The plan is literally to set the warnings in stone, by carving them onto 8-metre-tall monoliths. A study of ancient rock carvings commissioned by WIPP in 2000 found that deep carvings on basalt survived well, as, surprisingly, did those on sandstone. The team is now testing other rock types against freeze/thaw cracking and wind abrasion, as well as working on cheaper artificial alternatives.
【R5】
选项
答案
D
解析
从下文中的提示词来分析。下段中的关键词“two faces”指明了上一段中主要围绕“two faces”展开,故选D。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/EwXd777K
本试题收录于:
公共英语五级笔试题库公共英语(PETS)分类
0
公共英语五级笔试
公共英语(PETS)
相关试题推荐
AttheUniversityofVirginiainCharlottesville,psychologyprofessorBellaDePaulogot77studentsand70townspeopletovolun
AttheUniversityofVirginiainCharlottesville,psychologyprofessorBellaDePaulogot77studentsand70townspeopletovolun
AttheUniversityofVirginiainCharlottesville,psychologyprofessorBellaDePaulogot77studentsand70townspeopletovolun
AttheUniversityofVirginiainCharlottesville,psychologyprofessorBellaDePaulogot77studentsand70townspeopletovolun
Asregardstoroadsafety,theauthorthinksthat______.Peoplewhoarebuyingtheirfirstbicycleareadvisedto______.
ThepurposeofthefirstparagraphistoWhydosomanypeopleownfaxmachinestoday?
Thepurposeofthefirstparagraphisto______.Thewriterthinksthatmostpeopleusethetax______.
Throughoutourcountry,moreandmoreprivateschoolsaresetup.Somepeopledoubtabouttheeffectivenessoftheseprivatesch
______aweatherwarningsystemisestablishedtohelppeopleawayfromdangerheat?______snowsaremeltinginmanyplacetoca
随机试题
下列何种气体可致温室效应
马某因涉嫌为境外收买国家秘密罪被立案侦查,后经人民检察院批准而被逮捕。在被侦查机关第一次讯问后,马某聘请了律师谢某。谢某提出要会见犯罪嫌疑人马某,并且要向证人夏某收集一些与本案有关的材料。在案件被移送人民检察院审查起诉后,马某又委托了他在某公司任职的哥哥马
甲贩运鸦片,驾车路过一检查站时,被工商部门拦住检查,检查人员朱某正登车检查时,甲突然发动汽车夺路而逃,朱抓住汽车的把手不放,甲为摆脱朱某,在疾驶后突然急刹车,朱某被摔在地,头部着地死亡,甲对朱某的死亡的心理态度是:
社会主义职业道德与传统职业道德之间没有必然的关系,不具备继承性。()
下列选项中,属于法的主要形式渊源的是()。
根据下段材料回答题。下图是有关网民性别结构等数据资料:在60岁以下的各年龄组中,男女网民数量差距最大的是()。
习近平总书记在兰考调研时强调.要学习弘扬焦裕禄同志凡事探求就理、“吃别人嚼过的馍没味道”的求实作风。如果你被录取,你会如何发扬求实作风?
根据合同规定,标的物提存后,毁损、灭失的风险()。
某建筑公司的经理为了答谢国家工作人员甲在招标中的帮忙,送给甲一张超市购物卡,并告知甲购物卡内金额为1万元,且必须在一个月内消费完。甲收卡后随手放在茶几上,不小心与垃圾一起扔掉,导致购物卡过期作废,卡内的全部金额被退回到原银行卡中。关于甲的行为,下列哪一选项
Allchildrenare【B1】______ofhavingfriends,althoughhighselfesteemreallyhelpsthem【B2】______,saysKathyNoll.Nollisthe
最新回复
(
0
)