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
2022-04-28
84
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 1,000 years before being abandoned. Computer models predict that within 1,000 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/TKWd777K
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
PeopleintheUnitedStatesarebecomingmoreandmoreawareoftheinfluenceoftheautomobileontheirlives.Theautomobileh
Theyaretalkingabouttheproblemsofoldpeopleingeneral.
Theyaretalkingabouttheproblemsofoldpeopleingeneral.
Theyaretalkingabouttheproblemsofoldpeopleingeneral.
Accordingtothepoliceofficer,howcanpeopleavoidtheunpleasantaccidents?
Accordingtothepoliceofficer,howcanpeopleavoidtheunpleasantaccidents?
Toomanypeoplearehauntedbyfivedismalwords:"Butit’stoolatenow".Anunfaithfulhusbandwouldliketosalvagehismarri
Toomanypeoplearehauntedbyfivedismalwords:"Butit’stoolatenow".Anunfaithfulhusbandwouldliketosalvagehismarri
Toomanypeoplearehauntedbyfivedismalwords:"Butit’stoolatenow".Anunfaithfulhusbandwouldliketosalvagehismarri
随机试题
A股份有限公司(简称A公司)注册资本为8000万元。甲系A公司控股股东,持股比例为35%。乙持有A公司股份192万股。2007年8月20日,乙听到A公司欲进行产业转型的传闻,遂通过电话向A公司提出查阅董事会近一年来历次会议决议的要求。次日,A公司以乙未提出
下列基牙,具有二型倒凹线的是
患者男性,50岁。患消化性溃疡10年,凌晨出现持续腹痛,服用氢氧化铝后不能缓解,且向背部放射。该患者可能并发了
甲向乙购买一台大型设备,由于疏忽在合同中未定检验期。设备运回后,甲即组织人员进行检验,未发现质量有问题,于是投入使用。至第三年,设备出现故障,经反复查找,发现设备关键部位的质量瑕疵。按照该设备的说明书,其质量保证期为5年。下列判断中哪些是错误的?
在统计抽样中,样本容量的含义是指()。
根据《中华人民共和国刑法修正案(六)》的规定,任何单位或个人在自己实际控制的账户之间进行证券交易,或者以自己为交易对象,自买自卖期货合约,影响证券、期货交易价格或者证券、期货交易量的,可能构成操纵证券、期货市场罪。()
下列各项中,不属于契税纳税义务人的是()。
[2007年GRK真题]对于东明市的居民来说,购买新房是一项高昂的消费,居民一般购买45万元左右的中低档房,少数富有的家庭购买100万元以上的高档房。每年购买房子的人群中25岁至35岁的人约占50%,其中高于65%的购房者没有私家车。如果上述断定为真,则以
近年来,许多精细木工获得艺术家的美誉。但是,由于家具必须是实用的,精细木工在施展他们的手艺时必须兼顾其产品的实用性,因而,精细木工艺不是艺术。以下哪项是上述论证最可能的假设?
TheIndustrialRevolution[A]TheIndustrialRevolutionisthenamegiventothemassivesocial,economic,andtechnologicalchan
最新回复
(
0
)