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  3. IMPACTS AND MASS EXTINCTIONS (1) Meteorites and impact craters bear witness to the fact that large impacts occasionally occu

IMPACTS AND MASS EXTINCTIONS (1) Meteorites and impact craters bear witness to the fact that large impacts occasionally occu

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问题                                         IMPACTS AND MASS EXTINCTIONS
    (1) Meteorites and impact craters bear witness to the fact that large impacts occasionally occur on Earth. Barringer Meteor Crater in the northern Arizona desert of the United States formed about 50,000 years ago when a metallic impactor roughly 50 meters across crashed to Earth with the explosive power of a 20-megaton hydrogen bomb. Although the crater is only slightly more than one kilometer across, an area covering hundreds of square kilometers was probably battered by the blast and ejecta—the debris ejected or displaced during the formation of an impact crater. Far bigger impacts have occurred, sometimes with catastrophic consequences for life on Earth.
    (2) While collecting geological samples in Italy in 1978, the father-son team of Luis and Walter Alvarez discovered a thin layer of dark sediment that had apparently been deposited 65 million years ago—at about the same time that the dinosaurs and many other organisms suddenly became extinct. Subsequent studies found similar sediment deposited at the same time at many sites around the world. Careful analysis showed this worldwide sediment layer to be rich in iridium, an element that is rare on Earth’s surface. But iridium is common in primitive meteorites, which led the Alvarezes to a stunning conclusion: the extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by the impact of an asteroid or comet. This conclusion was not immediately accepted and still generates some controversy, but it now seems clear that a major impact coincided with the death of the dinosaurs. While the dinosaurs were the most famous victims of this mass extinction, it seems that up to 99 percent of all living things were killed and that 75 percent of all species living on Earth were wiped out at that time.
    (3) How could an impact lead to mass extinction? The amount of iridium deposited worldwide suggests that the impactor must have been about 10 kilometers across. After a decade-long search, scientists identified what appears to be the impact crater from the event. Located off the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, it is 200 kilometers across, which is close to what one would expect for a 10-kilometer impactor, and dates to 65 million years ago. Further evidence that the Yucatan crater is the right one comes from the distribution of small glassy spheres that formed when the molten impact ejecta solidified as it rained back to Earth. [A] More of these glassy spheres are found in regions near the crater, and careful study of their distribution suggests that the impactor crashed to Earth at a slight angle. [B] These pieces of once molten rock are evidence of an explosion powerful enough to instantly melt bedrock and propel it far from its origin. [C] The impact almost immediately sent a shower of debris raining across much of North and South America and generated huge waves that may have sloshed more than 1,000 kilometers inland. [D] Many North American species thus may have been wiped out shortly after impact. For the rest of the world, death may have come more slowly. Heat from the impact and returning ejecta probably ignited wildfires in forests around the world. Evidence of wildfires is found in the large amount of soot (a black powdery form of carbon produced when coal, wood, or oil is burned) that is also present in the iridium-rich sediment from 65 million years ago. The impact also sent huge quantities of dust high into the stratosphere, where it remained for several years, blocking out sunlight, cooling the surface, and affecting atmospheric chemistry. Plants died for lack of sunlight, and effects propagated throughout the food chain.
    (4) Perhaps the most, astonishing fact is not that 75 percent of all species died, but that 25 percent survived. Among the survivors were a few small, rodent-like mammals. These mammals may have survived because they lived in underground burrows and managed to store enough food to outlast the long spell of cold, dark days. Small mammals had first arisen at about the same time as the dinosaurs, more than 100 million years earlier. But the sudden disappearance of the dominant dinosaurs made these mammals dominant.
In paragraph 3, why does the author include the information that a large amount of soot is found in sediment from 65 million years ago?
选项 A、To identify the largest component of the dust is sent into the atmosphere by the impactor’s crash
B、To support the idea that the impactor’s crash probably caused widespread wildfires
C、To emphasize the large variety of substances found in the sediment
D、To cast doubt on the claim that the impact affected only the area near the crash site
答案B
解析 本题属于修辞目的题，问在第3段中，作者为什么提到在6,500万年前的沉积层中发现大量煤烟灰的信息。原文第3段倒数第3句提到，发现大量煤烟灰证明了野火曾经蔓延，而在6,500万年前富含铱的沉积物中也有这种煤烟灰。也就是说，沉积层中发现大量煤烟灰可作为判断野火蔓延的依据。B项“支持‘天体撞击可能导致野火蔓延’的这个观点”符合题干所问，故选。A项“证明由于撞击而进入大气的尘土主要由煤烟灰组成”，第3段没有关于尘土是否主要由煤烟灰组成的信息。C项“强调沉积层中发现的物质十分丰富”不是作者的修辞目的。D项“质疑‘撞击只影响撞击点附近的地区’的这个说法”，文中没有提到“撞击只影响撞击点附近的地区”这个说法。
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