The planet Earth is 4,600 million years old. It is difficult for us to think about such an enormous length of time because it has little meaning for us. We can, however, simplify the idea to make it more understandable. We can compare the planet Earth to a person of forty-six years of age.
Nothing is known about the first seven years of this person’s life. Very little information exists about the middle period either. It was only at the age of forty-two that the Earth began to flower.
Dinosaurs and great reptiles did not appear until one year ago, when the planet was forty-five. Mammals only arrived eight months ago. In the middle of last week, man-like apes became ape-like men and began to communicate with each other. Last weekend, the Ice Age covered the Earth.
Modern man has only been around for four hours. During the last hour man discovered agriculture. The Industrial Revolution and the rise of large cities began just sixty seconds ago.
During that short time, Modern man has made a rubbish tip of the Earth. In one minute, he has increased his numbers to terrible proportion, and has caused the death of hundreds of species of animals. He has robbed and destroyed the planet in his search for fuels. Now he stands, like a violent, spoilt child, delighted at the speed of his rise to power, on the edge of the final mass destruction and of killing all the life which exists in the solar system.
1.The passage tells us that ______________________. *
1 điểm
A. a great deal is known about how the Earth was created.
B. life on Earth began relatively recently.
C. more is known about the first part of the Earth’s life than the middle part.
D. scientists are well-informed about the middle part of the Earth’s life.
2. We are informed by the author that _____________. *
1 điểm
A. the dinosaurs appeared during the middle period.
B. mammals and great reptiles both appeared at the same time.
C. there were more than forty-five kinds of great reptiles.
D. ape-like men appeared before the last Ice Age.
3. The author is mainly interested in __________________. *
1 điểm
A. the time when man first evolved from apes.
B. what has happened since the Industrial Revolution.
C. the effects of farming.
D. the period before the last Ice Age.
4. It would appear that the main danger ahead is that_____________. *
1 điểm
A. man will destroy everything on Earth.
B. man will use up all the fuels.
C. there will be a population explosion.
D. more species of animals may die out.
5.The author’s general view of man seems to be that___________. *
1 điểm
A. he has no right to be so destructive.
B. he has been the most successful animal.
C. he will be able to control the environment.
D. he has learned a lot from past mistakes.
