Câu hỏi 779068 - Đọc 4 - EN32

Into the Unknown

In the days of Stanley and Livingstone, much of the world was still unexplored. Today, most places on the surface of the world have been mapped. Some places, however, are still waiting to be discovered. Some of these are underground, in deep caves called blue holes.

A blue holes is a special kind of inlandunderwater cave. The cave forms when the earth above it falls in. Some of the world’s most spectacular blue holes are located in the Bahamas. The islands there may have more than a thousand blues holes. These caves are very deep – for example, Dean’s Blue Hole, the deepest blue hole in the world, is more than 660 feet (200 meters) deep.

Diving into blue holes is extremely dangerous. Near the top of a blue hole, there is a layer of poisonous gas. This gas causes itching, dizziness, and – in large amounts – death. Divers must also be fast. They have to get in and out of a cave before their oxygen run out. Additionally, it’s very dark in these caves, so it is very easy to get lost. Divers therefore have to follow a guideline as they swim through a blue hole. If they lose the guideline, they may not find their way back out of the cave.

If blue holes are so dangerous, why do explorers and scientists risk their lives to explore them? One reason is that these underwater caves can provide valuable scientific information. They provide clues about geology, archaeology, and even astrobiology – the study of life in the universe. For example, some blue hole creatures, such as the remipede, probably haven’t changed for millions of years. Divers have also found bacteria that can live without oxygen. Similar life forms probably existed on Earth billions of years ago.

In addition, the oxygen-free environment of the blue holes preserves bones of humans and animals that fell into the caves long ago. By studying the blue holes, we can understand what life was like in prehistorictimes. As cave diver Kenny Broad says, “I can think of no other environment on Earth that is so challenging to explore and gives us so much scientifically.”

Windows on an Alien World?

An inland blue hole’s water is very still and has different layers. A layer of fresh rainwater floats on top of salt water. The fresh water keeps oxygen from the atmosphere from reaching the salt water. Brightly colored bacteria live where the two layers meet. Scientists believe these bacteria could teach us about life in outer space. Astrobiologist Kevin Hand says the bacteria may be similar to forms of life that might exist on Jupiter’s fourth largest moon, Europa. “Our study of life’s extremes on Earth,” says Hand, can help increase “our understanding of habitable environments off Earth.”

Where are the world’s most spectacular blue holes discovered?

Chọn đáp án:

Trung tâm giáo dục thể chất và quốc phòng an ninh
Khoa kinh tế
Khoa đào tạo từ xa
Trung tâm đào tạo trực tuyến
Khoa đào tạo cơ bản
Khoa điện - điện tử
Khoa du lịch
Khoa Công nghệ thông tin
Viện Công nghệ sinh học và Công nghệ thực phẩm
Trung tâm đại học Mở Hà Nội tại Đà Nẵng
Khoa tiếng Trung Quốc
Khoa tạo dáng công nghiệp
Khoa tài chính ngân hàng
Khoa Tiếng anh
Khoa Luật

Bản tin HOU-TV số 06 năm 2025

Tuyển sinh đại học Mở Hà Nội - HOU

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