China will need to enhance research into deep Earth sciences to fulfill some of the country's biggest strategic needs, from finding and utilizing underground resources to predicting and relieving natural disasters, experts said.
In a speech addressing China's top scientists and engineers in late May, President Xi urged the Chinese scientific community to break new ground in four strategic frontiers: deep space, deep sea, deep Earth and "deep blue".
"Deep blue" refers to fields related to computer science and information technology, such as cyberspace security and artificial intelligence, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology, while deep Earth consists of geology, mineralogy, seismology, geothermal energy and other sciences related to understanding the Earth's internal structure and utilizing its resources.
Compared with the other three frontiers, deep Earth exploration is a relatively uncertain field, considering the enormous resources, manpower and technological ingenuity needed to penetrate the Earth's crust（地壳）, experts said. But since the mid-20th century, more countries are now aware of the strategic importance of this field.
Liu Jiaqi, a geophysicist and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said deep Earth sciences are closely related to the ability to tap into Earth's mineral and energy resources. They also play a key role in environmental protection and easing the risks of natural disasters, such as earthquakes and volcano eruptions.
"It is a science about supporting and sustaining life on Earth. Without it, we cannot thrive," he said, adding that China's long -term economic prosperity（繁荣）depends heavily on the supply of fossil fuels and basic raw ingredients, all of which are created via complex geological activities and extracted（提取）from the ground.
Xu Yigang, a geochemist and a CAS academician, said China attaches such great importance to deep Earth exploration because the country needs to curb its over-reliance on importing iron, copper, nickel, oil and natural gas.
"Therefore, we need to strengthen our basic research into deep Earth sciences so that we can find and mine the resources our country needs," he said.
【小题1】Where can you most probably find this passage?| A．In a magazine | B．In a journal. | C．In a newspaper | D．In a brochure |
| A．They make a great difference to natural disaster prevention |
| B．They make all the difference to environmental protection |
| C．They play a key role in China's long-term economic development |
| D．They are the only hope for China to get independent in natural resources |
| A．extract | B．prosper | C．enhance | D．struggle |
| A．Deep Earth Sciences, Hope For Independence |
| B．Deep Earth Sciences, Key To Development |
| C．Deep Earth Sciences, Frontier For Security |
| D．Deep Earth Sciences, Solution To Poverty |
