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Lesson 42 Modern cavemen 现代洞穴人 Cave exploration, or pot-holing, as it has come to be known, is arelatively new sport. Perhaps it is the desire for solitude or the chance ofmaking an unexpected discovery that lures people down to the depths of theearth. It is impossible to give a satisfactory explanation for a pot-holersmotives. For him, caves have the same peculiar fascination which high mountainshave for the climber. They arouse instincts which can only be dimly understood. Exploring really deep caves is not a task for the Sunday afternoonrambler. Such undertakings require the precise planning and foresight ofmilitary operations. It can take as long as eight days to rig up rope laddersand to establish supply bases before a descent can be made into a very deepcave. Precautions of this sort are necessary, for it is impossible to foretellthe exact nature of the difficulties which will confront the pot-holer. Thedeepest known cave in the world is the Gouffre Berger near Grenoble. It extendsto a depth of 3,723 feet. This immense chasm has been formed by an undergroundstream which has tunneled a course through a flaw in the rocks. The entrance tothe cave is on a plateau in the Dauphine Alps. As it is only six feet across,it is barely noticeable. The cave might never have been discovered had not theentrance been spotted by the distinguished French pot-holer, Berger. Since itsdiscovery, it has become a sort of pot-holers Everest. Though anumber of descents have been made, much of it still remains to be explored. | 
