The use of America's natural resources by early settlers was careless

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
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HELLO, CAN YOU HELP ME TO ANSWER THE QUESTION FOLLOWING THE PASSAGE?
When the first white men came to America, they found vast amounts of natural resources of tremendous value. Forests covered a large part of the nation; later gas, oil and minerals were found in unbelievable amounts. There was a great abundance of very fertile soil. Forests, prairies, streams and rivers abounded with wildlife. So vast were these resources that it seemed that they could never be used
up. So forests were destroyed to make way for farmland. Grass lands and prairies were plowed and harrowed. Minerals and oil were used in great quantities to supply a young industrial nation. Almost every river became the scene of factories, mills and power companies. Mammals and birds were slaughtered for food and sport.
Within a short time, the results were obvious. Floods caused millions of dollars worth of damage yearly. The very fertile soil was washed away or blown up in great clouds. The seemingly inexhaustible oil and minerals showed signs of depletion. Rivers were filled with silt from eroding farms and wastes from factories. Many of the rivers were made unfit for fish. Several species of birds disappeared, and
some mammals seemed on the verge of going. Future timber shortages were predicted.
THE USE OF AMERICAN’S NATURAL RESOURCES BY EARLY SETTLERS WAS ______.
A. CARELESS
B. SCIENTIFIC
C. UNBELIEVABLE
D. PREDICTED

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Well, it would have been better if you had first made an attempt to answer the question yourself. The answer is careless.

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I have done it in my test. I answered “careless” but the answer said “unbelievable”. I was confused. I thought that the answer must have been wrong, but I was still not sure about it.
Thank you so much for your answer.

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THE USE OF AMERICA’S NATURAL RESOURCES BY EARLY SETTLERS WAS ______.
In the absence of any context referring to time, the answer can only be ‘CARELESS’.
But if you relate it to the present America where science and technology are at their peak, the answer could be UNBELIEVABLE because today’s Americans cannot think of or imagine such an indiscriminate and injudicious ‘slaughter’ of natural resources! .

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