Question 17 is based on the passage you have just heard.

听力原文

    Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. The mountain has been in a state of near continuous eruption for half a million years. Exploring the Etna geographical area reveals a history written in fire. Before the eruptions, it was covered by forests of pine trees. Located in southern Italy, Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe. (16) However, its height often changes when volcanic material accumulates during eruptions and subsequently collapses.

    Few volcanoes in the world have an eruption history so thoroughly documented by historical records. Etna’s eruption history dates back as far as 1500 BC. Some 200 eruptions have been recorded down through the centuries, but compared with other volcanoes, most of its eruptions have so far been fairly light in terms of death and destruction. Only about 100 deaths have been attributed to the volcano. The mountain hasn’t been entirely harmless, however. In 1928, it destroyed the town of Mascali.

    (17) Over the centuries, Etna’s lowest slopes have been shaped by human hands to take advantage of rich soils for growing grapes, apples and nuts. Local people have also carved out over 200 caves in the soft rock, and used them for everything from sacred burial places to food storage. Large mammals once wandered the volcano’s slopes, but today, foxes, wild cats, rabbits and mice are more common. (18) Some of those small mammals help to sustain such big birds as golden eagles.

17. What do we learn about the lower slopes of Mount Etna?

解析：D。根据录音可知，几个世纪以来，人们塑造了埃特纳火山地势最低的山坡，以利用肥沃的土壤来种植葡萄、苹果和坚果。D项中的make good fields for farming 是对录音信息的同义转述。录音中说当地农民在一些岩质较软的地方开凿山洞用来储藏物品或是作为墓葬，但并没有说用来居住，所以排除C项。A、B项未提及，故排除。