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  3. Rescue workers had collected 820 birds from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the majority of them already dead. The current spill p

Rescue workers had collected 820 birds from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the majority of them already dead. The current spill p

admin2012-07-11  68
问题     Rescue workers had collected 820 birds from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the majority of them already dead. The current spill promises to be the largest in U. S. history,and as cleanup efforts stretch across the summer,it’s clear that more oiled birds will be found, stuck and suffering in the black sticky liquid. And as they do with every oil spill, rescue workers will go to great lengths to capture and clean the survivors hoping to restore them to their natural habitat.
    Is it worth the effort? Some scientists aren’t so sure. Because the stress of being captured and bathed is as significant as the horror of being immersed in oil, and because research suggests that many rescued birds die shortly after being released,some experts say euthanasia (安乐死) is a more humane option.
    Clean bird feathers repel water and regulate body temperature—dirty ones don’t. Oil in particular makes feathers heavier and diminishes their ability to trap air,which in turn makes birds more vulnerable to drowning, overheating and organ damage. Of course, being captured and cleaned is no picnic either. Some birds wind up returning to their destroyed habitats only to fall victim to the oil again. And those who manage to avoid a second oil bath suffer dramatically shortened life spans and lower reproductive success. Of the thousands of birds that were rescued from the Prestige oil spill off the coast of Spain in 2002, only 600 were released into the wild; most of the rest died after just a few days in captivity.
    However,bird rescuers say they have learned a lot about how to best help oil-soaked birds,and that therefore,survival rates stand to increase this time around. In the past,birds were cleaned right away, and volunteers often worked through the night bathing rescued birds. But now, captured birds are left to rest for a day or two before being cleaned, and only washed during the day, so as not to disrupt their cir-cadian (生理的) rhythms. But part of that increase may be due to greater selectivity on the part of rescuers. The workers do blood tests right in the field now and birds that are loaded with hydrocarbons (碳氢化合物 ) or don’t look like they’re going to make it are put down right away,rather than subjected to the stress of captivity and cleaning.
    And so far,while release rates may be improving,there is little evidence of better medium or long-term survival, especially for the more-difficult-to-save species. There still aren’t good biomedical proto-cols(协议) ,for repairing the internal organ damage. Nevertheless,rescue efforts will continue,in large part because the public demands that. Euthanasia is a difficult thing to do, especially for people who have built their lives around saving animals.
Why do some scientists doubt the effort to rescue oiled birds?
选项 A、It has cost too much time and money.
B、Human may be infected with bird virus.
C、It is a torture followed by death to birds.
D、Migrant birds may broaden the pollution.
答案C
解析 事实细节题。定位段指出，一些科学家之所以怀疑救援油污鸟的工作是因为：被捕捉和清洗给油污鸟带来的冲击不小于浸在石油中的恐惧，同时很多被救援的鸟类在放回大自然之后很快就死去了，一些专家就此认为安乐死是一种更人道的做法。因此，C)“对于油污鸟来说，救援是痛苦的折磨，它们仍摆脱不了死亡的命运”，符合题意，故为本题答案。A)“这项工作已经投入了太多的时间和金钱”，B)“人类可能感染鸟类病毒”和D)“候鸟可能会扩大污染范围”，原文均未提及，故全部排除。
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