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  3. When people talk about a "north-south divide" in Britain, they usually refer to house prices, employment and the ratio of privat

When people talk about a "north-south divide" in Britain, they usually refer to house prices, employment and the ratio of privat

admin2020-03-31  49
问题     When people talk about a "north-south divide" in Britain, they usually refer to house prices, employment and the ratio of private-sector to public-sector jobs. The south scores higher on all such measures. But new data from the British Trust for Ornithology(BTO), a research charity, implies the growth of another north-south divide—this time to the north’s benefit.
    Every 20 years the BTO produces a detailed picture of bird life in Britain and Ireland. The 2007 to 2011 edition is cheery: more species are recorded than in previous pictures, and many birds are increasing in number. Compared with two decades ago, 45% of regular native species are ranging more widely while 32% are living in smaller areas; the rest have stayed put. But the most striking news comes from the north.
    The overall populations of woodland, farmland and migrant perching birds are up in northern England and Scotland but down in the south. The same is true of individual species such as the garden warbler, bullfinch and swallow. The number of cuckoos, a closely-watched species, declined by 63% in England between 1995 and 2010 but by only 5% in Scotland. Raptors are faring especially well in the south, but their numbers are rising in most parts of Britain.
    Partly this reflects climate change, suggests Simon Gillings of the BTO. Some birds are drawn to warmer winters in Scotland and northern England; visiting migrants may stick around for longer. Hard though it may be to believe during a week of rain, the south is becoming drier, pushing snipe northward. More efficient farming has squeezed some farmland species.
    Some birds find it harder to make homes in the south, too. Pressure on housing means deserted buildings and barns, handy for nesting, have been converted into human dwellings. Between 2006 and 2012 the number of vacant dwellings fell by 17% in London and by 12% in Kent. Over the same period the number of empty houses increased by 16% in Derbyshire and by 10% in Lancashire. Northern mining villages once full of workers are now sparsely populated, points out Ian Bart-lett, a birdwatcher in Hartlepool, in north-east England. They have become hot spots for birds and the people who watch them.
    Cultural difference also plays a part, thinks Mark Cocker, an expert on birds. The "obsession with tidiness" is stronger in the south, he says. Fewer people cultivate gardens; they prefer to cover them in decking and remove weeds from between concrete slabs. Village greens are mowed short. In contrast, Scotland and northern England have more trees, grassland and wind-swept moors. Less popular with humans, rugged parts of the countryside are filling up with a winged population instead.
We know from the last paragraph that______.
选项 A、people in the north are more obsessed with tidiness
B、where there are less human beings, there are more birds
C、cultural difference is not clear from south to north in England
D、people in the south enjoy decorating their gardens with green plants
答案B
解析 选项[A]对应第六段第二句：The“obsession with tidiness”is stronger in the south．从而我们知道该项表述是错误的。选项[B]对应最后一句：Less popular with humans，ruggedparts of the countryside are filling up with a winged population instead．该句比较难理解：郊外一些破旧不堪的地方鲜有人类居住，这里反而成为鸟类的居所。其中，winged population指的是鸟类。由此可见，选项[B]“人类越少的地方鸟类就越多”的表述是正确的。选项[C]对应该段第一、二句，而通过这两句我们可以知道该项是错误的。其中not clear与原文中cultural differ—ence，stronger等信息明显相悖。选项[D]对应原文以下内容：…in the south，he says．Fewerpeople cultivate gardens；they prefer to cover them in decking and remove weeds from between con-crete slabs．由此可见南方人很少有种植花草的习惯，从而判断该项是错误的。
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