首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Plans for one of Britain’ s biggest housing developments, of 5,000 homes worth hundreds of millions of pounds, may have to be ab
Plans for one of Britain’ s biggest housing developments, of 5,000 homes worth hundreds of millions of pounds, may have to be ab
admin
2014-09-09
75
问题
Plans for one of Britain’ s biggest housing developments, of 5,000 homes worth hundreds of millions of pounds, may have to be abandoned because of the presence of nightingales, the birds which sing in the night and have long been a favourite of poets. The case, which centres on a disused army site in Kent, presents the conflict between the need to build new houses and people’s wish to preserve Britain’s threatened countryside and wildlife in its sharpest possible form. It is likely to lead to a bitter struggle.
The site at Lodge Hill, Chattenden, on the Hoo peninsula north of Chatham, has been earmarked by Medway District Council for what is in effect a new town, which besides its enormous housing quota is intended to provide 5,000 new jobs. The main developers are to be Land Securities, Britain’s biggest commercial property company. Yet last year scientists discovered that Lodge Hill is probably the best site in the country for the nightingale, which is rapidly disappearing from Britain. Yesterday the case came to a head when Natural England, the Government’s wildlife watchdog, declared Lodge Hill to be a Site of Special Scientific Interest(SSSI)because of its nightingale population, which means that development will be much more difficult, and may ultimately be impossible.
The move provoked a furious response from Medway Council, which said it was " deeply unhappy" and was considering its options. "This is very disappointing news to receive from unelected quangocrats at Natural England," said the leader of the Conservative-controlled council, Rodney Chambers. "As a local authority we are eager for this scheme to progress and deliver the houses and jobs we badly need. " He added: "What hope does the country have of beating the economic downturn when infrastructure and housing projects like this are being stalled all over the country by the Government’s agencies?" Land Securities also said it was disappointed with the decision.
However, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds gave the decision its full backing. "Natural England is right to designate Lodge Hill as an SSSI in the face of extreme economic pressure," said Martin Harper, the RSPB director of conservation. "We think it is time for Medway Council and Land Securities to go back to the drawing board and think about where they should build their houses. "
The case is likely to raise strong feelings because the nightingale is one of Britain’ s most beloved birds, famed for the midnight song which males sing to attract females, from mid-April to June, after their migratory return from Africa. So many poets have written about it, in many countries and civilisations from the classical world onwards, -that it has been called "the most versified bird in the world". In English literature, Samuel Coleridge, John Clare and most famously, John Keats, all wrote nightingale poems.
But in England—the nightingale is not found in the rest of Britain—the bird has been undergoing a remorseless decline. The latest estimate is that its population dropped by 52 percent between 1995 and 2010, yet an examination of earlier records by the British Trust for Ornithology(BTO)has suggested that over the last 40 years, the bird’s population has actually fallen by more than 90 per cent. In a recent paper, scientists from the BTO said the nightingale would have been placed on the Red List of birds of conservation concern if this figure had been known about when the list was last revised.
The bird’s range is steadily contracting and the nightingale is now concentrated mainly in the southeast corner of England, especially in Suffolk, Essex, Kent, Surrey and Sussex It was known that Lodge Hill held nightingales, but its real importance was not discovered until last year, when the BTO carried out a national nightingale survey. It was found the core of the site held 69 singing males, and in total the figure was 84.
BTO scientists estimate that Lodge Hill contains about 1. 3 per cent of the total national nightingale population, which the survey provisionally estimated to be between 6,250 and 6,550 pairs. "If there is a better nightingale site in Britain, we don’t know of it," said the BTO’s Dr Chris Hewson. Mr Harper said: "Lodge Hill is probably one of the most important sites in the country for nightingales. We expect more than 80 singing males to return to this site in less than a month ready for the breeding season, and they need to have a secure home to come back to. "
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
选项
A、The nightingale was on the revised Red List of birds of conservation concern.
B、The national nightingale survey was carried out by the BTO.
C、Lodge Hill is considered by some BTO official the best nightingale site in Britain,
D、The nightingale has been declining dramatically over the last 40 years.
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/kPSO777K
本试题收录于:
NAETI高级口译笔试题库外语翻译证书(NAETI)分类
0
NAETI高级口译笔试
外语翻译证书(NAETI)
相关试题推荐
OurGlobalVillageScienceandtechnologyhasturnedourworldintoaglobalvillage.Theterm—globalvillage—wascoinedby
SomeAmericansarenotsureifObamaisapresidentwithgreat________andthereforedeservestheirpoliticalsupport.
Theseobservationsonhumanlanguagelearning,coupledwithevolutionaryspeculationsmakeonerealizetheformidableaccomplish
女士们,先生们,上午好!中国和马来西亚是友好近邻,两国传统友谊源远流长。中国明朝郑和七下西洋,五次到达马六甲,同当地人民友好交往和互利通商,至今传为佳话。中马建交33年来,两国经贸合作持续快速发展。中国海关统计,2006年两国贸易额达371亿
中美两国建交以来,人民之间的交往不断扩大。两国已缔结了33对友好省州和123对姊妹城市。去年,到中国旅游的美国人多达131万人次。中国赴美探亲、求学、经商的有44万人次。中国有超过18万人曾在美国留学,目前在读的留学生有六万余人。而在中国学习的美国留学生
A、ItsentthembacktoSpain.B、IthadconstantphonecontactwiththeSpanishConsulinIstanbul.C、IttreatedtheminSpanish
Thehumanbodyisaremarkable(1).Asanadult,youmayconsume(2)foodperyearandstillnot(3)apoundofbodyweight.Yo
A、IntheContinent.B、OutsideEurope.C、IntheItaly.D、IntheUSA.B
A、basicfarmlandprotectionzonesshouldbeestablishedB、illegallyoccupyinganddestroyingfarmlandshouldbepunishedC、aleg
A、trytomakeapartialpayment.B、trytocleartheirdebtbytheendoftheyear.C、bedeprivedoftheirmembership.D、beputi
随机试题
简述增值税纳税人区分为一般纳税人和小规模纳税人的意义。
Theuniversity______fourcollegesandfiveacademies.
颈总动脉一般在下列哪个平面分出颈内动脉和颈外动脉
护士在对输卵管妊娠患者进行护理评估时,下列描述正确的是
以下哪种细胞不是自律细胞( )。
山药粉末中可见( )。
某待估宗地所处区域基准地价为500元/平方米,根据待估宗地条件和基准地价修正系数表,经分析测算,区域因素和个别因素修正系数之和为-0.13,年期、期日、容积率修正系数分别为0.97、1.06、1.51,则采用基准地价系数修正法评估该宗地地价为(
根据所给材料回答问题。(需计算后回答的问题须列出算式;每个问题计算过程中的小数均保留实际位数,计算结果有小数的,小数保留2位)甲、乙、丙合著一部书稿交B出版社出版,并商定按各人所写字数分配报酬。2015年2月该书出版,印数8000册,应支付稿费的
(12)是指把数据以及操作数据的相关方法组合在同一个单元中,使我们可以把类作为软件中的基本复用单元,提高其内聚度,降低其耦合度。面向对象中的(13)机制是对现实世界中遗传现象的模拟,通过该机制,基类的属性和方法被遗传给派生类。
HewasoutwhenIcalled,butthesecretarykindlyoffered______amessageforme.
最新回复
(
0
)