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  3. According to a study published this week in the journal Ecology Letters, the quantity of birds in Europe has declined by more th

According to a study published this week in the journal Ecology Letters, the quantity of birds in Europe has declined by more th

admin2016-03-10  56
问题     According to a study published this week in the journal Ecology Letters, the quantity of birds in Europe has declined by more than 20 percent in the past 30 years. While there were over 2.1 billion European birds in 1980, there are now around 1.6 billion, says study co-author Rich Inger, an ecologist at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom.
    Most of the decline—or 90 percent—is accounted for by a shrinking population in the 36 most common species, Inger tells Newsweek. For example, throughout the continent there are now 62 percent fewer house sparrows(a common species also found in North America)than there were when Margaret Thatcher became prime minister, a decline of about 150 million animals, he says. There were also drops in the numbers of such common species as skylarks(云雀), grey partridges(灰色鹧鸪)and starlings(椋鸟).
    The decline is likely due in part to habitat loss and pesticide use. The amount of land used for agriculture in Europe has greatly increased since 1980, and there are fewer places for birds to nest and find food, Inger says. At the same time, pesticide use has gone up, knocking down the number of "pests" like insects that birds prey upon, he adds. "We don’t manage the environment in a way that’s good for birds," Inger says.
    The study looked at an immense amount of data collected by thousands of "citizen scientists" over 30 years in most countries in Europe, in "an insightful departure from conventional approaches to reviewing bird monitoring data," said Michael Wunder, an ornithologist(鸟类学家)at the University of Colorado-Denver who wasn’t involved in the study. Wunder says the study clearly shows that "population sizes are most strongly affected by land use patterns" like farming. The measures used to protect rare species, like restrictions on hunting in certain areas, are not enough to prevent a decline in common birds, he adds.
    If we want to protect birds in general, we need to change farming practices to provide more non-crop-laden land for birds, Inger says. Reducing pesticides would also help, as research has shown that areas with high pesticide use have fewer birds. "What we can do is start more environmentally friendly farming," Inger says. "We can leave wider margins on fields, get farmers to look after hedgerows(灌木篱墙), put up more bird boxes and provide places for birds to nest."
When doing environmentally friendly farming, farmers______.
选项 A、leave some space for birds
B、suffer from less harvest
C、provide food for birds
D、pick new types of crops
答案A
解析 细节题。由题干中的environmentally friendly farming定位至最后一段。该段指出，当农民们采用保护环境的耕种模式时，他们会在地边留出更大的空地、确定灌木篱笆是否合适、安放鸟箱以及给鸟类留出筑巢的空间，也就是说，他们会给鸟类留出更多的空间，故[A]为答案。
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