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  3. Previous research by scientists from Keil University in Germany monitored Adelie penguins and noted that the birds’ heart rates

Previous research by scientists from Keil University in Germany monitored Adelie penguins and noted that the birds’ heart rates

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问题     Previous research by scientists from Keil University in Germany monitored Adelie penguins and noted that the birds’ heart rates increased dramatically at the sight of a human as far as 30 meters away. But new research using an artificial egg, which is equipped to measure heart rates, disputes this. Scientists from the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge say that a slow moving human who does not approach the nest too closely, is not perceived as a threat by penguins.
    The earlier findings have been used to partly explain me 20 per cent drop in populations of certain types of penguins near tourist sites. However, tour operators have continued to insist mat their activities do not adversely affect wildlife in Antarctica, saying they encourage non-disruptive behavior in tourists, and that the decline in penguin numbers is caused by other factors.
    Amanda Nimon of the Scott Polar Research Institute spent three southern hemisphere summers at Cuverville Island in Antarctica studying penguin behavior towards humans. " A nesting penguin will react very differently to a person rapidly and closely approaching the nest," says Nimon. "First they exhibit large and prolonged heart rate changes and then they often flee the nest leaving it open for predators(捕食者)to fly in and remove eggs or chicks. " The artificial egg, specially developed for the project, monitored both the parent who had been disturbed when the egg was placed in the nest and the other parent as they both took it in turns to guard the nest.
    However, Boris Culik, who monitored the Adelie penguins, believes that Nimon’s findings do not invalidate his own research. He points out that species behave differently — and Nimon’s work was with Gentoo penguins. Nimon and her colleagues believe that Culik’s research was methodologically flawed because the monitoring of penguins’ responses entailed capturing and restraining the birds and fitting them with heart-rate transmitters. Therefore, argues Nimon, it would not be surprising if they became stressed on seeing a human subsequently.
According to the passage, which factor is the most important influence for penguins’s heart rates?
选项 A、Climate change.
B、Tourist activities.
C、Scientific research.
D、Not firmly known yet.
答案D
解析 细节推理题。文章对企鹅是否会因为游客而受到影响这个问题进行了讨论。通读全文可知文章并没有得出什么具体的影响因素的结论。故答案为D。
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