第三篇On the Trail of the Honey Badgers
On a recent field trip to the Kalahari Desert, a team of researchers learnt a lot more about honey badgers (獾). The team employed a local wildlife expert, Kitso Khama, to help them locate and follow the badgers across the desert. Their main aim was to study the badgers’ movements and behaviour as discreetly (谨慎地) as possible, without frightening them away or causing them to change their natural behaviour. They also planned to trap a few and study them close up before releasing them. In view of the animal’s repuwww.lindalemus.comtation, this was something that even Khama was reluctant to do.
“The problem with honey badgers is they are naturally curious animals, especially when they see something new,” he says. “that, combined with their unpredictable nature, can be a dangerous mixture. If they sense you have food, for example, they won’t be shy about coming right up to you for something to eat. They’re actually quite sociable creatures around humans, but as soon as they feel they might be in danger, they can become extremely vicious (凶恶的). Fortunately this is rare, but it does happen.”
The research confirmed many things that were already known. As expected, honey badgers ate any creatures they could catch and kill. Even poisonous snakes, feared and avoided by most other animals, were not safe from them. The researchers were surprised, however, by the animal’s fondness for local melons, probably because of their high water content. Previously researchers thought that the animal got all of its liquid requirements from its prey (猎物). The team also learnt that, contrary to previous research findings, the badgers occasionally formed loose family groups. They were also able to confirm certain results from previous research, including the fat that female badgers never socialized with each other.
Following some of the male badgers was a challenge, since they can cover large distances in a short space of time. Some hunting territories cover more than 500 square kilometers. Although they seem happy to share these territories with other males, there are occasional fights over an important food source, and male badgers can be as aggressive towards each other as they are towards other species.
As the badgers became accustomed to the presence of people, it gave the team the chance to get up close to them without being the subject of the animal’s curiosity — or their sudden aggression. The badgers’ eating patterns, which had been disrupted, returned to normal. It also allowed the team to observe more closely some of the other creatures that form working associations with the honey badger, as these seems to adopt the badgers’ relaxed attitude when near humans.
41. Why did the wildlife experts visit the Kalahari Desert?
A. To find where honey badgers live.
B. To observe how honey badgers behave.
C. To catch some honey badgers for food.
D. To find out why honey badgers have a bad reputation.
42. What does Kitso Khama say about honey badgers?
A. They show interest in things they are not familiar with.
B. They are always looking for food.
C. They do not enjoy human company.
D. It is common for them to attack people.
43. What did the team find out about honey badgers?
A. There were some creatures they did not eat.
B. They were afraid of poisonous creatures.
C. They may get some of the water they needed from fruit.
D. Female badgers did not mix with male badgers.
44. Which of the following is a typical feature of male badgers?
A. They don’t run very quickly.
B. They hunt over a very large area.
C. They defend their territory from other badgers.
D. They are more aggressive than females
45. What happened when honey badgers got used to humans around them?
A. They became less aggressive towards other creatures.
B. They started eating more.
C. Other animals started working with them.
D. They lost interest in people.
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Toads are Arthritic and in Pain
Arthritis is an illness that can cause pain and swelling in your bones. Toads, a big problem in the north of Australia, are suffering from painful arthritis in their legs and backbone, a new study has shown. The toads that jump the fastest are more likely to be larger and to have longer legs. 46.
The large yellow toads, native to South and Central America, were introduced into the north-eastern Australian state of Queensland in 193S in an attempt to stop beetles and other insects from destroying sugarcane crops. Now up to 200 million of the poisonous toads exist in the country, and they are rapidly spreading through the state of Northern Territory at a rate of up to 60 km a year. The toads can now be found across more than one million square kilometers. 47. A Venezuelan poison virus was tried in the 1990s but had to be abandoned after it was found to also kill native frog species.
The toads have severely affected ecosystems in Australia. Animals, and sometimes pets, that eat the toads die immediately from their poison, and the toads themselves eat anwww.lindalemus.comything they can fit inside their mouth. 48.
A co-author of the new study, Rick Shine, a professor at the University of Sydney, says that little attention has been given to the problems that toads face. Rick and his colleagues studied nearly 500 toads from Queensland and the Northern Territory and found that those in the latter state were very different. They were active, sprinting down roads and breeding quickly.
According to the results of the study, the fastest toads travel nearly one kilometre a night. 49. But speed and strength come at a price — arthritis of the legs and backbone due to constant pressure placed on them.
In laboratory tests, the researchers found that after about 15 minutes of hopping, arthritic toads would travel less distance with each hop. 50. These toads are so programmed to move, apparently, that even when in pain the toads travelled as fast and as far as the healthy ones, continuing their relentless march across the landscape.
A. Toads are not built to be road runners — they are built to sit around ponds and wet area.
B. The task now facing the country is how to remove the toads.
C. Furthermore, they soon take over the natural habitats of Australia’s native species.
D. Toads with longer legs move faster and travel longer distances, while the others are being left behind.
E. But this advantage also has a big drawback — up to 10% of the biggest toads suffer from arthritis.
F. But arthritis didn’t slow down toads outside the laboratory, the researchers found.
