The largest campaign of killing rats in history is set to poison millions of rats on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. Scientists say the campaign planned for 2013 and 2014 will restore beautiful South Georgia to the position it once held as the world’s most important nesting sites for seabirds.
It was sailors in the late 18th century who unintentionally introduced rats to what had been a fresh environment. “If we can destroy the rats, at least 100 million birds will return to their home on South Georgia,” says Tony Martin, a biology professor at the University of Dundee who was invited to lead the project.
South Georgia is by far the largest island to get rid of animals that destroy native wildlife after being introduced deliberately or accidentally by people. Though rats and mice have done the most damage, cats, foxes, goats, deer, rabbits and other species have been targeted in the campaigns around the world.
South Georgia is seven times the size of New Zealand’s Campbell Island, currently the largest area ever killing rats. The successful war against Campbell Island rats was carried our in 2001 with 132 tons of poison dropped from five helicopters.
“New Zealand pioneered the techniques for ridding islands of rats and in fact our operation on South Georgia is based on New Zealand’s technology.” Says Martin. “Some New Zealanders will be helping our campaign, including our chief pilot, Peter Garden, who was also chief pilot for the projects at Campbell Island and Rat Island, in the Aleutian chain of the north Pacific.”
The second and third stages in 2013 and 2014 will involve dropping as much as 300 tons of poison from the air onto every part of the island where rats might live. It is a huge operation, carried out during the stormy southern autumn when the rats are hungry and the risks of poisoning native wildlife are less than in the spring and summer months. “Ideally we’d do in winter but the weather makes that too risky,” Martin says.
The ecological payback will be priceless. But Martin says, “The full benefits will take decades to arrive, because some of these birds are slow to hatch.”
【小题1】According to the passage, how did the rats appear on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia ?A．They were attracted there by wildlife.B．They escaped there from Campbell Island.C．They were introduced there by sailors accidently.D．They were brought in by people deliberately.【小题2】Which of the following is True about Peter Garden ?A．He is in charge of the campaign on the sub-Antarctic island.B．He will be the only pilot for the project on the sub-Antarctic island.C．He will benefit a lot from the campaign on the sub-Antarctic island.D．He made great contributions to the project at Campbell Island and Rat Island.【小题3】The operation of ridding South Georgia of rats is to carried out in autumn because .A．the war against Campbell Island rats failed in all seasons except autumn.B．only then do the New Zealanders to help the operation have the spare time.C．rats then need more food and the operation does less harm to native wildlife.D．the poison kills rats more effectively than it does in any other season.【小题4】What can we infer from the passage?.A．The campaign of killing rats will benefit the native wildlife in a short time.B．Rats aren’t the only species to be blamed for the disappearance of wildlife.C．The first stage of killing rats on the sub-Antarctic island didn’t make great achievements.D．The campaign in South Georgia will fully follow in the footsteps of that on Campbell Island.C
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(答案→)C
解析： 本文叙述了在南极洲南乔治亚岛上进行的大规模灭鼠运动。18世纪晚期，海员无意间把老鼠引入到南极洲南乔治亚岛这个清新的环境，为了让鸟类重回这里，他们开始灭鼠。估计这所产生的效益会在几十年的时间里完全实现。
【小题1】细节理解题。根据第二段“It was sailors in the late 18th century who unintentionally introduced rats to what had been a fresh environment.”可知是18世纪晚期，海员无意间把老鼠引入到南极洲南乔治亚岛这个清新的环境。故答案选C。
【小题2】细节理解题。根据“Some New Zealanders will be helping our campaign, including our chief pilot, Peter Garden, who was also chief pilot for the projects at Campbell Island and Rat Island, ”可知Peter Garden是灭鼠工程的首席飞行员，所以他为Campbell岛和鼠岛的灭鼠工程做出了卓越贡献。故答案选D。
【小题3】细节理解题。根据“It is a huge operation, carried out during the stormy southern autumn when the rats are hungry and the risks of poisoning native wildlife are less than in the spring and summer months.”可知这场大规模灭鼠运动在多暴风雨的男方秋季实施，是因为这时候鼠类饥饿，而且毒死本土野生动物的风险比春天和夏天更小。故答案选C。
【小题4】推理题。根据“Though rats and mice have done the most damage, cats, foxes, goats, deer, rabbits and other species have been targeted in the campaigns around the world.”尽管鼠类危害最大，猫狐狸山羊鹿兔子和其他物种在全世界范围内被定为目标。可知野生动物的消失不能只归咎于鼠类。故答案选B。