B
Threeyearsago,fiveparrotsweresetfreeinawildplaceofArizona,thousandsofmilesfromtheChannelIslandsinJerseywheretheyhadbeenlookedafterbyzookeepers.Noevolutionarystr ategiesinformedthemhowtobehaveinthisnewlandscapeofmountainouspineforestunoccupiedbytheirkindfor50years.Totheresearchers’surprise,theyfailedtomakecontactwithagroupofwildparrotsimportedfromMexicoandsetfreeatthesametime.Within24hoursthereintr oducingendedinfailure,andthepoorbirdswerebackincages,ontheirwaytothesafetyoftheArizonareintr oductionprogramme.
Eversincethen,theprogrammehasenjoyedgreatsuccess,mainlybecausethebirdsnowbeingsetfreeareMexicanbirdsillegallycaughtinthewild,confiscated(没收)onarrivalnorthoftheborder,andraisedbytheirparentsinthesafetyoftheprogramme.Theexperienceshowshowlittleweknowaboutthebehaviourandpsychology(心理)ofparrots,asPeterBennett,abirdresearcher,pointsout:“Reintr oducingspeciesofhighintelligencelikeparrotsisalotmoredifficult.Peoplelikeparrots,alwaystr eatingthemasnothingmorethanpetsorvaluable‘collectable s’.”
Nowthatmanyspeciesofparrotareinimmediatedangerofdyingout,biologistsareworkingtogethertostudythenaturalhistoryandthebehaviourofthisfamilyofbirds.Lastyearwasanimportantturningpoint:conservationistsfoundedtheWorldParrotTrust,basedatHayleinCornwall,tosupportr esearchintobothwildandcagedbirds.
Researchonparrotsisvitalfortworeasons.First,astheArizonaprogrammeshowed,whenreintr oducingparrotstothewild,weneedtobeawareofwhatthebirdsmustknowiftheyaretosurviveintheirnaturalhome.Wealsoneedtolearnmoreabouttheneedsofparrotskeptaspets,particularlyastheTrust’scampaigndoesnotattempttodiscouragethepractice,butr atherurgespeoplewhobuyparrotsaspetstochoosebirdsraisedbyhumans.
55.Whatd oweknowabouttheareawherethefiveparrotswerereintr oduced?
A.Itslandscapeisnewtoparrotspftheirkind.
B.Itusedtobehometoparrotsoftheirkind.
C.Itisclosetowheretheyhadbeenkept.
D.Pinetr eeswereplantedtoattr actbirds.
正确答案：B
