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  3. When people talk about a "north-south divide" in Britain, they usually refer to house prices, employment and the ratio of privat

When people talk about a "north-south divide" in Britain, they usually refer to house prices, employment and the ratio of privat

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问题     When people talk about a "north-south divide" in Britain, they usually refer to house prices, employment and the ratio of private-sector to public-sector jobs. The south scores higher on all such measures. But new data from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), a research charity, implies the growth of another north-south divide—this time to the north’s benefit.
    Every 20 years the BTO produces a detailed picture of bird life in Britain and Ireland. The 2007 to 2011 edition is cheery: more species are recorded than in previous pictures, and many birds are increasing in number. Compared with two decades ago, 45% of regular native species are ranging more widely while 32% are living in smaller areas; the rest have stayed put. But the most striking news comes from the north.
    The overall populations of woodland, farmland and migrant perching birds are up in northern England and Scotland but down in the south. The same is true of individual species such as the garden warbler, bullfinch and swallow. The number of cuckoos, a closely-watched species, declined by 63% in England between 1995 and 2010 but by only 5% in Scotland. Raptors are faring especially well in the south, but their numbers are rising in most parts of Britain.
    Partly this reflects climate change, suggests Simon Gillings of the BTO. Some birds are drawn to warmer winters in Scotland and northern England; visiting migrants may stick around for longer. Hard though it may be to believe during a week of rain, the south is becoming drier, pushing snipe northward. More efficient farming has squeezed some farmland species.
    Some birds find it harder to make homes in the south, too. Pressure on housing means deserted buildings and barns, handy for nesting, have been converted into human dwellings. Between 2006 and 2012 the number of vacant dwellings fell by 17% in London and by 12% in Kent. Over the same period the number of empty houses increased by 16% in Derbyshire and by 10% in Lancashire. Northern mining villages once full of workers are now sparsely populated, points out Ian Bartlett, a birdwatcher in Hartlepool, in north-east England. They have become hot spots for birds and the people who watch them.
    Cultural difference also plays a part, thinks Mark Cocker, an expert on birds. The "obsession with tidiness" is stronger in the south, he says. Fewer people cultivate gardens; they prefer to cover them in decking and remove weeds from between concrete slabs. Village greens are mowed short. In contrast, Scotland and northern England have more trees, grassland and wind-swept moors. Less popular with humans, rugged parts of the countryside are filling up with a winged population instead.
The following reasons may drive birds away EXCEPT ______.
选项 A、warmer winter
B、climate change
C、efficient farming
D、continuous rainfall
答案A
解析 第四段首句提到：Partly this reflects climate change(这从某种程度上反映出气候的变化)，其中this指代上文提到的鸟类数量变化，也就是说“气候变化”可以影响鸟类数量，即climate change是该题的答案之一。第二句提到：Some birds are drawn to warmer winters in Scot—land and northern England．其中“are drawn to warmer winters”意为“被吸引到冬天更暖的地方去”，可见warmer winter是吸引鸟类的因素，而不是drive away(驱赶)它们的因素，故warmer winter不是使鸟类离开的原因，符合该题的答案要求。第三句提到：Hard though it may be to believe during a week of rain，the south is becoming drier，pushing snipe northward．(尽管令人难以置信，在连续一周的降雨之后，南方却变得更加干燥，使得沙锥鸟飞往北方。)所以continuous rainfall(持续的降雨)也是驱赶鸟类的因素之一。第四句提到：More efficient farming has squeezed some farmland species．(高效的农耕赶走了一些在农场生活的鸟类。)因此可以知道efficient farming也是一个因素。综上所述，选项A是该题的答案。
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