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  3. Rescue workers had collected 820 birds from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the majority of them already dead. The current spill p

Rescue workers had collected 820 birds from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the majority of them already dead. The current spill p

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问题     Rescue workers had collected 820 birds from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the majority of them already dead. The current spill promises to be the largest in the US history, and as cleanup efforts stretch across the summer, it’s clear that more oiled birds will be found, stuck and suffering in the black sticky liquid. And as they do with every oil spill, rescue workers will go to great lengths to capture and clean the survivors hoping to restore them to their natural habitat.
    Is it worth the effort? Some scientists aren’t so sure. Because the stress of being captured and bathed is as significant as the horror of being immersed in oil, and because research suggests that many rescued birds die shortly after being released, some experts say euthanasia (安乐死) is a more humane option.
    Clean bird feathers repel water and regulate body temperature—dirty ones don’t. Oil in particular makes feathers heavier and diminishes their ability to trap air, which in turn makes birds more vulnerable to drowning, overheating and organ damage. Of course, being captured and cleaned is no picnic either. Some birds wind up returning to their destroyed habitats only to fall victim to the oil again. And those who manage to avoid a second oil bath suffer dramatically shortened life spans and lower reproductive success. Of the thousands of birds that were rescued from the Prestige oil spill off the coast of Spain in 2002, only 600 were released into the wild; most of the rest died after just a few days in captivity.
    However, bird rescuers say they have learned a lot about how to best help oil-soaked birds, and that therefore, survival rates stand to increase this time around. In the past, birds were cleaned right away, and volunteers often worked through the night bathing rescued birds. But now, captured birds are left to rest for a day or two before being cleaned, and only washed during the day, so as not to disrupt their circadian (生理的) rhythms. But part of that increase may be due to greater selectivity on the part of rescuers. The workers do blood tests right in the field now and birds that are loaded with hydrocarbons (碳氢化合物) or don’t look like they’re going to make it are put down right away, rather than subjected to the stress of captivity and cleaning.
    And so far, while release rates may be improving, there is little evidence of better medium or long-term survival, especially for the more-difficult-to-save species. There still aren’t good biomedical protocols (治疗方案) for repairing the internal organ damage. Nevertheless, rescue efforts will continue, in large part because the public demands that. Euthanasia is a difficult thing to do, especially for people who have built their lives around saving animals.
Oiled birds’ rescue remains a controversial problem because________.
选项 A、oiled birds’ internal organ damage is permanent
B、euthanasia is a difficult and heart-aching operation
C、the more-difficult-to-save species will die by cleaning
D、the rescue is oiled birds’ suffering while seeing them die is cruel
答案D
解析 由题干中的oiled birds’ rescue和because定位到全文。推理判断题。第二段指出救援油污鸟这项工作受到了质疑，对于被救的油污鸟来说，救援是痛苦的折磨，它们仍然摆脱不了死亡的命运。第三段又列举了油污鸟的种种遭遇。最后一段又指出迫于公众压力，这一工作仍将继续，因为眼睁睁地看着它们死去，人类又于心不忍，这样就使得救援油污鸟的工作备受争议。因此，D“救援是对油污鸟的痛苦折磨，眼睁睁地看着它们死去又很残忍”为本题答案。
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