2024年4月3日发(作者：)

主题阅读：保护动物练习

The "strangest parrots on earth“ are being saved 号嘤曼匐E在^

它们白天睡觉，晚上出来活动，能攀爬却不能飞行。它们被称为“世界上最蠢萌的鹦

鹉”。

难词探意

1. plump /adj.微胖的;饱满的

2. triple / adj.三倍的

3. breed / v,繁殖;饲养

4. snugly / adv.紧贴地

5. pellet / n.小球;小弹丸

6. poach / v.（侵入他人地界）偷猎

Ifs as plump as a goose, has the face of an owl and waddles like a duck. It sleeps in the

day and is active at night. And it can climb just about anything but can't fly anywhere. No

wonder people call the kakapos the strangest parrots on earth.

Once found in large numbers all over New Zealand, kakapos have been on the edge of

disappearing for more than a century. In 1977, trackers counted just 18 kakapos left in the

entire country and all of them were males. Then something amazing happened. A previously

unknown kakapo population was found. It included the first females seen in more than 60

years. This exciting discovery made the local government help the parrots by moving them to

three small, predator? Free islands.

New Zealand is an isolated island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Many of its

plants and animals, like the kakapo, are found nowhere else. Protecting them is a matter of

national pride as well as urgency. "As the largest type of parrot on earth, they are quite the

sight in person,

n

said Wes Sechrest of Global Wildlife Conservation, which is helping the

kakapo recovery program. 'They have a teddy?bear quality with their soft feathers, wide eyes

and owl like the recovery program counts 147 adult birds, nearly triple the

number since its start in 1995. And that number will soon grow, as the current breeding

season is expected to set a record and add 30 to 50 healthy chicks.

To improve kakapo breeding, recovery team members watch and track the parrots using

nest cameras, infrared beams (红夕卜光束)

，

microchips and radio transmitters in small

"backpacks" fitted snugly under the birds wings. Individual feeding stations supply extra pellet

food and clean water. The stations have electronic scales to check weight and are

programmed to open only for the target bird, automatically locking if a parrot wearing the

"wrong" transmitter tries to poach from another parrots station.

Eggs are often removed from the nest and put in incubators (孵化器)

，

machines that

help them develop. In their place, team members leave 3D?printed "smart eggs" that make

noise and get the moms ready to raise their chicks once they hatch and are brought back.

Recovery team caretakers are very dedicated. They hike the forest all day with

equipment and supplies weighing nearly 50 pounds, then curl up at night in tents near the

birds. Like new parents, they awake several times each night to tend to their assigned nest.

Every new chick is celebrated. A few years ago, when a female accidentally crushed her

egg, team members patched it with tape and glue. Days later, they watched excitedly as the

first kakapo chick in three years hatched. Success!

Reading Check

True (T) or False (F)

7. 1. Kakapos are called as the strangest parrots mainly because of their sleeping

habits.

8. 2. There were only 18 kakapos left in New Zealand in 1977.

9. 3. The recovery program helps the kakapos a lot in their recovering.

10.

11.

workers.

1.F 2, T 3. T 4. T 5. T

Threats that tigers face

. Modern technologies are used to improve kakapo breeding.

. Taking care of kakapos is a tough but wonderful job for the recovery team