垃圾箱“争夺战”

湖南 何高伦

主题语境：人与自然

篇幅：363词

建议用时：7分钟

1Cockatoos are large white birds in the parrot fam⁃ily.They're common in western Australia,where they normally live in wooded areas.But as forests have been cut down,cockatoos have gotten used to living near people.

2Last year,scientists at the Max Planck Institute reported that cockatoos had learned how to open the lids (盖) on trash bins.That's not an easy job.The cockatoos must lift the heavy lid with their beaks and then walk along the trash bin,pushing the lid up until it falls over.

3Cockatoos open the lids to find food.But they can also make a big mess,which up⁃sets the people who own the trash bins.What really interested scientists was that the birds were teaching other cockatoos how to do the same thing.When scientists first began study⁃ing the cockatoos in 2018,only three areas near Sydney had lid⁃opening cockatoos.A year and a half later,cockatoos in 44 different areas knew the trick.Scientists were also study⁃ing humans.They asked over 1,100 people from around Sydney about their trash bins.More than 15%of the people were taking steps to keep cockatoos out of their trash bins.

4Scientists spent weeks studying more than 3,200 trash bins in four different areas of Sydney.They wanted to see how many trash bins were protected,and what methods were used.The most common way of protecting the trash bins was putting a brick or other heavy objects on the lid.Humans were teaching each other tricks,too.In most neighborhoods,many people used the same cockatoo⁃stopping methods as their neighbors.

5It's like a race between humans and cockatoos to learn new ways of doing things.Now many cockatoos have learned how to push heavy items off the trash bins.As a result,hu⁃mans have figured out ways to attach(把……附)the items to the top of their trash bins.Sci⁃entists describe the situation as a“human⁃wildlife conflict”.They expect these conflicts to become more common as humans take over more areas that used to be wild.

6Dr Klump says she hopes studies like this will lead to a better understanding and more patience with“the animals we share our lives with”.

Reading Check

1.Which word can best describe the cockatoos?

A.Careless. B.Clever.

C.Generous. D.Cruel.

2.What interested the scientists really?

A.Cockatoos'ways to open trash bins.

B.Cockatoos'getting used to living near people.

C.Cockatoos'unusual appearance and abilities.

D.Cockatoos'teaching each other to do the same thing.

3.How do people protect the trash bins?

A.By putting heavy things on the trash bins.

B.By placing bricks around the trash bins.

C.By warning the cockatoos again and again.

D.By observing the cockatoos in the neighborhood.

4.What do scientists think of“human⁃wildlife conflicts”?

A.They'll let people be more patient with animals.

B.They'll become more common.

C.They can be avoided actually.

D.They may cause animals to lose lives.

Language Study

Difficult sentences

1.They're common in western Australia,where they normally live in wooded areas.它们在澳大利亚西部很常见，它们通常住在澳大利亚西部的树林里。

【点石成金】该句中，where 引导一个非限制性定语从句，先行词为western Austra⁃lia。

2.In most neighborhoods,many people used the same cockatoo⁃stopping methods as their neighbors.在大多数社区，许多人和邻居使用同样的方法来阻止凤头鹦鹉打开盖子。

【点石成金】该句中，many people 为主语，used 为谓语，the same cockatoo⁃stopping methods为宾语。