题目内容
Australian scientists are trying to give kangaroo-style stomachs to cattle and sheep in order to cut the greenhouse gases they send out, which are thought to be responsible for global warming.
Thanks to special bacteria in their stomachs, kangaroo flatulence(肠胃气胀)contains no methane(甲烷)and scientists want to transfer that bacteria to cattle and sheep who produce large quantities of the harmful gas.
While the usual image of greenhouse gas pollution is a huge chimney pushing out carbon dioxide, animals at home contribute a surprisingly high percentage of total emissions in some countries. “Fourteen percent of emissions from all sources in Australia is from methane from cattle and sheep,” said Athol Kleve, a senior research scientist with the Queensland state government.
And if you look at another country such as New Zealand, which has got a much higher agricultural base, they're actually up around 50 percent, ” he said.
Researchers say the bacteria also make the digestive process much more efficient and could potentially save millions of dollars in feed costs for farmers. But it will take researchers at least three years to isolate (分离) the bacteria, before they can even start to develop a way of transferring it to cattle and sheep.
Another group of scientists, meanwhile, has suggested Australians should farm fewer cattle and sheep and just eat more kangaroos. People are still arguing about this, but about 20 percent of health-conscious Australians are believed to eat the national symbol already.“It's low in fat, it’s got high protein levels and it's very clean in the sense that basically it's the free-range (放养的) animal,” said Peter Amp of the University of New South Wales's institute of environmental studies.
1.Scientists try to give kangaroo-style stomachs to cattle and sheep to __________.
A. help them fight against different diseases.
B. reduce the amount of greenhouse gases.
C. get rid of the bacteria in their stomachs.
D. protect them from quantities of harmful gas.
2. The advantage of transferring the bacteria to cattle and sheep is that_____________.
A. it will take the researchers a long time.
B. cattle and sheep will eat more than usual.
C. it will help the farmers to save money.
D. the bacteria will make them grow quickly.
3. From this passage we can infer that___________.
A. scientists still don’t know how to transfer the bacteria to cattle and sheep.
B. people in Australia depend on kangaroos for food at the present time.
C. 14% of the greenhouse gases in New Zealand is from cattle and sheep.
D. nobody in Australia will be allowed to farm cattle and sheep in the future.