内容正文:
Week Seven
第7周
晚练
的阅读理解A
For many year,Bruce Bexler dreamed of going where no human had gone before.He wanted to cut a path
through unexplored lands and discover rare species.That might sound like an impossible dream,but Bexler
turned it into a reality.
In December 2015,he and a team of Australian and American scientists explored into a remote tropical
rain forest on the island of New Guinea.They were the first people ever to enter the mist-covered region."As
time was limited,we were dropped in by helicopter.Once we were on the ground,there were no trails (
anywhere;it was really hard to get around,"Bexler says.
Within minutes of landing,the team spotted a black chicken-like bird with strange orange skin hanging
from its neck.The scientists soon determined that the unusual creature was a type of honeyeater-the first
new bird species to be sighted on New Guinea in 60 years.
The honeyeater wasn't the only surprise for the scientists.They discovered more than 40 previously un-
known plant and animal species-13 birds of paradise,20 frogs,4 butterflies,and 5 palms."We were like kids
in a candy store,"Bexler recalls."Everywhere we looked,we saw amazing things we had never seen before."
The newfound species didn't shy away from the scientists.Two long-nosed echidnas-primitive egg-laying
mammals-let the visitors pick them up and take them back to camp to study them.An echidna looks like a
hedgehog and is also called a spiny anteater.
Bexler thinks the animals weren't scared because they had never seen humans before."In almost all parts
of New Guinea,animals are hunted for food,and because of this,they are very cautious of people,"he ex-
plains."This area gives scientists a place where they can go to study the behaviours of animals that have not yet
learned to be afraid of people."
Scientists believe the area is probably the largest untouched forest in Asia.Local people called Kwerba hunt
and collect plants from outer-edges of the forest but told Bexler that not even their