HeroRATs|小小英雄鼠　扫雷真克星

HeroRATs

by Rebecca A. Fratzke

Some rats are being called heroes because they help save lives.

In Africa, rats are detecting landmines and preventing innocent people from getting hurt. APOPO is the non-profit organization in Tanzania that is training giant African pouched rats to do these amazing things. It was started in the late 1990s by Bart Weetjens in Belgium but was later moved to Tanzania. Pouched rats' small size and weight make it unlikely for them to _(1)_ a pressure-activated bomb.

The rats are trained by teaching them to _(2)_ the sound of a clicker and the smell of a bomb with a food reward. The rats detect landmines through the use of two different methods. The first is by _(3)_ working in the fields. The animals are taken to areas suspected of having landmines. They are then tied to a rope that is held by two handlers and led over the area to be checked. The rat moves from one handler to _(4)_, stopping to scratch the ground whenever a bomb is suspected. Professional bomb teams are then called in to remove the landmines safely. The second method of bomb detection is to bring in ground samples of the area _(5)_. If the rats scratch the samples, field sweeps of that area will be done.

Weetjens calls his creatures HeroRATs because they are used for humanitarian _(6)_. In many areas of the world, landmines pose a threat to _(7)_ people who are just trying to make a living or simply get from one place to another. Landmines can cause incredible damage, but thanks to APOPO and its HeroRATs, people throughout Africa are living longer, safer lives.

1.  (A) put off (B) turn off    (C) set off (D) take off

2.  (A) associate   (B) measure (C) replace (D) confuse

3.  (A) practically (B) variously   (C) suddenly    (D) directly

4.  (A) another (B) other   (C) the other   (D) one another

5.  (A) in place    (B) in question (C) out of order    (D) from a distance

6.  (A) purposes    (B) principals  (C) contests    (D) chores

7.  (A) occasional  (B) automatic   (C) accidental  (D) ordinary

小小英雄鼠　扫雷真克星

有些老鼠被称为英雄，因为牠们帮助解救生命。

　　在非洲，老鼠被用来侦测地雷，保护无辜民众避免受伤。安特卫普扫雷组织（APOPO）是位于坦尚尼亚的非营利组织，他们训练非洲巨颊囊鼠来从事这种惊人的任务。巴特‧威俊斯从 1990 年代末期在比利时开始这项计划，但之后移到坦尚尼亚进行。巨颊囊鼠娇小的体型和轻巧的体重让牠们不会触动压力引爆的炸弹装置。

　　训练囊鼠的方式是教导牠们把响片的喀哒声和炸弹味道与食物奖赏联想在一起。而老鼠侦测地雷的方式有 2 种。第 1 种是直接到地面进行侦测。老鼠被带到疑似有地雷的地区后，绑在由 2 名驯养人员各拉住一端的绳子上，接着被引导走过需要侦测的区域。老鼠从一名驯养人员走到另一名驯养人员那边，侦测到炸弹时就会停下来挖地面。接着会请来专业的炸弹小组安全拆除炸弹。第 2 种侦测炸弹的方法则是收集有疑问地区的土壤样本。如果老鼠用爪子挖该样本，他们就会在该区进行扫除行动。

　　威俊斯称他的这些小动物为英雄鼠，因为牠们被用来作为人道用途。在世界上许多地区，地雷对一般百姓造成威胁，而他们只想好好赚钱过日子或往来两地而已。地雷能造成惊人的伤害，但幸亏有安特卫普扫雷组织和英雄鼠，非洲的人们可以活得更安全长久。

答案：1. (C)2. (A)3. (D)4. (C)5. (B)
6. (A)7. (D)

人类最早使用地雷这类杀伤武器的纪录，可回溯到中国的明朝。地雷在战争中被用来阻碍对方的军队前进，让防守一方能以更少的兵力扼守通道。由于埋下的地雷在战争之后会继续杀害无辜平民，现时已有 144 个国家禁止使用及拥有反步兵地雷。

地雷按种类可分为杀伤人员的反步兵地雷（人员杀伤雷），和破坏车辆的反坦克地雷。反步兵地雷通常由人员的脚造成的压力引爆，但亦有以线索引爆的诡雷。反坦克地雷通常可以被磁力引爆。地雷的设计多为尽量减少使用金属，以避过金属探测器的发现。（数据源：维基百科）