All Orphans Need Mothers|所有孤儿都需要母亲

by Rebecca A. Fratzke

A feel-good story about a bulldog named Molly.

For various reasons, children sometimes lose their parents. Fortunately, it is common to hear stories of such children successfully finding new homes and loving families to care for them. While this may seem like a statement about the goodness of humans, we are not the only species in the world to take in needy children.

A recent story about Molly the bulldog taking in a litter of orphaned kittens tugged at the hearts of many. Owned by 84-year-old Elbert Bristow, Molly is a white English bulldog who had given birth to her own litter of puppies right around the time the kittens were born. When the mother of the kittens, which was also one of Bristow's pets, accidentally passed away, Bristow didn't know what to do. Molly, however, had no trouble taking action and instinctively responded to the 6-week-old kittens by nursing them. The kittens took to their new mother quickly and even began following her around and cuddling with her. Likewise, Molly took as much gentle care of the kittens as she had with her puppies.

Like human adoptions, animal adoptions are common. Zoologists have gotten help from pet dogs with breeding programs of endangered species like tigers and pandas. Having an adoptive mother allows the biological mother to be able to become pregnant again more quickly and gives the zoologists the chance to keep close track of the babies' health without fearing an angry mother. Piglets, panthers, chimps, and monkeys have been successfully raised by dogs as well. Dogs make good adoptive moms because their milk can be digested by many animals. Thanks to these loving mothers, babies that are in need are getting all the love they deserve.

    1.     What is the main topic of this article?

(A) The effects of adoption on children in the US.

(B) Animals that adopt babies of other species.

(C) Elbert Bristow's many types of pets.

(D) Why having a family pet is good for children.

    2.     What happened to the kittens' mother?

(A) She was given away to another family.

(B) She became sick suddenly and inexplicably.

(C) She got lost and never came back.

(D) She was killed because of an accident.

    3.     According to the article, which is NOT an animal that has been adopted by dogs?

(A) Rabbits.

(B) Pigs.

(C) Chimpanzees.

(D) Pandas.

    4.     Why would zoologists choose to use an adoptive mother?

(A) Zoo animals are always aggressive with their babies.

(B) There's not enough room for a mother and her babies in the cage.

(C) The real mother will be able to have babies again sooner.

(D) It costs zoos less money.

所有孤儿都需要母亲

一则令人感到舒服的故事，内容在讲述一只名叫莫莉的牛头犬。

基于种种原因，孩童有时会失去双亲。幸运的是，我们也常听到这些孩童成功找到新家，还有慈爱的家人会照顾他们。虽然这看起来像是一段和人类善行有关的叙述，但我们却并非世上唯一会收留贫困幼童的生物。

最近一则有关牛头犬莫莉收养一窝无父无母小猫的故事就让许多人为之动容。莫莉是现年 84 岁的艾伯特‧布里斯托所养的白色英国牛头犬，大约在那些小猫出生的同时，莫莉自己也产下了一窝小狗。生下那些小猫的母猫也是布里斯托的其中一只宠物，当牠意外过世时，布里斯托不知如何是好。然而，莫莉丝毫不以为意地采取了行动，牠本能的反应就是喂那些 6 周大的小猫喝奶。这些小猫很快就喜欢上了新妈妈，甚至开始到处跟着莫莉并依偎在牠身旁。而莫莉也同样细心地照顾这些小猫，就如同照顾自己的幼犬一样。

如同人类的领养，动物间领养的情况也很常见。动物学家在濒临绝种的老虎和熊猫育种计划中就获得了许多宠物狗的协助。有了养母，就能让生母更快地再次怀孕，并让动物学家有机会密切追踪动物宝宝的健康状态，而不用害怕母亲被激怒。小猪、黑豹、黑猩猩及猴子也都曾成功地被狗养大。狗是很好的养母，因为牠们的母奶能被许多动物消化。多亏这些有爱心的妈妈，那些在患难中的动物宝宝才能获得牠们所有应得的爱。

答案：  1.  B   2.  D   3.  A   4.  C

流浪狗的管理问题已属老生常谈，面对流浪狗数量日渐增加，若国人任意弃养的习惯无法藉教育根除，同时建立尊重生命、爱护动物的观念，再多金钱与法令也无法解决流浪狗的问题。

政府推动宠物植入芯片多年，但民众弃养动物行为却未减少，除了相关部门对未替宠物进行芯片植入的饲主，基于人情等因素未能彻底执行处罚外，也缺乏人力到每位饲主家中查看宠物，徒具法令形式，效果有限。

而如何处置流浪狗，在动物保育人士与政府行政机关间常演变成争议，人道处理与收容赡养各有利弊得失，但可以确定的是，教育民众不要弃养家犬，甚至加强相关罚则，才是解决流浪狗及尊重生命最好的办法。（数据源：自由时报）