Question

The novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP, 新型冠狀病毒肺炎) outbreak in China was caused by a new coronavirus that we have never seen before. It was first found in the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, where a variety of wild animals were on sale. People who sold and bought animals illegally were the first to be infected.

Scientists have found that the virus likely came from bats and was then spread to humans from pangolins (穿山甲). According to Live Science, bats can carry and spread more than 60 viruses that can infect humans. They include the world’s deadliest viruses, such as Ebola and SARS. But bats have special immune systems that allow them to live with viruses without getting sick. Other wild animals like snakes and hedgehogs (刺猬) are also hosts of many viruses.

There have been calls for people to stop eating wild animals. However, the danger is not just in eating them, but also in touching them. People can get infected if they come into contact with the body fluids (體液) of wild animals. People who hunt, kill, sell or eat these animals run the risk of becoming infected.

Keeping wild animals as pets or selling parts of their bodies as animal products also create risks for humans. It is highly possible to come into contact with the body fluids of wild animals in this way.

“Trade and consumption of wild animals of all kinds should be banned,” Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist (流行病學(xué)家) at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told China Daily. “Otherwise people will suffer.”

1.According to scientists, humans might get infected with COVID-19 from________.

A.Pangolins  B.snakes C.hedgehogs D. bamboo rats

2.According to the story, what lesson should humans learn?

A.Research more about wild animals. B.Exercise regularly to stay healthy.

C.Stop keeping animals as pets. D.Don’t buy or eat wild animals.

Answer 1