Batman may not have any superpowers, but his inspiration certainly does.
More than 1,400 bat species live around the world, except in Antarctica and a few remote islands. Over their 50 million years of evolution, bats have developed clever solutions to life’s challenges, from a built-in sonar (声呐) system for finding food to fast, flexible wings that produce the fastest level-flight speed of any animal on Earth.
“There is still a lot to learn, but it is clear that bats really do have superpowers,” says Rodrigo Medellín, an ecologist. “Bats are showing us how to live a better life, for instance, by serving as models for healthy living and long lives.”
As a general rule in biology, smaller animals have shorter lives than larger ones. But bats are rule breakers: they’re the longest-lived mammals (哺乳动物) relative to their body size. Recently, scientists looked inside bats’ cells for the secrets to their exceptionally long lives. They focused on telomeres (端粒), which are the protective structures found at the ends of chromosomes (染色体). In most animals, telomeres tend to get shorter with age. But the telomeres of the longest-lived group of bats, Myotis, do not appear to shrink (收缩) with age. Understanding why bats live so long may help humans live longer one day.
In addition to living longer, bats remain healthy throughout their lives, with very low risk of developing cancer. Furthermore, bats can carry deadly viruses without getting sick. So further research into their unique immune (免疫的) systems may actually give insight into how people can live with viruses and not get sick.
Beyond their own abilities, bats also support many other parts of their ecosystems. Three out of every four bat species eat insects. Many are pests that cause damage to important agricultural crops, such as cotton. Scientists estimate that insect-eating bats may save U.S. farmers about 1 billion per year. In addition, many bat species help improve plant health and diversity.
“Bats are unsung heroes of biodiversity,” says Medellín. “It’s about time we appreciated them.”
12. What can be learned about bats from the text?
A.They fly the fastest of all land animals. |
B.They are at low risk of falling sick with a virus. |
C.They live mainly on the islands of Antarctica. |
D.They are the longest-lived animals given their size. |
13. What did scientists recently find?
A.Animals’ telomeres rarely shrink with age. |
B.Myotis’s telomeres do not shorten as they age. |
C.Smaller animals usually live shorter lives than larger ones. |
D.More research into bat telomeres could help people live more healthily. |
14. What is the author’s intention in writing the last paragraph but one?
A.To show what bats feed on. |
B.To call on people to protect bats. |
C.To explain how bats benefit the farmers. |
D.To highlight the importance of bats to the ecosystem. |
15. What would be a suitable title for this text?
A.Bats Offer Clues to Treating Diseases |
B.How Bats Deal with Life’s Challenges |
C.Scientists Unlock the Secrets to Long Lives |
D.Why Bats Are Superheroes of the Animal World |