2 . At first glance the sea turtles look as if they were dead because they hardly move. But if you look closely enough, they show a slow glimpse of life. These turtles are all washed up in Massachusetts every December, on the windy beaches of Cape Cod Bay.
Shaver, chief of the Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery at Padre Island National Seashore in Texas, said, “If we don’t help save this species, we will lose a piece that enriches us. There’s a whole variety of things that can harm them: oil spills, boat strikes, red tides, and so on.” That is why all the urgent care they’re getting back up North is more important than ever.
Saving could never happen unless hundreds of pilots were willing to volunteer their time, their planes, and their fuel to rush the rescued turtles to willing rehab facilities (康复中心) all around the country.
On this particular mission, Andrews, vice president of a unique nonprofit called Turtles Fly Too, with his dad as a co-pilot, will fly more than 2,000 miles, from Boston, to Atlanta, then on to Gulfport and finally Dallas, dropping off 44 sick sea turtles along the way, in hopes that one day they’ll be well enough to be released. It is worth mentioning that the pilots that are flying these missions are pulling $1 million out of their pocket to fly these missions every year.
With good care and the help of volunteers, these turtles were finally ready to go home again. According to Andrews, “90% of the turtles that we’ve moved to the rehab facilities have ended up back in the ocean.”
“We humans have not always been kind to the sea and those that live in it. But on this day, it was humans—not me, but the hundreds of veterinarians, biologists, volunteers, and pilots—who all came together to give these critically-endangered sea turtles a second chance that they rarely got,” Andrews added.
1. What happens to the turtles on the beaches of Cape Cod Bay?
| A．They are dying out. | B．They adapt to living onshore. |
| C．They are in danger. | D．They are caught by humans. |
2. How did Shaver sound when speaking of the turtle rescue?
| A．Thrilled. | B．Concerned. | C．Annoyed. | D．Moved. |
3. What contributes most to the turtles’ returning home?
| A．The pilots’ generous devotion. | B．The division’s urgent care. |
| C．The rehab facilities’ willingness to help. | D．The improvement of the turtles’ habitats. |
4. What can we say about the rescuing result?
| A．It is unsatisfactory. | B．It is less effective. | C．It is controversial. | D．It quite pays off. |
