People living on Rum are hoping it will be recognised as a Dark Sky Island. They have been preparing to achieve it.
In recent years, the community of just 30 people on Rum have tried their best to change the island’s lighting system(系统). There are no streetlights, hardly any buildings and no traffic. When the sun sets, locals and visitors can experience a naturally dark sky, and enjoy views of stars.
The island community has been taking readings with special equipment (设备)which is used to determine the brightness of the night sky. “We have to take these through our whole season so we get to know what the sky is like at different times of the year and night,” Mr Mumford, the island’s visitor services manager, said. “We need to make sure there are plans for the future in terms of what it’s going to look like and what this means.”
Dark Sky status (地位)would also help Manx Shearwaters, a bird which depends on the darkness to find the direction to South America every year.
“Manx Shearwaters are attracted to man-made light; they can be hurt at this time of year when they’re returning from migration (迁徙), and in September when young birds first fly to South America,” said Nature Scot’s Lesley Watt, a local.
“On that flight, if there are any man-made lights in the village, they could be attracted to those lights instead of reaching the sea for their onward journey. If they do get grounded, they have very little chance of making it out to sea.”
It is also hoped that by achieving Dark Sky Island status, Rum would be able to make use of this chance and bring in visitors.
“Most people aren’t coming to Scotland from October to March, which is the best time to view the night sky,” Mr Mumford said. “This is the perfect chance to help with that. We want to show off what we have here, and the work we’ve put in to protect that. We want to show people what we get to see every day.”
12. What does the author try to show in paragraph 2?
A.People on Rum live a hard life. | B.Rum does well in researching stars. |
C.There are few unnatural lights on Rum. | D.The lighting system on Rum is out of date. |
13. Why does the community of Rum take readings with special equipment throughout the season?
A.To keep an exact record of stars. |
B.To check the use of lights on the island. |
C.To collect information of weather conditions. |
D.To know sky better to prepare for future plans. |
14. How can Dark Sky status be useful to Manx Shearwaters?
A.It is helpful for them to find more food. |
B.It makes their migration journey smoother. |
C.It offers them a good environment of producing. |
D.It protects them from being eaten by other animals. |
15. What can we learn about Mr Mumford from the last paragraph?
A.He is addicted to watching stars. | B.He is hopeful of achieving the status. |
C.He is looking forward to visitors’ coming. | D.He is eager to improve local people’s life. |