练习材料：
Lesson 17-1 A man-made disease
In the early days of the settlement of Australia, enterprising settlers unwisely introduced the European rabbit. This rabbit had no natural enemies in the Antipodes, so that it multiplied with that promiscuous abandon characteristic of rabbits. It overran a whole continent. It caused devastation by burrowing and by devouring the herbage which might have maintained millions of sheep and cattle. Scientists discovered that this particular variety of rabbit (and apparently no other animal) was susceptible to a fatal virus disease, myxomatosis. By infecting animals and letting them loose in the burrows, local epidemics of this disease could be created. Later it was found that there was a type of mosquito which acted as the carrier of this disease and passed it on to the rabbits. So while the rest of the world was trying to get rid of mosquitoes, Australia was encouraging this one.
ɪn ði ˈɜːli deɪz ɒv ðə ˈsɛtlmənt ɒv ɒˈstreɪliːə, ˈɛntəpraɪzɪŋ ˈsɛtləz ʌnˈwaɪzli ˌɪntrəˈdjuːst ðə ˌjʊərəˈpi(ː)ən ˈræbɪt. ðɪs ˈræbɪt hæd nəʊ ˈnæʧrəl ˈɛnɪmiz ɪn ði ænˈtɪpədiːz, səʊ ðæt ɪt ˈmʌltɪplaɪd wɪð ðæt prəˈmɪskjʊəs əˈbændən ˌkærɪktəˈrɪstɪk ɒv ˈræbɪts. ɪt ˌəʊvəˈræn ə həʊl ˈkɒntɪnənt. ɪt kɔːzd ˌdɛvəsˈteɪʃən baɪ ˈbɜːrəʊɪŋ ænd baɪ dɪˈvaʊərɪŋ ðə ˈhɜːbɪʤ wɪʧ maɪt hæv meɪnˈteɪnd ˈmɪljənz ɒv ʃiːp ænd ˈkætl. ˈsaɪəntɪsts dɪsˈkʌvəd ðæt ðɪs pəˈtɪkjʊlə vəˈraɪəti ɒv ˈræbɪt (ænd əˈpærəntli nəʊ ˈʌðər ˈænɪməl) wɒz səˈsɛptəbl tuː ə ˈfeɪtl ˈvaɪərəs dɪˈziːz, myxomatosis. baɪ ɪnˈfɛktɪŋ ˈænɪməlz ænd ˈlɛtɪŋ ðɛm luːs ɪn ðə ˈbɜːrəʊz, ˈləʊkəl ˌɛpɪˈdɛmɪks ɒv ðɪs dɪˈziːz kʊd biː kri(ː)ˈeɪtɪd. ˈleɪtər ɪt wɒz faʊnd ðæt ðeə wɒz ə taɪp ɒv məsˈkiːtəʊ wɪʧ ˈæktɪd æz ðə ˈkærɪər ɒv ðɪs dɪˈziːz ænd pɑːst ɪt ɒn tuː ðə ˈræbɪts. səʊ waɪl ðə rɛst ɒv ðə wɜːld wɒz ˈtraɪɪŋ tuː gɛt rɪd ɒv məsˈkiːtəʊz, ɒˈstreɪliːə wɒz ɪnˈkʌrɪʤɪŋ ðɪs wʌn.
在澳大利亚移民初期，一些有创业精神的移民不明智地把欧洲兔子引进了澳大利亚。这种兔子在澳大利亚及新西兰没有天敌，因此便以兔子所特有的杂乱交配迅猛繁殖起来。整个澳洲兔子成灾。它们在地下打洞，吃掉本可以饲养数百万头牛羊的牧草，给澳洲大陆造成了毁灭性的破坏。科学家们发现，这种特殊品种的兔子（显然不包括别的动物）易患一种叫“多发性粘液瘤”的致命毒性疾病。通过让染上此病的动物在洞内乱跑，就可以使这种疾病在一个地区蔓延起来。后来又发现，有一种蚊子是传播这种疾病的媒介，能把此病传染给兔子。因此，世界上其他地方在设法消灭蚊子的时候，澳大利亚却在促使这种蚊子大量繁殖。
任务配置：L0、L3、L4
练习感悟：要花更多的精力在英语学习上了。
