「科學怪風」Sandy挾豐沛雨量肆虐美東，重創交通運輸系統。連紐約營運逾108年的地鐵也難逃一劫，瞬間變成了水鄉澤國。氾濫的洪水同時也逼出棲息於地鐵及下水道管線中的數百萬老鼠大軍。災後的紐約真有可能爆發鼠疫疫情或上演「老鼠啟示錄」嗎？請跟著財經誠誌一起看下去。
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| tunnel (n) 地道 flood (v) 淹水 (n) 洪水 ratpocalypse (n) 老鼠肆虐的末日 rife (adj) (壞事) 猖獗；盛行 cringe (v) 對…感到厭惡；退縮 notorious (adj) 惡名昭彰的 resident (n) 居民 crawl (v) 爬 lair (n) 巢穴；藏身處 scamper (v) 驚荒地四處逃竄 ponder (v) 思索 grim (adj) 可怕的；嚴峻的 drown (v) 淹死；淹沒 rodent (n) 老鼠 = rat (n) float (v) 漂浮 ecologist (n) 生態學家 low-lying (adj) 低(窪)的 subject (adj) 易遭受…的 intense (adj) 強烈的 legendary (adj) 傳奇/極其有名的 swiftly (adv) 敏捷迅速地 get out of harm’s way：脫離險境 burrow (n) 洞穴 trap (v) 困住 hunker down (v) 保持低調 in this perspective：從這角度看來 resilient (adj) 有韌性/ 適應力強的 displace (v) 迫使…遷徙 predict (v) 預測 survivor (n) 倖存者 treat (v) 請客；款待 surge (n) 急遽上升 feast (v) 大吃大喝 temporarily (adv) 暫時地 erratic (adj) 不穩的；難預測的 widespread (adj) 廣佈的 |
blackout (n) 停電 forage (v) 覓食 cloak (n) 掩飾 despite (prep.) 儘管 abundant (adj) 充足大量的 available (adj) 可取得的 a bed of roses：稱心如意；順利 arrival (n) 新來的人 interact (v) 互動 aggressive (adj) 好動挑釁的 encounter (n) 偶遇；遭遇戰 compete (v) 競爭 territory (n) 領域 resource (n) 資源 terrify (v) 驚嚇 prospect (n) 預期 overrun (v) 迅速占領 loyal (adj) 忠誠的 habitat (n) 棲息地 subside (v) 退去；平息 previous (adj) 先前的 massive (adj) 大規模的 outbreak (n) 突然爆發 occur (v) 發生 optimistic (adj) 樂觀的 note (n) 語調 hygiene (n) 衛生 guard (n) 警戒 infestation (n) 大批出沒侵擾 result in N：導致；引發 plague (n) 瘟疫 dominant (adj) 占統治地位的 explosion (n) 爆炸；劇增 recede (v) 消退 dispersal (n) 散佈 transmission (n) 傳染 (播) |
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NYC survived Frankenstorm Sandy. With four of seven subway tunnels flooded, fears of a "ratpocalypse" are rife. Some cringe at the thought of the city's most notorious residents crawling in the thousands out of their underground lair and scampering onto the Big Apple's streets. Others ponder the possibility of a grim "rat soup," imagining plenty of drowned rodents floating along on the tide of water.
According to Rick Ostfeld, a disease ecologist, rats tend to live in low-lying areas that are most subject to intense flooding. However, this poses no threat to the rodent population since rats are legendary swimmers. They're not Michael Phelps "the Flying Fish," but they can always swiftly get out of harm's way. While floodwaters rushing into subway and sewer tunnels might drown the sick, the elderly and new mothers with their young in the burrows, many thousands made it out alive. Trapped aboveground, they hunkered down behind trash bins and under cars until nightfall. In this perspective, Sandy is unlikely to eradicate the resilient rodents but rather displace them.
In the short term, experts predict that survivor rats will be treated to a surge of food to feast on since trash pickup is temporarily erratic. Also, with the city suffering widespread blackouts, the braver survivors are free to forage under the cloak of darkness. Despite the abundant food available, life won’t be just a bed of roses for these new overground arrivals. They will interact with local rat groups, probably in quite aggressive encounters, and compete for territories and resources. For those terrified by the prospect of street corners overrun by rodents, Zivkovic, a behavioral biologist, has calming words. He states that most rats, loyal to their social groups and habitats, will try going back home once water subsides.
In previous major storms such as Hurricane Katrina of 2005, massive disease outbreaks did not occur; therefore, city health officials are sounding an optimistic note, claiming there’s no reason to assume that epidemics will break out with Sandy. Still, this doesn’t mean the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene as well as health-care providers can let their guard down. New infestations of rats are likely to result in a rise in infectious diseases, including hantavirus, typhus, salmonella, and even the plague.
Q：The author implies that all of the following statements about the rats are false EXCEPT _______.
A. the surge of water could have done the most damage to the dominant rats that live deeper underground.
B. New York could face a rat population explosion as Hurricane Sandy has brought a feast to the rats’ feet.
C. the displaced rats will establish new homes beneath buildings and a social order after the floodwaters recede.
D. the mass dispersal of underground rats is a recipe for lots of disease transmission.
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閱讀解答：D
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