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We have met the enemy, and he is ours. We bought him at a pet shop. When monkey-pox,a disease
usually found in the African rain forest, suddenly turns up in children in the American Midwest,it's hard not
to wonder if the disease that comes from foreign animals is homing in on human beings. "Most of the
infections we think of as human infections started in other animals," says Stephen Morse,director of the
Center for Public Health Preparedness at Columbia University.
It's not just that we're going to where the animals are; we're also bringing them closer to us. Popular
foreign pets have brought a whole new disease to this country. A strange illness killed Isaksen's pets, and
she now thinks that keeping foreign pets is a bad idea. "I don't think it's fair to have them as pets when
we have such a limited knowledge of them," says Isaksen.
''Laws allowing these animals to be brought in from deep forest areas without stricter control need
changing," says Peter Schantz. Monkey-pox may be the wake-up call. Researchers believe infected
animals may infect their owners. We know very little about these new diseases. A new bug (病毒) may
be kind at first.But it may develop into something harmful. Monkey-pox doesn't look a major infectious
disease. But it is not impossible to pass the disease from person to person.
1. We learn from Paragraph l that the pet sold at the shop may .
A. come from Columbia
B. prevent us from being infected
C. enjoy being with children
D. suffer from monkey-pox
2. Why did Isaksen advise people not to have foreign pets?
A. They attack human beings.
B. We need to study native animals.
C. They can't live out of the rain forest.
D. We do not know much about them yet.
3. What does the phrase "the wake-up call'' in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?
A. a new disease
B. a clear warning
C. a dangerous animal
D. a morning call
4. The text suggests that in the future we .
A. may have to fight against more new diseases
B. may easily get infected by diseases from dogs
C. should not be allowed to have pets
D. should stop buying pets from Africa
