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A rat or pigeon might not be the obvious choice to tend to someone who is sick, but these creatures have some __26__ skills that could help the treatment of human diseases.
Pigeons are often seen as dirty birds and an urban __27__ , but they are just the latest in a long line of animals that have been found to have abilities to help humans. Despite having a brain no bigger than the __28__ of your index finger, pigeons have a very impressive __29__ memory. Recently it was shown that they could be trained to be as accurate as humans at detecting breast cancer in images.
Rats are often __30__ with spreading disease rather than __31__ it, but this long-tailed animal is highly __32__ . Inside a rat's nose are up to 1,000 different types of olfactory receptors (嗅觉感受器), whereas humans only have 100 to 200 types. This gives rats the ability to detect __33__ smells. As a result, some rats are being put to work to detect TB (肺结核). When the rats detect the smell, they stop and rub their legs to __34__ a sample is infected.
Traditionally, a hundred samples would take lab technicians more than two days to __35__ , but for a rat it takes less than 20 minutes. This rat detection method doesn't rely on specialist equipment. It is also more accurate—the rats are able to find more TB infections and, therefore, save more lives.
A.associated
B.examine
C.indicate
D.nuisance
E.peak
F.preventing
G.prohibiting
H.sensitive
I.slight
J.specify
K.superior
L.suspicious
M.tip
N.treated
O.visual
