Florida Macaques Carry Virus Lethal to Humans

Visitors to Floridas Silver Springs State Park should avoid monkeying around with the reserves feral macaques； officials warn that the primates carry a strain of the herpes virus that can be fatal to humans.

About 175 free-roaming rhesus macaques inhabit the park， descended from a population of around a dozen animals that were released in the 1930s to promote local tourism. Hundreds more of the macaques can be found wandering the areas adjacent to the park. A） □

Now， researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention （CDC） report that about 25 percent of the monkeys carry macacine herpes virus 1 （McHV-1）， which causes only mild symptoms， if any， in monkeys but can be deadly in people. The scientists also discovered that as many as 14 percent of the monkeys shed DNA from the virus in their saliva， presenting a risk of virus transmission to humans， the researchers reported in a new study， which was published online in the February 2018 issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. Herpes viruses have infected animals in the primate family for millions of years. One strain of herpes virus— HSV-2 — appeared in early humans only after it was transmitted from chimpanzees about 1.6 million years ago， in fact.

McHV-1， which is also known as herpes B virus or monkey B virus， is carried by several species of macaque monkeys， which are thought to be a “natural host” for the virus， according to the CDC. B） □

Previous studies of the Silver Springs Park rhesus populations had identified herpes B virus in the animals， according to a study published in May 2016 by the University of Floridas Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences （IFAS）.

In the new study， scientists analyzed samples of blood， feces and saliva collected from the macaques， as well as soil samples from the monkeys habitat. Blood samples from 317 macaques revealed that 84 monkeys carried the virus and that the odds of a monkey being infected increased with age. To date， only 50 cases of herpes B virus have been documented in humans in the U.S. since the disease was first identified in 1932， and many of the infections resulted from animal scratches or bites， according to the CDC. C） □

But in humans， infection with herpes B virus can lead to severe brain damage or death， with 70 percent of untreated patients killed by complications from infection. The virus could pose a serious threat to public health and safety， the CDC said.Visitors to Silver Springs Park risk exposure to herpes B virus by coming into contact with monkey urine or feces， or through the animals saliva in scratches or bites， the researchers reported in the new study. They concluded that management plans are required to limit the macaques transmission of this potentially fatal pathogen.D） □

1. Which of the following is NOT true about McHV-1？

A. It may cause severe symptoms in people， posing risk to their lives.

B. Infection with it can be fatal to human beings.

C. Human beings are considered to be a natural host for the virus.

D. 50 cases of infection with it have been recorded in humans in the US since it was identified.

2. Human beings may contract herpes B virus through contact with ______.（a. monkey urine b. monkey feces c. monkey saliva d. monkey scratches or bites）

A. abc B. bcd C. acd D. abcd

3. The chance for monkeys to be infected with herpes B virus is correlated with monkeys______.

A. age B. gender C. habitat D. species

4. Look at the four squares □ that indicate where the following sentence can be added to the passage.

However， the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida （ARFF）， a non-profit organization， disagrees with the researchers conclusion that the monkeys pose a threat.

Where would the sentence best fit？

A self-driving Uber sport utility vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe， Ariz.， on Sunday night. Elaine Herzberg， 49， had been pushing a bicycle across a busy road about 100 （A）m from the closest pedestrian crosswalk when she stepped in front of the （1）v ， which was traveling 38 miles per hour in a 35 mile-per-hour zone. The fatal （B）a prompted Uber to temporarily halt testing of its driverless vehicles on public roads in Phoenix， Pittsburgh， San Francisco and Toronto.

Herzbergs death is the first reported （2）i of a pedestrian killed by a self-driving car， and raises （C）q about whether such vehicles are ready to operate autonomously on public roads. The vehicles （D）c and other sensors apparently did not detect the victim and made no （E）a to brake or otherwise avoid her. An Uber employee was in the Volvo XC90 SUV acting as a safety operator but told police he did not have time to react to avoid hitting Herzberg.

Herzbergs death is a tragedy， but Subbarao Kambhampati， a professor in Arizona State Universitys School of Computing， Informatics and Decision Systems Engineering， says that in some ways， a self-driving （3）f was to be expected sooner or later， and it was only a matter of time.

Road testing is the only way for self-driving （4）t

to truly improve. “This accident is the scenario that people working on the self-driving vehicle technology have always dreaded. But the big picture is that the technology has the potential to save many lives over time by reducing the number of crashes， injuries and fatalities. Were going through a transition （F）p ， and to me the transition time is the tough part，” says Ragunathan Rajkumar， a professor of electrical and computer engineering in Carnegie Mellon Universitys CyLab Security and Privacy Institute.

（A， B， C， D， E，F FOR CROSS， 1， 2， 3， 4 FOR DOWN. The first letters of the absents were given.）