Researchers in the United States have discovered something that has shocked them about snakes in the wild. At least some females are capable _(1)_giving birth without any help from males. After capturing dozens of pregnantcopperhead and cottonmouth female pit vipers in their natural environments, researchers were _(2)_ to have discovered two cases of virgin births. The scientists figured _(3)_ that no males were involved in the reproduction. This is because all the genetic material of the two offspring came from the mothers.Based on this study, researchers _(4)_ that 2.5 to five percent of snake litterscould be the result of this type of asexual reproduction, which is also known as parthenogenesis (單性生殖). While virgin births are fairly _(5)_ in some invertebrates, such as ants and bees, they are rare in vertebrates like snakes. There had _(6)_ been isolatedcases of vertebrates giving birth via parthenogenesis while in captivity. Some examples of these rare births include snakes, sharks, lizards, and even some species of birds. However, in all of these cases, asexual reproduction occurred while the creatures were removed from their natural habitats and _(7)_separated from males. The recent American study led by Professor Warren Booth from the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma is the first to document the _(8)_ of virgin births in snakes in the wild. For the scientific world, the results of the research shed newlight on the evolutionary and _(9)_ processes of vertebrates. Ultimately, Professor Booth feels that virgin births should no longer be _(10)_ as an evolutionary novelty outside the mainstream of evolution. In other words, they should be seen as having a much bigger influence on the lives of certain animals.
(A) stunned (B) occurrence (C) previously (D) of (E) physically (F) common (G) out (H) reproductive (I) concluded (J) viewed
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