Most animals have little connection with animals of a different kind, unless they hunt the

m for food. Sometimes, however, two kinds of animals come together in a partnership(伙伴关系) which does good to both of them. You may have noticed some birds sitting on the backs of sheep. This is not because they want a ride, but because they find easy food in parasites(寄生虫) on sheep. The sheep allow the birds to do so because they remove the cause of discomfort. So although they can manage without each other, they do better together.

Sometimes an animal has a plant partner. The relationship develops until the two partners cannot manage without each other. This is so in the corals (珊瑚) of the sea. In their skins they have tiny plants which act as "dustman", taking some of the waste products from the coral and giving in return oxygen which the animal needs to breathe. If the plants are killed, or are even prevented from light so that they cannot live normally, the corals will die.

Some birds like to sit on a sheep because ______.

A．they can eat its parasites

B．they depend on the sheep for existence

C．they enjoy travelling with the sheep

D．they find the position most comfortable