Birds are the only animals with feathers, although some other animals, such as insects and bats, also have wings.Nearly all birds can fly, and even flightless birds, such as ostriches (鸵鸟), penguins, evolved from flying ancestors.
Birds are found worldwide in many habitats.They can fly over some of the highest mountains on earth as well as both of the earth’s poles, dive through water to depths of more than 250m, and occupy habitats with the most extreme climates on the planet, including arctic tundra (冻土地带) and the Sahara Desert.Certain kinds of seabirds are commonly seen over the open ocean thousands of kilometers from the nearest land, but all birds must come ashore to raise their young.
Highly developed animals, birds are sensitive and responsive, colorful and graceful, with habits that excite interest and inquiry.People have long been fascinated by birds, in part because birds are found in the same habitats in which humans live.And like people, most species of birds are active during daylight hours.Humans find inspiration in birds’ capacity for flight and in their musical calls.Humans also find birds useful---their flesh and eggs for food, their feathers for warmth, and their companionship.Perhaps a key basis for our friendliness with birds is the similarity of our sensory worlds: Both birds and humans rely more heavily on hearing and color vision than on smell.Birds are useful indicators of the quality of the environment, because the health of bird populations mirrors the health of our environment.The rapid decline in birds populations and the accelerating extinction rates of birds in the world’s forests, grassland, wetlands, and islands are therefore reasons for great concern.
1.Which of the following would be the best title of the text?
A.Animals with Feathers and Wings
Our friendliness with birds
C.An introduction to Birds
D.Bird’s life
2.What does the second paragraph mainly tell us ?
A.Bird’s friendship Bird’s habitats
C.Bird’s raising D.Bird’s environment
3.Which of following is NOT true according to the passage ?
A.Bird’s flying abilities and musical calls inspire humans greatly.
Birds live in the same surroundings in which humans live.
C.Both birds and humans rely more heavily on hearing and smell than on color vision.
D.Bird’s flesh and eggs for food, bird’s feathers for warmth, and their companionship are useful to us.
4.From the text it may imply but NOT state that __________.
A.the environment is being damaged seriously
if you want to raise birds, you should pay attention to environment
C.the environment affects the human beings
D.bird populations decrease rapidly
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Birds are the only animals with feathers, although some other animals, such as insects and bats, also have wings.Nearly all birds can fly, and even flightless birds, such as ostriches (鸵鸟), penguins, evolved from flying ancestors.
Birds are found worldwide in many habitats.They can fly over some of the highest mountains on earth as well as both of the earth’s poles, dive through water to depths of more than 250m, and occupy habitats with the most extreme climates on the planet, including arctic tundra (冻土地带) and the Sahara Desert.Certain kinds of seabirds are commonly seen over the open ocean thousands of kilometers from the nearest land, but all birds must come ashore to raise their young.
Highly developed animals, birds are sensitive and responsive, colorful and graceful, with habits that excite interest and inquiry.People have long been fascinated by birds, in part because birds are found in the same habitats in which humans live.And like people, most species of birds are active during daylight hours.Humans find inspiration in birds’ capacity for flight and in their musical calls.Humans also find birds useful---their flesh and eggs for food, their feathers for warmth, and their companionship.Perhaps a key basis for our friendliness with birds is the similarity of our sensory worlds: Both birds and humans rely more heavily on hearing and color vision than on smell.Birds are useful indicators of the quality of the environment, because the health of bird populations mirrors the health of our environment.The rapid decline in birds populations and the accelerating extinction rates of birds in the world’s forests, grassland, wetlands, and islands are therefore reasons for great concern.
1.Which of the following would be the best title of the text?
A.Animals with Feathers and Wings
Our friendliness with birds
C.An introduction to Birds
D.Bird’s life
2.What does the second paragraph mainly tell us ?
A.Bird’s friendship Bird’s habitats
C.Bird’s raising D.Bird’s environment
3.Which of following is NOT true according to the passage ?
A.Bird’s flying abilities and musical calls inspire humans greatly.
Birds live in the same surroundings in which humans live.
C.Both birds and humans rely more heavily on hearing and smell than on color vision.
D.Bird’s flesh and eggs for food, bird’s feathers for warmth, and their companionship are useful to us.
4.From the text it may imply but NOT state that __________.
A.the environment is being damaged seriously
if you want to raise birds, you should pay attention to environment
C.the environment affects the human beings
D.bird populations decrease rapidly
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
______ birds use their feathers for flight, some of their feathers are for other purposes.
A. Once B. If C. Although D. Because
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
I have to remind myself that some birds are not meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you ________ knows it was an offence to lock them up does feel happy.
A. that B. who C. where
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Feathers are not just for flight. They keep birds warm, and attract mates. And for one Australian bird, feathers even help produce an important sound—an alarm.
“People had long noticed these birds produced these loud sounds.” Trevor Murray, a researcher at the Australian National University said. “My supervisor Rob Magrath and May Hingee thought they were used as an alarm. So they did some playbacks and they could show quite strongly that if you play back these sounds to other birds, they flee straightaway. So I was really interested in how they produce the sound, whether it is actually a signal, and whether it’s a reliable signal.”
The team focused their experiment on specific feathers in the pigeon’s wing. “We were able to target the eighth primary feather, which is unusually narrow. And then we also removed, on different sets of birds, those neighboring feathers, the ninth primary feather and the seventh primary feather. And we were able to see when the eighth primary feather was missing, the high note had completely disappeared. So the eighth primary feather produced that high note and the ninth primary feather actually produced the low note.”
And if the birds are fleeing from danger, they produce a louder and higher sound than they do during a normal takeoff. The study is in the journal Current Biology.
Murray and his colleagues did another experiment where they used the recordings they made to observe the reactions of other pigeons. “We were able to see the unusual eighth primary feather was important for signaling the alarm. When that eighth primary feather was missing, they very rarely responded. They almost never fled. Whereas when the ninth primary produces the sound, they fled just as much as to normal alarms. This shows us this unusual primary feather is important for signaling alarm.”
That makes birds of a feather flee together.
1.What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A. The birds B. Rob and May
C. The feathers D. The loud sounds
2.What did Rob Magrath and May Hingee find out about the birds?
A. They fly away as a group. B. They produce different notes.
C. They send alarms with feathers. D. They attract mates with feathers.
3.Why did the team remove different feathers?
A. To record the notes they produce. B. To keep the pigeons stay in cages
C. To compare their width and length. D. To observe other pigeons’ reactions.
4.According to Murray and his colleagues, why does the unusual feathers matter most?
A. It keeps the pigeons warm B. It responds to alarms
C. It helps birds fly more quickly D. It sounds alarms of danger.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
_____there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type.
A. Since B. As C. Despite D. While
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
___________there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type.
A.Since | B.Unless | C.Once | D.While |
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
When many people see birds cleaning their feathers, they attribute it to vanity on the part of the bird. But, in reality, what they are doing is maintaining their wings, the instruments that they depend on for safe flight. If a bird’s wings are not in perfect condition, the bird either won’t be able to fly or won’t be able to control its flight. That is why after a long flight and even throughout the day, you will see them cleaning their feathers.
Most birds, if they get a chance, will take a bath at least once a day. They do this to get rid of the dust that has accumulated in their feathers throughout their flight s during the day. In dry or desert areas, birds will not always be able to find water in which to bath, but they still need to clean their feathers. What many birds will do is to take dust baths. They will roll around in dust until it covers their feathers. They will stand up, shaking the dust out, and then clean their feathers with their beaks (鸟嘴) as usual.
Baths are important for another reason. During the course of the day and night, many parasites (寄生虫) are attracted to birds. Bugs, mites, fleas and so on will try to reach birds and suck from their blood. Daily baths help to keep the parasites to a minimum.
Some birds, especially those that spend a lot of time in or around water, have skin glands (皮肤腺) that produce oil. After bathing, these birds will squeeze the glands to spread the oil over their wings to keep them free of water.
If you are a bird lover and have bird houses in your yard, it can be good to go to the extra step, providing a bird bath. Once the birds in your neighborhood discover it, you will be surprised at how popular it becomes as they periodically stop by to take their daily bath.
1.What’s the passage mainly about?
A.How birds clean themselves. | B.What birds enjoy doing. |
C.Why baths matter so much to birds. | D.What bird lovers should do. |
2.What does the underlined part in Para 1 probably mean?
A.Most people think it good for birds to clean their feathers. |
B.Most people show much interest in how birds clean themselves. |
C.Most people believe that birds’ keeping themselves clean is necessary. |
D.Most people think birds’ cleaning their feathers of no practical significance. |
3.According to Para 3, birds’ feather cleaning _____.
A.helps keep them healthy | B.keeps them free of any parasite |
C.makes them more attractive | D.helps them relax enough |
4.In the last paragraph, the author further reminds us that _____ .
A.we should love birds as much as possible |
B.birds enjoy cleaning themselves by bathing |
C.we can be good bird lovers by bathing birds |
D.birds like to come close to the people in a yard |
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Hummingbirds(蜂鸟) are one of nature’s most energetic fliers and the only birds to hover(盘旋) in the air by relying on their strength alone.
Now scientists have found that it is the ratio(比值) of the bird’s wing length to its width that makes them so efficient. The discovery is helping experts compete with 42 million years of natural selection to build helicopters that are increasingly efficient.
David Lentink, an assistant professor at Stanford University in California, tested wings from 12 different species of hummingbirds, which he sourced from museums. He placed them on a machine used to test the aerodynamics(气力学) of the helicopter blades(桨叶). Professor Lentink’s team used the same machine to test the blades from an advanced micro-helicopter used by the UK’s army. They found that the micro-helicopter’s blades are as efficient at hovering as the average hummingbirds.
But while the micro-helicopter’s blades kept pace with the average hummingbird wings, they could not keep up with the most efficient hummingbird’s wing. The wings of Anna’s hummingbird were found to be about 27 percent more efficient than the man-made micro- helicopter’s blades.
While Professor Lentink wasn’t surprised at nature’s superiority, he said that helicopter blades have come a long way. “The technology is at the level of an average hummingbird,” he said. “A helicopter is really the most efficient hovering device that we can build. The best hummingbirds are still better, but I think it’s amazing that we’re getting closer. It’s not easy to match their performance, but if we build better wings with better shapes, we might match hummingbirds.”
Professor Lentink said that we don’t know how hummingbirds maintain their flight in a strong wind, how they navigate(确定方向) through branches, or how they change direction so quickly. He thinks that great steps could be made by studying wing aspect ratios-the ratio of wing length to wing width. Understanding these abilities and characteristics could be a benefit for robotics and will be the focus of future experiments.
1.What did the scientists find about hummingbirds?
A. Their wings are long and wide
B. They can hover in the air for a long time
C. The ratio of their wing length to wing width is very important
D. They are the most energetic flier in nature
2.Which is the right order of Professor Lentink’s research?
①Tested wings from different species of hummingbirds
②Got resources from museums
③Analyzed the results and drew a conclusion
④Tested the blades from a micro-helicopter
A. ①②③④ B. ②①③④
C. ②④①③ D. ②①④③
3.According to Professor Lentink, what will be the focus of future experiments?
A. To know how hummingbirds can fly in a strong wind
B. To know how hummingbirds change direction so quickly
C. To develop a new kind of helicopter
D. To study the secrets of hummingbirds
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Although New Zealand has a huge variety of scenery, some of the best can only be ______ on foot, as it ranges from glaciers to subtropical forests.
A.accelerated B.progressed
C.accessed D.Processed
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
第三部分 阅读理解 (共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Birds are the only animals with feathers, although some other animals, such as insects and bats, also have wings. Nearly all birds can fly, and even flightless birds, such as ostriches (鸵鸟), penguins, evolved from flying ancestors.
Birds are found worldwide in many habitats. They can fly over some of the highest mountains on earth as well as both of the earth’s poles, dive through water to depths of more than 250m, and occupy habitats with the most extreme climates on the planet, including arctic tundra (冻土地带) and the Sahara Desert. Certain kinds of seabirds are commonly seen over the open ocean thousands of kilometers from the nearest land, but all birds must come ashore to raise their young.
Highly developed animals, birds are sensitive and responsive, colorful and graceful, with habits that excite interest and inquiry. People have long been fascinated by birds, in part because birds are found in the same habitats in which humans live. And like people, most species of birds are active during daylight hours. Humans find inspiration in birds’ capacity for flight and in their musical calls. Humans also find birds useful---their flesh and eggs for food, their feathers for warmth, and their companionship. Perhaps a key basis for our friendliness with birds is the similarity of our sensory worlds: Both birds and humans rely more heavily on hearing and color vision than on smell. Birds are useful indicators of the quality of the environment, because the health of bird populations mirrors the health of our environment. The rapid decline in birds populations and the accelerating extinction rates of birds in the world’s forests, grassland, wetlands, and islands are therefore reasons for great concern.
1.Which of the following would be the best title of the text?
A. Animals with Feathers and Wings
B. Our friendliness with birds
C. An introduction to Birds
D. Bird’s life
2 What does the second paragraph mainly tell us ?
A. Bird’s friendship B. Bird’s habitats
C. Bird’s raising D. Bird’s environment
3.Which of following is NOT true according to the passage ?
A. Bird’s flying abilities and musical calls inspire humans greatly.
B. Birds live in the same surroundings in which humans live.
C. Both birds and humans rely more heavily on hearing and smell than on color vision.
D. Bird’s flesh and eggs for food, bird’s feathers for warmth, and their companionship are useful to us.
4.From the text it may imply but NOT state that __________.
A. the environment is being damaged seriously
B. if you want to raise birds, you should pay attention to environment
C. the environment affects the human beings
D. bird populations decrease rapidly
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析