Question

       Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all ,you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.

       Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However ,they sing most of the time for a very different reason .Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.

       Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal ,usually the male, claims（聲稱）as its own .Only he and his family are welcome there .No other families of the same species（物種）are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.

       If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him .A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time ,especially at nesting（筑巢）season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not .This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.

       Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.

       You can see that birds have a language all their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.

56．Some scientists believe that most of the time birds’ singing is actually       .

       A．an expression of happiness                   B．a way of warning

       C．an expression of anger                         D．a way of greeting

57．What is a bird’s “territory”?

       A．A place where families of other species are not accepted.

       B．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice.

       C．An area for which birds fight against each other.

       D．An area which a bird considers to be its own.

58．Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?

       A．Because they want to invite more friends.

       B．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away.

       C．Because they want to find outsiders around.

       D．Because their singing helps get rid of their fears.

59．How does the writer explain birds’ singing?

       A．By comparing birds with human beings.

       B．By reporting experiment results.

       C．By describing birds’ daily life.

       D．By telling a bird’s story.

Answer 1

56---59   BDBA  

解析:

56.解析：這是一道細節題。第二段說“更多情況下，它們的歌唱實際是對其他鳥類置身于它們領域之外的警告”。而A項是some of the time的原因。注意命題中寫的是most of the time。

57.解析：這是一道細節推測題。第三段第一行說“領域就是動物，特別是雄性，聲稱屬于自己的區域”。

58.解析：第四段最后一句“這種尖叫就是我們說的鳥的歌唱，它通常足以防范外來者”。

59.解析：第一段就舉了“你高興的時候也會唱歌和吹口哨”的例子；第三、四段也講了陌生人進入你的地域（家）你也會喊叫的例子。因此作者是用人來和鳥比較。