Question

Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing 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 as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species 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 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 of their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.

1.Some scientists believe that most of the time bird’s singing is actually _____________.

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

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

2.What does the underlined word“territory”mean?

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 a against each other.

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

3.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 they want to express their happiness.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.B

2.D

3.B

【解析】

試題分析：文章介紹了鳥為什么會唱歌，大部分鳥的歌聲是一種警告，為了保護自己的領地不被外來者侵犯。

1.細節題：從第一段的句子：Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.可知大部分鳥的歌聲是一種警告。選B

2.猜詞題：從第二段的句子：A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims (聲稱) as its own.可知這個單詞是“領地”的意思。選D

3.細節題：從文章最后一段的句子：This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.可知在筑巢的時候鳥的歌唱是為了趕走外來者。選B

考點：考查科普類短文

點評：文章介紹了鳥為什么會唱歌，大部分鳥的歌聲是一種警告，為了保護自己的領地不被外來者侵犯。本文要求考生讀懂文章中的每個句子的意思還要推理它們之間的關系，結合自己的生活常識和經驗，再通過邏輯推理和判斷，理解文章的言外之意，從而揭示文章的深層涵義。任何一篇文章都有其特定的寫作目的，讀者應當知道如何去做或按照某種方式傳遞思考問題。推理判斷題的答案不可能在文章中直接找到，因此推理時我們務必要忠于原文，在文章中尋找并確定可推論的依據。