Question

The dodo was a ground nesting(筑巢), flightless bird. An adult dodo could grow to a height of about a meter and weigh between 45-50 pounds. The natural habitat of this kind of bird lay in the forest of Mauritius.

Seed(种子) and fruits that were found in the forest were the main food of the dodo birds. As they could easily get the food they required in the forest, they didn’t need to fly. As time went by, they finally lost the ability to fly. It turned out to be a major disadvantage for dodos, as they were left with no ability to protect themselves against human beings’ attacks in their natural habitat, which drove this kind of bird to extinction(灭绝).

The extinction of the dodo started in 1505, when Portuguese sailors set their foot on the Island of Mauritius. Before this, the dodo didn’t face any danger. People began to hunt them. It was not long before animals, like cats, pigs and monkeys, were also introduced to the island by humans. When ships arrived, the rats on these ships came onto the land. Though these animals were not able to attack huge dodos, it was easy for them to attack dodos’ nests on the ground. These animals continued to feed on dodo eggs.

The dodo became a relatively(相对地) rare bird in Mauritius at the beginning of the 17^th century, and became extinct in the end. The last reported sighting of a dodo was in 1681.

1. Why did the dodo lose its ability to fly?

A. Because it liked walking on the ground.

B. Because it had no enemies in the forest.

C. Because it was too big to fly.

D. Because it didn’t need to fly to look for food.

2.What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?

A. Humans hunted for dodos for money .

B. Dodos’ nesting places were attacked by human beings.

C. The dodo became extinct because of human activity.

D. Other animals on the island lived mainly on dodos’ meat.

3. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. The extinction of the dodo.

B. The appearance of the dodo.

C. The actions taken to protect the dodo.

D. The punishment for hunting the dodo.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.A

【解析】

试题分析：短文大意：渡渡鸟是一种地面筑巢而不会飞的鸟。一个成年渡渡鸟可以长到大约一米的高度，体重在45-50磅之间。这种鸟的自然栖息地在毛里求斯的森林。在第十七世纪开始渡渡鸟成为毛里求斯的珍稀鸟类，并最终灭绝。

1.D细节理解题。根据第二段中As they could easily get the food they required in the forest, they didn’t need to fly. As time went by, they finally lost the ability to fly.可知他们可以在森林中很容易地找到他们所需要的食物，他们不需要飞翔。随着时间的推移，他们终于失去了飞翔的能力。所以选D。

2.C 细节理解题。根据最后两段的描述可知渡渡鸟的灭绝是因为人类活动。所以选C。

3.主旨大意题。根据的描述可知主要介绍了渡渡鸟的灭绝过程，所以选A。

考点：科普类阅读。