Question

Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco, there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws (爪) on its wings when young. They build their homes about 4.6m above the river, an important feature (特征) for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin.

In appearance, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside. The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos. Its most striking feature, though, is only found in the young.

Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip. Using these four claws, together with the beak (喙), they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive birds must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws.

During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.

1.What is the text mainly about?

A. Hoatzins in dry and rainy seasons.

B. The relatives and enemies of hoatzins.

C. Primitive birds and hoatzins of the Amazon.

D. The appearance and living habits of hoatzins.

2.Young hoatzins are different from their parents in that_________ ．

A. they look like young cuckoos

B. they have claws on the wings

C. they eat a lot like a cow

D. they live on river banks

3.What can we infer(推断) about primitive birds from the text?

A. They had claws to help them climb.

B. They could fly long distances.

C. They had four wings like hoatzins.

D. They had a head with long feathers on the top.

4.Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?

A. To find more food.

B. To protect themselves better.

C. To keep themselves warm.

D. To produce their young.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：文章主要介绍了一种叫做麝雉的鸟。

1.D 主旨大意题。总结文章大意以及第一段最后一句话It is called the hoatzin.可知文章主要讲了一种鸟—麝雉，故选D。

2.B细节理解题。根据第三段Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip.可知小麝雉不同于他们父母在于他们翅膀上有爪子，故选B。

3.A推理判断题。根据第三段Using these four claws, together with the beak (喙), they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive birds must have done. 可知麝雉就像原始鸟一样利用爪子帮助他们爬行，由此可推断原始鸟用爪子帮助他们爬行，故选A。

4.D 细节理解题。根据最后一段 they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.可知他们为了生产小宝宝，故选D。

考点：说明类短文阅读。

【名师点睛】

本文是一篇关于阐述一种鸟类叫做麝雉。这类文章的解题，属于中等程度，学生必须掌握。

首先要找到主要说明的内容。往往这类题目的主要内容都会在首段亮相。如：通过第一段可知，本文主要要介绍一种鸟类叫做麝雉。

其次就是要带着问题，去原文中找到答案。如：小题4，Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?为什么麝雉要在淤积来的时候聚集成小群？根据文中最后一段最后一句话 they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.可知他们为了生产小宝宝，故选D。

最后就是要求学生积累一定单词，这种说明文往往基于现实生活中，故对平时单词积累有所要求。