Question

They are called “sea parrots”, and sometimes “clowns (小丑) of the sea”!

Atlantic puffins (海鹦) are small seabirds which are around 25 cm in length. They have black and white feathers and a large parrot-like beak (鸟喙). The beak changes color during the year. In winter, the beak has a dull gray color, but it turns orange in spring!

Puffins spend most of their lives out at sea, resting on the waves when not swimming. They live on the eastern coast of Canada and the United States, and the western coast of Europe.

Puffins live off small fish such as herring, hake and sand eels. Puffins flap (拍) their wings up to 400 times a minute and speeding through the air at up to 88 km an hour. Wow! What’s more, puffins can dive down 60m under water in search of their favorite fish.

In spring and summer, thousands of puffins stay together on the coasts and islands of the North Atlantic Ocean to start a puffin family. They usually pair up with the same partner as before some may have been together for 20 years! Puffins dig out a hole usually in a grassy bank. Both parents take it in turn to incubate (孵化) the egg for the next 36-45 days!

Although puffins are not classed as an endangered animal, their population in some places is becoming smaller. The main reasons are overfishing, which can lead to a shortage of food for puffins, and pollution---especially oil spills (溢出). Not only does the oil make these beautiful birds sick, it harms their feathers.

1.Where do puffins live?

A. On the western coast of Canada and the United States.

B. On the eastern coast of Europe.

C. On the coasts of the North Atlantic Ocean.

D. On the islands of the Pacific Ocean.

2.According to the passage, puffins are ______.

A. great flyers    B. large birds on land

C. grass-eating animals    D. bad swimmers

3.How do puffins breed (繁殖)?

A. They mainly breed in early autumn.

B. They pair up with different partners every year.

C. Mother puffins lay eggs on the grass or sand.

D. Father puffins also take part in incubating the eggs.

4.The population of puffins is becoming smaller because of _____.

① the bad weather along the coast

② the process of taking too many fish from the sea

③ the harm from water pollution

④ humans’ habits of eating the eggs of puffins

A. ①②    B. ②③

C. ③④    D. ①④

Answer

1. C

2. A

3. D

4. B

【解析】

本文为应用说明文。海鹦被称为“海上鹦鹉”，有时候也被叫作“海洋小丑”。本文主要介绍了海鹦的外貌特征、生活习性以及其数量越来越少的原因。

1.细节理解题。第三段提到了海鹦的栖息地“They live on the eastern coast of Canada and the United States, and the western coast of Europe”, 由此可知，海鹦生活在加拿大和美国的东海岸，以及欧洲的西海岸。由倒数第二段的“on the coasts and islands of the North Atlantic Ocean 也可知答案即在大西洋沿岸”，故选C。

2.推理判断题。由第四段的 “Puffins flap their wings up to 400 times a minute and speeding through the air at up to 88 km an hour” 可知，海鹦拍翅膀的速度达到每分钟400 次，在空中飞行的速度可达到每小时 88 千米，由此可推断海鹦飞的极快，即是个“伟大的飞行员”，故选A。

3.细节理解题。由倒数第二段“They usually pair up with the same partner …Both parents take it in turn to incubate (孵化) the egg for the next 36-45 days”!可知，雄性海鹦和雌性海鹦轮流孵蛋。分析选项可知D项中的雄性海鹦也参与孵蛋，故选D。

4.细节理解题。由最后一段的“The main reasons are overfishing. shortage of food for puffins, and pollution-especially oil spills”可知，海鹦数量减少的原因是：过度捕捞，海鹦赖以生存的食物短缺了；石油的溢出伤害了海鹦和它们的羽毛。分析选项可知②和③符合题意，故选B。