Question

    A study published in the journal Science reveals that since 1970, bird populations in the United States and Canada have declined by 29 percent, or almost 3 billion birds. The results show tremendous losses across diverse groups of birds and habitats — from iconic songsters such as meadowlarks to long-distance migrants such as swallows.

“These data are consistent with what we’re seeing elsewhere,” said co-author Peter Marra, former head of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. It’s urgent to address ongoing threats, both because the domino effects (多米诺效应) can lead to the decay of ecosystems that humans depend on for our own health and livelihoods and because people all over the world cherish birds in their own right. Can you imagine a world without birdsong?”

Evidence for the declines emerged from detection of migratory birds in the air from 143 NEXRAD weather radar stations across the continent in a period spanning over 10 years, as well as from nearly 50 years of data collected through multiple monitoring efforts on the ground. Citizen-science participants also contributed a lot, for the analysis included citizen-science data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey coordinated by the Canadian Wildlife Service—the main sources of long-term, large-scale population data for North American birds.

The study noted that the largest factor driving these declines is likely the widespread loss and degradation of habitat, especially due to agricultural intensification and urbanization. Other studies have documented death from predation (捕食) by domestic cats; collisions with glass, buildings, and other structures; and pervasive (普遍的) use of pesticides associated with widespread declines in insects, an essential food source for birds. Climate change is expected to compound these challenges by altering habitats and threatening plant communities that birds need to survive.

“It’s a wake-up call that we’ve lost more than a quarter of our birds in the U.S. and Canada,” said co-author Adam Smith from Environment and Climate Change Canada. But the crisis reaches far beyond our individual borders. Many of the birds that breed in Canadian backyards migrate through or spend the winter in the U.S. and places farther south — from Mexico and the Caribbean to Central and South America. What our birds need now is an historic, hemispheric effort that unites people and organizations with one common goal: bringing our birds back.”

1.The underlined word “decay” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ________

A.improvement B.worsening

C.changed D.threat

2.What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A.New findings of the research.

B.Applications of the research.

C.Data sources of the research.

D.Methods of the research.

3.What Adam Smith said mainly implies that ________.

A.bird populations in America and Canada dropped by a quarter

B.the bird population crisis is not just within individual borders

C.there is little individuals can do to help increase bird populations

D.the solution to solving the crisis needs international cooperation

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

【解析】

这是一篇新闻报道。发表在《科学》杂志上的一项研究显示，美国和加拿大的鸟类数量已经下降了，鸟类和栖息地都遭受了巨大的损失，作者根据研究数据来说明解决这些问题迫在眉睫，需要全人类共同努力拯救鸟类。

1.词义猜测题。根据第二段第二句“It's urgent to address ongoing threats, both because the domino effects （多米诺效应）can lead to the decay of ecosystems that humans depend on for our own health and livelihoods”可知，解决持续的威胁迫在眉睫，人类依赖生态系统以生存和保持健康，这里的威胁指多米诺效应会破坏人们的生态系统，可以判断多米诺效应会让生态系统恶化，故B选项正确。

2.段落大意题。根据第三段讲述了在过去10年中，在整个非洲大陆143个天气雷达站对候鸟的探测，以及通过在当地进行的多次监测工作收集到的近50年的数据......公民科学参与者也做出了很大贡献，分析北美繁殖鸟类调查数据，这是北美鸟类长期、大规模数据的主要来源。所以本段主要介绍了研究的数据来源，故C选项正确。

3.推理判断题。根据最后一句“What our birds need now is an historic, hemispheric effort that unites people and organizations with one common goal: bringing our birds back.”可知，鸟类现在需要的是一项历史性的、半球性的努力，把人们和组织团结起来实现一个共同目标：把鸟类带回来，所以解决这个危机需要国际合作，故D选项正确。