Question

    It’s hard to be a bird in a world which is in the charge of mankind.

You can hardly hear yourself sing, let alone hear the songs of your friends… and worst of all, you can’t hear a predator(捕食者). Noise is almost everywhere, especially noise from traffic.

Researchers have tried to study the influence of road noise on animals by looking at animals living near noisy roads.

“We figured out a way to have just the noise without any of the other effects of the road, and to do that we put many speakers in a forest where there was no road,” said Chris McClure, a biologist at Boise State University and The Peregrine Fund. He and his team carried out their experiment at a place popular with birds in Idaho as they fly south for the winter.

While the noise kept lots of birds away, some remained. But they had trouble putting on enough weight to support them in the next part of their migratory journey.

“They have to take food but they also have to avoid getting eaten by a predator. But these two things can’t be done at the same time because to eat, they have to look down, which means they aren’t looking at predators.”

And when it’s too loud, they can’t hear the alarm calls of other birds. So they have to waste time looking for predators instead of searching for food.

By 2050, it’s thought that enough new roads will be built to circle the planet more than 600 times. But there’s an easy solution to the noise problem—“Lowering speed limits does a lot.”

So next time you’re driving through nature, just slow down a little. It’s safer for you and the wildlife. And you can enjoy the view a little longer.

1.Who does the word “you” in Para 2 refer to?

A.A driver. B.A predator. C.A researcher. D.A bird.

2.Why did the researchers do the experiment in a forest without roads?

A.To prevent birds from being hit by cars.

B.To separate noise from other effects of the road.

C.To test a larger number of birds.

D.To put as many speakers as possible.

3.Why can’t birds put on enough weight with much noise around?

A.They can’t concentrate on looking for food.

B.They have to fly south for the winter.

C.They can’t hear the alarm calls.

D.They feel afraid of the noise.

4.What is advised to do to protect birds from the noise problem?

A.To build enough new roads.

B.To carry out more experiments.

C.To enjoy the view a little longer.

D.To drive slowly through nature.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了通过做实验，研究人员发现道路噪声会影响鸟类生存，文章建议人们通过减慢车速来防止噪音对鸟类的危害。

1.词义猜测题。 根据第一段It’s hard to be a bird in a world which is in the charge of mankind.（在人类主宰的世界里做一只鸟很难）；以及第二You can hardly hear yourself sing, let alone ...（你几乎听不到自己歌唱，更别说你朋友的歌声了……还有你可能忘记听到了捕食者的声音）可知本文此处用了拟人的手法，故推测“you”指的是“a bird”。故选D项。

2.推理判断题。根据第四段的We figured out a way to have just the noise without any of the other effects of the road, and to do that we put many speakers in a forest where there was no road可知研究人员想出一个只有噪声而没有道路其它方面影响的办法，为此，他们在没有公路的森林中用扬声器来播放噪声。故推测他们这样做的目的是为了将噪音与道路的其它影响分开。 B. To separate noise from other effects of the road.（为了将噪音与道路的其它影响分开）符合以上说法，故选B项。

3.推理判断题。根据文章倒数第三段And when it’s too loud, they can’t hear the alarm calls of other birds. So they have to waste time looking for predators instead of searching for food.可知，当噪音太大时，它们听不见其它鸟的报警声，因此要浪费很多时间注意捕食者而非寻找食物，即它们无法专心捕食导致不能增重。 A. They can’t concentrate on looking for food.（它们无法专注于寻找食物）符合以上说法，故选A项。

4.推理判断题。根据文章最后两段中的But there’s an easy solution to the noise problem—“Lowering speed limits does a lot.”So next time you’re driving through nature, just slow down a little. It’s safer for you and the wildlife.可知减慢车速可以帮助减少噪音，这样对自己和野生动物都安全，故推测文中建议司机降低车速来保护鸟类免受噪音困扰。D. To drive slowly through nature.（在大自然中缓慢行驶）符合以上说法，故选D项。