7.Passenger pigeons once flew over much of the United States in unbelievable numbers.Written accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries described flocks(群) so large that they darkened the sky for hours.
It was calculated that when its population reached its highest point,there were more than 3billion passenger pigeons-a number equal to 24to 40percent of the total bird population in the United States,making it perhaps the most abundant bird in the world.Even as late as 1870when their numbers had already become smaller,a flock believed to be a mile wide and 320miles (about 515kilometers) long was seen near Cincinnati.
Sadly,the abundance of passenger pigeons may have been their undoing.Where the birds were most abundant,people believed there was an ever-lasting supply and killed them by the thousands.Commercial hunters attracted them to small clearings with grain,waited until pigeons had settled to feed,then threw large nets over them,taking hundreds at a time.The birds were shipped to large cities and sold in restaurants.
By the closing decades of the 19th century,the hardwood forests where passenger pigeons nested had been damaged by Americans'need for wood,which scattered (驱散) the flocks and forced the birds to go farther north,where cold temperatures and spring storms contributed to their decline.Soon the great flocks were gone,never to be seen again.
In 1897,the state of Michigan passed a law prohibiting the killing of passenger pigeons,but by then,no sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10years.The last confirmed wild pigeon in the United States was shot by a boy in Pike County,Ohio,in 1900.For a time,a few birds survived under human care.The last of them,known affectionately as Martha,died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden on September 1,1914.
24.In the 18th and early 19th centuries,passenger pigeonsD.
A.were the biggest bird in the world             
B.lived mainly in the south of America
C.did great harm to the natural environment       
D.were the largest bird population in the US
25.The underlined word"undoing"probably refers to the pigeons'B.
A.escape              
B.ruin
C.liberation            
D.evolution
26.What was the main reason for people to kill passenger pigeons?C
A.To seek pleasure.
B.To save other birds.
C.To make money.
D.To protect crops.
27.What can we infer about the law passed in Michigan?B
A.It was ignored by the public.
B.It was declared too late.
C.It was unfair.
D.It was strict.
1.In Section A,you will hear ten short conversation betwwen two speakers.At the end of each conversation,a question will be asked about what was said.The conversations and the questions will be spoken only once.After you hear a conversation and question about it,read the four possible answers on your paper,and decide which one is the best answer to the question you have heard.
1.A.in a hospital.  B.in a school.  C.in a hotel.  D.in a police station.略
2.A.A programmar    B.A writer            C.A reporter      D.An operator略
3.At 6 p.m.  B.At 11 p.m.  C.At 5 p.m.  D.At 9 p.m.略
4.A.In July.  B.In August.  C.in January.  D.in October.略
5.A.300.  B.200.  C.150.  D.100.略
6.A.At last,she enjoys her college life.略
   B.College life hasn't changed much since this year.
   C.She has many new friends.
   D.It is easier to find her way around this year.
7.A.He was an interesting guy.略
   B.He deserved the title.
   C.He was very lucky to win the honour.
   D.His life was different from other people.
8.A.It will be an excellent facility in the neighborhood.略
    B.it isn't needed.
    C.It should be built quickly.
    D.it is time to go swimming.
9.A.The woman insists on going out.略
   B.The man promised her a gift on her birthday.
   C.The man is too tired to go out.
   D.The woman prefers to stay at home at their wedding anniversary.
10.A.She is thinner.略
     B.She doesn't eat much.
     C.She knows how to dress herself.
     D.She seems to have lost weight.

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