Question

Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing when you are happy.

Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.

Do you know what a ‘territory’ is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.

If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting(筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.

Birds sing loudest in spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.

You can see that birds have a language of their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.

1.Some scientists believe that most of the time bird’s singing is actually _____________.

A．an expression of happiness                B．a way of warning

C．an expression of anger                   D．a way of greeting

2.What does the underlined word“territory”mean?

A．A place where families of other species are not accepted.

B．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice.

C．An area for which birds fight a against each other.

D．An area which a bird considers to be its own.

3.Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?

A．Because they want to invite more friends.

B．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away.

C．Because they want to find outsiders around.

D．Because they want to express their happiness.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.B

2.D

3.B

【解析】

试题分析：文章介绍了鸟为什么会唱歌，大部分鸟的歌声是一种警告，为了保护自己的领地不被外来者侵犯。

1.细节题：从第一段的句子：Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.可知大部分鸟的歌声是一种警告。选B

2.猜词题：从第二段的句子：A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims (声称) as its own.可知这个单词是“领地”的意思。选D

3.细节题：从文章最后一段的句子：This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.可知在筑巢的时候鸟的歌唱是为了赶走外来者。选B

考点：考查科普类短文

点评：文章介绍了鸟为什么会唱歌，大部分鸟的歌声是一种警告，为了保护自己的领地不被外来者侵犯。本文要求考生读懂文章中的每个句子的意思还要推理它们之间的关系，结合自己的生活常识和经验，再通过逻辑推理和判断，理解文章的言外之意，从而揭示文章的深层涵义。任何一篇文章都有其特定的写作目的，读者应当知道如何去做或按照某种方式传递思考问题。推理判断题的答案不可能在文章中直接找到，因此推理时我们务必要忠于原文，在文章中寻找并确定可推论的依据。