55. We
may conclude from the passage that ______.
A.it is more likely to make scientific and
artistic discoveries in everyday learning.
B.a sudden insight and knowledge from the
past are required in making discoveries
C.scientific discoveries or artistic
creations are usually unpredictable in nature
D.knowledge of the rules in the past is often
developed in the changes of situation
答案 52.A 53.B 54.B 55.B
Passage 49
(05·上海D篇)
Equipped
only with a pair of binoculars (双筒望远镜) and
ready to spend long hours waiting in all weathers for a precious glance of a
rare bullfinch(红腹灰雀).
Britain’s birdwatchers had long been supposed to be lovers of a minority sport.
But new figures show birdwatching is fast becoming a popular pastime, with
almost three million of us absorbed in our fluttering feathered friends.
Devoted
birdwatchers, those prepared to travel thousands of miles for a sighting of a
rare Siberian bird, are fast being joined by a new breed of follower whose
interest is satiated by watching a few finches (雀科鸣鸟) on a Sunday walk or putting up a bird-box
in the back garden.
“Almost
three million UK birdwatchers is certainly possible if you include everyone
with only a casual interest,” Stephen Moss said in his newly published book-A Bird in the Bush: a Social History of
Birdwatching-which records the pursuit from the rich Victorian Englishman’s
love of shooting rare birds to the less offensive observational tendencies of
birdwatchers today.
Television
wildlife programmes have helped to fuel the new trend. Last summer, BBC 2’s Britain
Goes Wild was a surprise success. It pulled in three million viewers and
led to bird-houses selling out across the UK as 45,000 people promised to put
up a box.
Birdwatchers’
networking system first came to the attention of the nation in 1989, when a
birdwatcher caught sight of the first Vermivora chrysoptera-a golden-winged
songbird from North America-to be seen in Britain. He put a message out on the
network service Birdline, and next day
3,000 birdwatchers proved the full pull of a truly rare bird as they
visited the Tesco car park in Kent, where it had settled. Today, birdwatchers
can log on to www.birdline.co.uk or have news of the latest sightings
texted to their phones.
“Multimillion-pound
spending on binoculars, bird food and boxes point to the increasing numbers of
birdwatchers,” said David Cromack, the editor of Bird Watching magazine, “The number of people involved is so big
that they have great potential to influence government decisions affecting the
environment.”