题目内容
The blue book which discusses politics, costs twenty- two dollars,but the red one which also discusses politics, costs less than half as much.
- A.The four books cost about thirty- three dollars.
- B.The red book is less expensive than the blue one.
- C.Each blue book costs exactly dollars.
- D.Each red book costs exactly elevendollars.
The blue tits(山雀) have been inspecting the nest-box again this year. The male is the house-hunter but the female will make the final choice. He lands at the hole and turns his head to expose his white cheeks as a signal to attract the female from where she has been feeding.
Among many birds that nest in holes, the male has a light-coloured patch on its plumage(鸟羽) which acts as signal for drawing the female’s attention to a suitable nesting-place. Unlike the blue tit, the redstart(红尾鸲) may be only the male that strikingly coloured and the female is not beautiful.
A few years ago I was lucky enough to spot a pair of redstarts in action in a Walsh wood. The male was leading an interested female to holes that he had previously(先前) checked out. He sat at the entrance of each hole and put his head on to show off his white forehead, or his head in to reveal(显露) his tail.
If the female failed to react to his visual signals, the male sometimes sang for extra effect, while gliding towards her on spread wings and tail. Once the female accepts by following the male through the hole the displays stop, you must be at the right place at the right time to watch them.
【小题1】How do the blue tits choose their nest?
| A.They choose their nest together. | B.The male chooses their nest. |
| C.The house-hunter chooses their nest. | D.The female chooses their nest. |
| A.how the male made his tricks |
| B.how an interested female played with the male happily |
| C.what the male displayed and won the female |
| D.that the male tried his best but failed to attract the female |
| A.at any time | B.regularly | C.in April | D.occasionally |
| A.a bird expert | B.a bird-hunter | C.a bird raiser | D.a scientist |
Once in a blue moon,(极为罕见) there is one on New Year's Eve. Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't expect it to be blue - the name has nothing to do with the color of our closest celestial(天空的) neighbor. A full moon occurred on December 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.
The New Year's Eve blue moon will be visible in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up until New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.
A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, and most years have 12. On average, an extra full moon in a month - a blue moon - occurs every 2.5 years. The last time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't come again until 2028.
“Blue moons have no astronomical significance,” said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California. “`Blue moon' is just a name in the same sense as a `hunter's moon'(a full moon in octorber) or a `harvest moon,'” Laughlin said in an e-mail.
The popular definition of blue moon came about after a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946 misinterpreted the Maine Farmer's Almanac and labeled a blue moon as the second full moon in a month. In fact, the almanac(年历) defined a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons.
【小题1】What’s the color of blue moon?
| A.blue | B.golden | C.green | D.red |
| A.December, 2009 | B.November, 2009 |
| C.January, 2010 | D.February, 2010 |
| A.is more beautiful | B.is rarer | C.is larger | D.is brighter |
| A.The second full moon in a month with two full moons. |
| B.The third full moon in a month with three full moons. |
| C.The second full moon in a season with four full moons. |
| D.The third full moon in a season with four full moons. |
| A.Rare New Year’s Eve Blue Moon to Ring in 2010 |
| B.Blue Moon to Take Us Good Fortune |
| C.The Best Time to Observe Blue Moon |
| D.The Reason for Blue Moon’s Appearing |