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 (声称) as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your house is 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 frightened 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.
【小题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

【小题2】What is a bird’s “territory”?

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 against each other.

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

【小题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 their singing helps get rid of their fears.

【小题4】How does the writer explain birds’ singing?

A．By comparing birds with human beings.

B．By reporting experiment results.

C．By describing birds’ daily life.

D．By telling a bird’s story.

【小题5】What does the underline word “screaming” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．哭喊声

B．令人惊愕的

C．尖叫声

D．尖叫的

To wash yourself, you take a bath(洗澡) or a shower. Animals need to keep clean, too. How do animals clean themselves?

Cats lick（舔）themselves to keep their fur clean. Have you ever watched a pet cat clean itself?

Elephants take baths much as you do. But instead of jumping into the tub（浴缸）, they walk into a river or lake.

Pigs also like to roll around in water. This keeps them clean and cool. If there is no clean water, they will roll in mud（泥）on a hot day. They do this to cool off. Pigs do not really like mud. They are happier in a nice, clean pond(水池).

Bats have a funny way to keep clean. They lick their thumbs to clean their ears!

Guess how polar bears clean themselves. They use snow, of course!

Some animals take baths in dust instead of water! The wombat(毛鼻袋熊) is an Australian animal with lots of fur. To get clean, it lies down. Then it covers itself with sand!

Birds clean themselves in many ways. Sometimes they wash in water. That’s why some people put birdbaths in their yard. At other times birds take dust baths, just like wombats. Birds also use their beaks（喙）to keep their feathers clean. They use their beaks the way you use a comb.

Sometimes a bird has itchy bugs（发痒的虫子）in its feathers. Birds may use ants to help them clean off the bugs. A bird will lie down on an ant nest. Then the ants will crawl on the bird. The ants make a kind of bug spray（喷雾）on the feathers;. Then the itchy bugs die!

Birds take baths in something else besides dust and ants! Some birds take “smoke baths” They sit on chimneys. They wave their wings in the smoke!

1.This passage mainly tells us       .

A．why some people put birdbaths in their yard	B．why birds allow ants to crawl on their body
C．how animals cool off on hot days	D．how some animals keep clean

2. What is a pig’s favorite way to get clean?

A．Licking itself.	B．Lying down on ants.
C．Rolling in nice, thick mud.	D．Taking a bath in clean water.

3.Which of the following animals use dust to clean themselves?

A．Cats.

B．Bats.

C．Wombats.

D．Ants.

 

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 (声称) as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your house is 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 frightened 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.

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

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

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

2.What is a bird’s “territory”?

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 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 their singing helps get rid of their fears.

4.How does the writer explain birds’ singing?

A．By comparing birds with human beings.       B．By reporting experiment results.

C．By describing birds’ daily life.             D．By telling a bird’s story.

5.What does the underline word “screaming” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．哭喊声           B．令人惊愕的        C．尖叫声           D．尖叫的

 

How often one hears children wishing they were grown up, and the old wishing they were young again! Each age has its pleasure and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting any time in useless regrets.
Children is a time when there are few duties to make life hard. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after, and loved whatever he may do. It’s impossible for him to be given so much again in his life without having to do anything in return. Besides, life is always giving new things to the child. A child finds pleasure in playing in the rain, or in the snow. His first visit to the seaside makes him wild. But a child has his pains; he is not so free to do as he wishes. He is continually being told not to do this, not to do that, or being punished for what he has done wrong. His life is therefore not perfectly happy.
When the young man starts to make his own living, he becomes free from the rules of school and parents; but at the time he is forced to accept duties. He can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes and his room, but has to work for them if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry and suffer. And if he breaks the law of society as he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison, lf, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble, and has good health, he can have the great happiness of seeing himself make steady progress in his job and of building up his own position in society and enjoy success and good reputation..
Old age has always been thought of as the worst age to be, but it is not necessary for the old to be unhappy. Old age has its own happiness. They can have the joy of seeing their children making progress in life; they can watch their grandchildren growing up around them and, perhaps, best of all, they can, if their life has been a useful one, feel the happiness of having come through the battle of life safely and of having reached a time when they can lie back and rest, leaving others to continue the fight.
【小题1】The main reason children wish they were grown up, and the old wish they were young again is that ______.

A．both aren’t satisfied with the weak points at their ages

B．both enjoy the strong points at the other age by looking back or looking forward

C．the human beings should be like this

D．they don’t think both ages are acceptable

【小题2】“Enjoy what each age gives him without wasting time in useless regrets” means ______. 

A．Enjoy what is given to him by people at his age, feeling regrets

B．Enjoy himself at his own age, feeling regrets for a waste of time

C．Make full use of the time he is given at his age instead of regretting having no achievements

D．Enjoy his own age and look down on the people at other ages

【小题3】“Children is a time when there are few duties to make life hard” means “______”. 

A．Children shouldn’t be made to live a hard life

B．All the children won’t have to work for their own living

C．Children shouldn’t answer for the hard life they are leading

D．A child bas few duties to try hard to make a living for himself or for his seniors

【小题4】According to the passage, what is a child’s greatest dissatisfaction? 

A．He thinks he has not got the equal freedom as his seniors.

B．He thinks he knows less about things than the older do.

C．He thinks it easy for him to do something wrong.

D．He thinks the society doesn’t believe in him.

Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy．After all，you probably sing or whistle 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(声称)as its own．Only he and his family are welcome there．No other families 0f the same species(物种)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 the 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 all their own．Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories．
【小题1】Some scientists believe that most of the time birds’ singing is actually．

A．an expression of happiness

B．a way of greeting

C．an expression of anger

D．a way of warning

【小题2】What is a bird’s “territory”?

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

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

C．an area for which birds fight against each other．

D．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its Voice．

【小题3】Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?

A．Because they want to invite more friends

B．Because their singing helps get rid of their fears．

C．Because they want to find outsiders around．

D．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away．