The roadrunner lives in the desert of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico．It is a bird，but it can only fly about as much as a chicken can．People gave it its name because they usually see it running across a road，but，of course，it spends more time among the plants of the desert than it does on roads．

The roadrunner is quite a large，bird--about 45 cm long and 25 high．People laugh when it runs because it looks so funny．It takes long steps and can run 30 kilometers an hour．

It eats many different kinds ~f food．Although it eats plants once in a while，it is mostly a meat eater．Most of its diet is insects，but it also catches birds，mice and other small animals．It is so brave that it even dare catch snakes and black spiders．

In the spring，a male roadrunner begins looking for a female as a mate．When he finds one，he gives her presents--a snake to eat or a branch to use in building a nest．Then they build their nest，the female lays eggs，and they raise their young．

In cold winter the roadrunner has an unusual way of keeping warm．In the early morning，the roadrunner stands with its back to the sun．It holds out its wings and lifts the feathers on its upper back．There is a small dark round area on the skin tinder these feathers and it collects heat from the sun and warms its body．Unlike most birds，it doesn't need to use a lot of energy to keep warm．

Some people in Mexican villages use roadrunner meat as medicine．They believe that because roadrunners can eat poisonous animals and not die，their meat should be good for human sickness．

1．The roadrunner gets its name because ________．

A．it is too large for a bird

B．it runs in the desert looking for snakes

C．it can hardly fly，yet it can run fast

D．it spends more time on roads than in the desert

2．When a male roadrunner looks for a female，it usually gives her ________．

A．wings               B．nests                      C．feathers          D．gifts

3．Some people in Mexican villages ________．

A．kill roadrunners to use their meat for sickness

B．learn to keep warm the way roadrunners do

C．stay away from poisonous roadrunners

D．become very friendly with roadrunners

4．From the passage we know that ________．

A．roadrunners eat all kinds of food，mostly plants

B．roadrunners fit into the environment very well

C．roadrunners live in the desert all over the world

D．roadrunners use a lot of energy keeping warm in winter

People have sailed the world in quite small boats. It is not an easy thing to do. Sometimes the weather gets bad. That can be the end of everyone in it. Accidents can happen easily and quickly.

One family once had an accident with some big fish. The fish swam under their boat and bit holes in it. Seawater came in, of  course ,and the boat soon sank. However, these people had another small boat--a lifeboat ,and they all got into that. They lived and hoped for many days. They ate and slept ,and they always hoped. At last a ship found them.

How do people live in a very small lifeboat? Perhaps for weeks or months? They must be strong in every way. They must have hope--they must want to live. But you can’t eat and drink hope. You can’t drink seawater. Drink a lot of seawater--and you will quickly die. Sailors can drink rainwater. They must catch rainwater in their boat. They must also catch fish and birds for food. Lifeboats do not often carry a cooker, so the sailors can’t cook their food. Raw fish and bird meat is not very nice. But there is no other choice in a lifeboat. The sailors must eat raw food ,or they will die.

What do people think about in a lifeboat? They think about land, a warm bed ,dry clothes, fresh water and food ,food, food.

阅读短文，选择正确答案。

1. When sailors’s boat sink ,their lifeboat gives them _________

A. food        B. beds         C. rainwater         D. hope

2. One family once had an accident at sea because           .

A. their boat was caught in bad weather

B. the boat knocked against a rock and seawater came in

C. some fish bit through the bottom of their boat

D. none of them knew how to sail at sea

3. Sailors can catch          for food and drink at sea in a lifeboat.

A. rainwater                      B. fish and birds

C. both seawater and rainwater       D. both A and B

4. Lifeboats do not often carry a cooker, which is ______

  A. something used for cooking    B. food for cooking

  C. a large basin                D. a person who cooks food

5. Which of the following is not true?

  A. Sailing around the world in quite small boats is not easy.

  B. All the sailors have cooked fish and bird meat in a lifeboat.

  C. Anyone who drinks a lot of seawater will die.

  D. No one lives for weeks in a lifeboat unless he is strong and wants to live,

There was an exciting moment in our class when a large bird flew ________ the room.

1. A.
   from
2. B.
   into
3. C.
   onto
4. D.
   with