-
Passenger pigeons
(
旅鸽
)once flew over much of
the United States in
unbelievable
numbers. Written accounts from the 18th and 19th
centuries described
flocks
(
群
)so large that they
darkened
the
sky for hours.
It was
calculated that when its population reached its
highest point ,they were
more than 3
billion passenger pigeons
—
a
number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the
total bird population in the United
States, making it perhaps the most abundant bird
in
the world. Even as late as 1870 when
their numbers had already become smaller, a
flock believed to be 1 mile wide and
320 miles (about 515 kilometers) long was seen
near Cincinnati.
Sadly the abundance of
passenger pigeons may have been their undoing.
Where
the birds were most abundant,
people believed there was an ever-lasting supply
and
killed them by the thousands,
Commercial hunters attracted them to
small clearings with grain, waited until
pigeons had settled to feed, then threw
large nets over them, taking hundreds at a time.
The birds were shipped to large cities
and sold in restaurants.
By the closing decades of
the 19th century ,the hardwood forests where
passenger pigeons nested had been
damaged by American’s need for wood, which
scattered (
驱散
)
the flocks and forced the birds to go farther
north, where cold
temperatures and
storms contributed to their decline. Soon the
great flocks were gone,
never to be
seen again.
In 1897, the
state of Michigan passed a law prohibiting the
killing of
passenger pigeons but by
then, no sizable flocks had been seen in the state
for 10
years. The last confirmed wi
pigeon in the United States was shot by a boy in
Pike
County, Ohio, in 1900. For a time
, a few birds survived under human care. The last
of them, known affectionately as
Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden
on September 1, 1914.
24. In
the 18th and early 19teh centuries, passenger
pigeons____.
A. were the biggest bird
in the world
B. lived mainly in the
south of America
C. did great harm to
the natural environment
D. were the
largest bird population in the Us
25.
The underlined word “ undoing” probably refers to
the pigeons’ ____.
A. escape
B. ruin
C. liberation
D. evolution
26. What was
the main reason for people to kill passenger
pigeons?
A. To seek pleasure.
B. To save other birds.
C.
To make money.
D. To protect crops.
27. What can we infer about the law
passed in Michigan?
A. It was ignored
by the public.
B.
It was
declared too late.
C. It was unfair.
D. It was strict.
一．
长难句分析
1. It was calculated that
when its population reached its highest point
,they were
more than 3 billlion
passenger pigeons
—
a number
equal to 24 to 40 percent of the
total
bird population in the United States, making it
perhaps the most abundant bird in
the
world.
hardwood forests where passenger
pigeons nested had been damaged by
American’s need for wood, which
scattered (
驱散
) the flocks
and forced the birds to
go farther
north, where cold temperatures and storms
contributed to their decline.
二．阅读中非谓语动词。
1._____________ (write)accounts from
the 18th and 19th centuries described
flocks (
群
)so
large that they
darkened
the sky for hours.
were more than 3 billlion passenger
pigeons
—
a number equal to 24
to 40
percent of the total bird
population in the United States, ________(make) it
perhaps
the most abundant bird in the
world.
their numbers had already
become smaller, a flock ______(believe) to be
1 mile wide and 320 miles (about 515
kilometers) long was seen near Cincinnati.
4. The great flocks were gone, never to
________(see) again.
5.
In 1897, the state of Michigan passed a law
________(prohibit) the killing of
passenger pigeons .
last of them,
________(know)affectionately as Martha, died at
the
Cincinnati Zoological Garden on
September 1, 1914.
can we infer about
the law________(pass) in Michigan?
cial
hunters attracted them to small clearings with
grain,
_______(wait)until pigeons had
settled to feed, then_______(throw) large nets
over
them, ______(take) hundreds at a
time.
A typical lion
tamer
（驯兽师）
in people’s mind
is an entertainer holding a
whip(
鞭
) at a chair. The whip gets
all of the attention, but it’s mostly for show. In
reality, it’ the chair that does the
impor
tant work. When a lion tamer holds
a chair in
front of the lion’s face,
the lion tries to focus on all four legs of the
chair at the same
time. With its focus
divided, the lion becomes confused and is unsure
about what to
do next. When faced with
so many options, the lion chooses to freeze and
wait instead
of attacking the man
holding the chair.
How often do
you find yourself in the same position as the
lion? How often do
you have something
you want to achieve (e.g. lose weight., start a
business, travel
more)
—
only to end
up confused by all of the options in front of you
and never make
progress?
This upsets me to no end because while
all the experts are busy debating about
which option is been the people who
want to improve their lives are left confused by
all of the conflicting information. The
end result is that we feel like we cant’ focus or
that we’re focused on the wrong things,
and so we take less action, make less progress,
and stay the same when we could be
improving.