Question

【題目】Their cheery song brightens many a winter's day. But robins(知更鳥) are in danger of wearing themselves out by singing too much. Robins are singing all night一 as well as during the day, British-based researchers say.

David Dominoni, of Glasgow University, said that light from street lamps, takeaway signs and homes is affecting the birds' biological clock, leading to them being wide awake when they should be asleep.

Dr Dominoni, who is putting cameras inside nesting boxes to track sleeping patterns, said lack of sleep could put the birds' health at risk. His study shows that when robins are exposed to light at night in the lab, it leads to some genes being active at the wrong time of day. And the more birds are exposed to light, the more active they are at night.

He told people at a conference, "There have been a couple of studies suggesting they are increasing their song output at night and during the day they are still singing. Singing is a costly behaviour and it takes energy. So by increasing their song output, there might be some costs of energy."

And it is not just robins that are being kept awake by artificial light. Blackoiids and seagulls are also being more nocturnal. Dr Dominoni said, "In Glasgow where I live, gulls are a serious problem. I have people coming to me saying `You are the bird expert. Can you help us kill these gulls?'.During the breeding(繁殖)season, between April and June, they are very active at night and very noisy and people can't sleep."

Although Dr Dominoni has only studied light pollution, other research concluded that robins living in noisy cities have started to sing at night to make themselves heard over loud noise.

However, some birds thrive(興旺)in noisy environments. A study from California Polytechnic University found more hummingbirds in areas with heavy industrial machinery. It is thought that they are capitalizing on their predators(天敵)fleeing to quieter areas.

【1】According to Dr Dominoni's study, what causes robins to sing so much?

A. The breeding season.

B. The light in modem.

C. The dangerous environment.

D. The noise from heavy machinery.

【2】What is the researchers' concern over the increase of birds' song output?

A. The environment might be polluted.

B. The birds' health might be damaged.

C. The industry cost might be increased

D. The people's hearing might be affected.

【3】What does the underlined word "nocturnal" in Paragraph 5 mean?

A. Active at night.

B. Inactive at night.

C. Active during the day.

D. Inactive during the day.

【4】Why do some birds thrive in noisy environments?

A. Because there are fewer dangers.

B. Because there is more food to eat.

C. Because there is less light pollution

D. Because there are more places to take shelter.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】B

【3】A

【4】A

【解析】

試題分析：本文主要介紹了一項研究調(diào)查的結(jié)果，由于人類制造的光線問題，越來越多的鳥類如知更鳥在晚上也會唱歌，這極大地影響了鳥的健康。

【1】B 細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第二段的David Dominoni, of Glasgow University, said that light from street lamps, take away signs and homes is affecting the birds' biological clock, leading to them being wide awake可知選擇B。

【2】B 細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章Singing is a costly behaviour and it takes energy. So by increasing their song output, there might be some costs of energy."可知，唱歌唱得越多，就會損耗更多的能量，故選擇B。

【3】A 詞義辨析題。根據(jù)上文的And it is not just robins that are being kept awake by artificial light. Blackbirds and seagulls are also being可知烏鴉和海鷗情況也一樣，也就是說這兩種鳥晚上也唱歌，故選擇A，指晚上很興奮。

【4】A 細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章最后一段的It is thought that they are capitalising on their predators(天敵)fleeing to quieter areas.可知，它們的天敵都去了安靜的地方，故選擇A，指在這些工業(yè)區(qū)，天敵更少，也就是危險更少。