Ⅳ.阅读理解
A
If you're out for a walk and a bird in a tree says to you “Hello
there”， don't worry, you're not going mad.
Naturalists have reported a growing phenomenon of pet parrots
that have been taught to repeat phrases by their owners before
escaping from their cages and then passing on the technique to the
wild flocks they join. “Hello there!”， “Hello darling!”and “What's happening?”are among the chorus of comments that flocks of wild birds have been repeating after picking up words and sentences from other birds that were once
household pets.
Naturalist Martyn Robinson said：“We've had people calling us thinking they've had something put into their drink because they've gone out to look at the flock of birds in their back yard and all the birds have been saying something like ‘Who's a pretty boy, then?’?”
Mr.Robinson, who is based at the Australian Museum in Sydney, said the usual sequence of events saw a caged parrot of some kind which had been taught phrases but had then made its escape. It would then join a wild flock and chatter away in the trees，its words being learned by younger birds in the flock.The older ones would be unlikely to start learning. When chicks are born, they hear the words being spoken by the older birds and grow up repeating the phrases.And so it continues, generation after generation.
Mr.Robinson said that because of a drought in the western regions of New South Wales, flocks of wild birds—“speakers”among them—have been flying to Sydney, where more food is available, and have been hanging around suburban gardens.
From the tree tops in gardens, from chimney pots and lamp posts, the flocks have been talking away, leaving many people wondering if their minds were playing tricks on them.
“These birds are very smart and very social, meaning that communication and contact is important between them，” said Mr.Robinson.“I just hope a pet bird that's been taught dirty words doesn't join a flock because we don't want to hear that kind of thing going around the back gardens.”
【语篇解读】 很多悉尼居民可以在自家的花园中听到一群野生鹦鹉在树梢上对他
们说，“你好”“出什么事了”，这是为什么呢?
1.When people heard a flock of birds say “Hello there!” , they felt________.
A.there was something wrong with their minds
B.they had drunk some wine
C.they were in a world of parrots
D.they heard people speaking
解析 细节理解题。根据文章第一段、第三段以及倒数第二段的信息可知，人们在听到野生鹦鹉说话时感到很诧异，以为自己的大脑出了什么问题。
答案 A
2.Flocks of wild bird “speakers” have been flying to Sydney because________.
A.they are following some escaped pet parrots
B.it is easy for them to find food in Sydney
C.there are fewer birds left in New South Wales
D.they are on their way of migration
解析 细节理解题。从文章倒数第三段可知，这些会说话的野生鹦鹉从新南威尔士州飞到了悉尼，原因是新南威尔土州大旱，缺少食物，而悉尼有很多食物。
答案 B
3.Which of the following gives the correct order of events given in the passage?
a.People hear a bird in a tree say“Hello there!”.
b.The pet parrot escaped from its cage.
c.A flock of wild parrots learned to speak from the escaped“speaker”.
d.A pet parrot picked up some sentences from its owner.
e.The pet parrot joined a flock of wild birds.
A.h, c, d, a, e B.e, a, c, d, b
C.d, b, e, c, a D.e, b, c, a, d
解析 细节理解题。根据第二段和第四段的信息可知，C项符合文章所陈述的事实的顺序。
答案 C
4.We can learn from the passage that________.
A.parrots like to learn to speak human language
B.younger birds are most likely to learn the language from the escaped parrots
C.parrots can learn to speak from each other, whether old or young
D.parrots flock together because they speak the same language
解析 细节理解题。从文章第四段的第二、三、四句可知，幼鸟更有可能跟逃出来的会说话的宠物鹦鹉学习人类的习惯用语。
答案 B
