Question

3．Thousands of dead red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky in an Arkansas town on New Year's Eve after massive injuries，tests by Arkansas officials concluded on Monday．Some 5，000birds mysteriously fell from the sky in Beebe，Arkansas after dark on New Year's Eve．"The birds suffered from acute physical injuries leading to internal hemorrhage（大量出血） and death．There was no sign of infectious disease，"the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said in a statement．The birds were otherwise healthy，it said．
One theory is that birds were frightened by New Year's fireworks and flew into buildings or other objects．"Loud noises were reported shortly before the birds began to fall from the sky，"the statement said，adding that blackbirds have poor night vision and seldom fly at night．
Another theory was that severe weather such as lightning accounted for the loud noises but this was  discountedbecause the violent weather had already left the area．"We're leaning more toward a stress event，"said Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesman Keith Stephens．
The commission also is trying to determine what caused the deaths of up to 100，000fish over a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River near a dam in Ozark，125miles west of Beebe．The fish were discovered on December 30．Stephens said the commission expected results on the fish tests in probably a month．Since almost all the fish were one species--bottom-feeding drum，Stephens said，the test was very important．Stephens also said："The events do not appear related．"Both that section of the river and the air at the site of the bird deaths were tested for toxins（毒素）．Beebe is a town of about 4，500people located 30miles northeast of the state capital．

57．What is NOT the probable reason why the dead red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky？D
A．Internal hemorrhage  B．Fireworks
C．Lightning weather    D．Murder
58．In the third paragraph，the underlined word  discountedprobably meanB．
A．not to reduce cost   B．not to believe
C．to make up a part    D．to explain mystery
59．According to Stephens，we can infer the probable cause of the dead fish isC．
A．cold weather         B．poor management
C．disease              D．lack of food
60．The passage is mainly developed byA．
A．analyzing causes       B．making comparisons
C．examining differences  D．following the time order．

Answer 1

分析 文章大意：本文讲的是数千只红翅膀的黑鸟从天上掉落下来，后来当地官员分析了其中的原因．

解答 57．D 细节理解题．根据文章第一段第三句．"The birds suffered from acute physical injuries leading to internal hemorrhage（大量出血） and death．There was no sign of infectious disease，"可知A项表述正确；根据第二段内容One theory is that birds were frightened by New Year's fireworks and flew into buildings or other objects．"Loud noises were reported shortly before the birds began to fall from the sky，"the statement said，adding that blackbirds have poor night vision and seldom fly at night可知B项表述正确；根据第三段第一句话Another theory was that severe weather such as lightning accounted for the loud noises可知C项表述正确，而文中没有提到是这些鸟是被谋杀，因此D项是错误的．
58．B 猜测词义题． 根据文章第三段第一句话Another theory was that severe weather such as lightning accounted for the loud noises but this was discountedbecause the violent weather had already left the area可知 discount意为"不可信的"，与B项意思一致．
59．C 推理判断题．根据文章最后一段最后一句话The events do not appear related．"Both that section of the river and the air at the site of the bird deaths were tested for toxins（毒素）可知这些鱼的生存的环境收到了污染，因此他们染上了疾病而死去．因此答案选C．
60．A 通过整体内容分析，本文首先列出了一个问题，然后对这个问题出现的原因作了分析，因此作者的写作思路就是通过分析原因进一步展开的．因此答案选A．

点评 本题是健康环保类阅读理解题．这类题材的阅读理解是高考的重点，它注重考查考生整体理解文章，把握文章大意的能力，要求考生平时加强训练，做题时要结合上下文语境，在文中找到依据，做出正确的选择．