Question

 

   Equipped only with a pair of binoculars(双筒望远镜) and ready to spend long hours waiting in all weathers for a precious glance of a rare bullfinch(红腹灰雀), Britain’s birdwatchers had long been supposed to be lovers of a minority sport. But new figures show bird-watching is fast becoming a popular pastime, with almost three million of us absorbed in our fluttering feathered friends.

   Devoted birdwatchers, those prepared to travel thousands of miles for sighting of a rare Siberian bird, are fast being joined by a new breed of follower whose interest is satiated by watching a few finches(雀科鸣鸟) on a Sunday walk or putting up a bird-box in the back garden.

   “Almost three million UK birdwatchers is certainly possible if you include everyone with only a casual interest,” Stephen Moss said in his newly published book.—A bird in the Bush: a Social History of Birdwatching — which records the pursuit from the rich Victorian Englishman’s love of shooting rare birds to the less offensive observational tendencies of birdwatchers today.

   Television wildlife programmes have helped to fuel the new trend. Last summer, BBC 2’s Britain Goes Wild was a surprise success. It pulled in three million views and led to bird-houses selling out across the UK as 45,000 people promised to put up a box.

   Birdwatchers networking system first came to the attention of the nation in 1989, when a birdwatcher caught sight of the first Vermivora chrysoptera—a golden-winged songbird from North America—to be seen in Britain. He put a message out on the network service Birdline, and the next day 3,000 birdwatchers proved the full pull of a truly rare bird as they visited the Tesco car park in Kent., where it had settled. Today, birdwatchers can log on to www.birdline.co.uk or have news of the latest sighting texted to their phones.

   “Multimillion-pound spending on binoculars, bird food and boxes point to the increasing numbers of birdwatchers.” Said David Croack, the editor of Bird Watching magazine “The number of people involved is so big that they have great potential to influence government decisions affecting the environment.”

1.The word “satiated” in paragraph 2 can best be replaced by “______”.

A. affected         B. shared               C. satisfied                D. narrowed

2.What happened after the message of seeing a Vermivora Chrysoptera was put on the network?

A. Birdwatchers helped the rare bird settle in Kent.

B. Large numbers of birdwatchers went to view the bird.

C. Many birdwatchers logged on to the website for details.

D. Birdwatchers showed their determination to protect the rare bird.

3.Which of the following CANNOT be true according to the passage?

A. Television wildlife programmes started the popular pastime of birdwatching.

B. The network service has contributed to the rapid development of birdwatching.

C. Birdwatching in Britain was long considered a sport with a small group of followers.

D. The current situation of birdwatching may promote the protection of the environment.

4.The passage mainly tells us about _______ in UK.

A. the history of birdwatching.             B. a growing passion for birdwatching

C. the impact of media on birdwatching          D. birdwatching as a popular expensive sport

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.C

【详解】由But new figures show bird-watching is fast becoming a popular pastime,可以看出，观鸟成了一种消遣，那么，有新奇的鸟，兴趣应当是得到满足，所以选C。

2.B

【详解】由倒数第二段the next day 3,000 birdwatchers proved the full pull of a truly rare bird可以看出在网上发布这个信息以后有很多观鸟的人来看这只鸟。

3.A

【详解】这题是要求找不合事实的选项。B、C和D都在文章中能找到。而观鸟这种消遣是很早就开始了的，不是电视节目导致的。所以选A。

4.B

【详解】这篇短文主要讲述的就是英国观鸟者日益增长的观鸟激情。所以选B。

【专家备考建议】这篇阅读材料讲述英国人把观鸟作为消遣这一热点话题，生活经历丰富和兴趣广博的学生占有优势。在“生活英语”中提高运用能力。这是上海卷一直以来体现的特点。这篇文章对于词汇要求更大。如果没有一定的词汇量，对这文章会无从下手。