It's very early in the morning and I'm sitting outside. It's also very cold and dark. With me is Jim Nightingale,and he is the reason I'm up so early. He passes me a hot cup of coffee. "Not long to wait now," he says. I hope he's right.

After a few minutes there is a very weak light in the east,and then I hear a bird singing. It sings very loudly and very clearly. "That's the robin (知更鳥) ，"says Jim. A few more birds start singing with the robin,and Jim knows the names of them,too. Half an hour later,there are more and more birds singing,and it's very loud!Suddenly,all around us is the sound of the birdsong. This is the dawn chorus (晨鳴) ，and it's beautiful.

"Wow,this is amazing！" I tell Jim,who is smiling. "Is there a dawn chorus every morning?"

"Birds can sing any time of the year,but the best time is the end of winter and during the spring. This is when the birds sing most."

"Really? Then,why do they sing?" I ask.

"Well,there are two reasons," explains Jim. "Most of the songbirds are males. They want to find a female (雌性) ，so they sing to show how strong they are. The female birds just listen and choose the best singer!The birds also sing to tell other males to go away. They need their own area. They don't like sharing with another male."

I listen to the birds,the songs seem too much to me. "Do the birds sing a special song in the morning?"

"That's a good question," replies Jim. "The successful birds have many kinds of calls and songs. Sometimes they copy the songs of other birds. This makes it sound like there are many birds in that place already and other males stay away. Also the female likes songs with different notes. Some birds,for example the European wren,have songs that contain over 700 different notes per minute！”

So,how does Jim know so much about birds? Well,he works as a volunteer for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. He is trying to help the birds live in the modern world. " More and more of the birds' habitat disappears every year. The sparrow,for example,was a very common bird in the UK,now it's in danger."

By now the sun is up and the birds are quiet. It's light so they can start looking for food; they need a big breakfast after all that singing！

(   ) 11. Why does the writer get up early in the morning?

   A. To visit her friend.

   B. To drink hot coffee.

   C. To see different birds.

   D. To hear birds sing.

(   ) 12. When you hear a bird sing in the morning,it's most probably         .

   A. a robin   B. a sparrow

   C. a male bird   D. a female bird

(   ) 13. A bird sings early in the morning mainly         .

   A. to call a female's attention

   B. to fight with other males

   C. to find a place to live in

   D. to start looking for food

(   ) 14. According to the text,which of the following statements is true?

   A. At first the writer is happy to be up so early in the morning.

   B. Male birds have their own ways of fooling other birds.

   C. It's easier for the birds to find food early in the morning.

   D. Jim has a job with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

(   ) 15. The text is mainly about         .

   A. the robin's songs

   B. the birds' habitat

   C. why birds sing

   D. how to protect birds

練習(xí)冊系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：初中英語 來源： 題型：

  I'd like to say something about my motherland. China is a country with a long h 1 of more than 5,000 years. The Chinese nation is m 2       up of 56 nationalities;among them the Han is the 1 3       . As you know,the Great Wall is f 4       all over the world. And,the Yangtze and Yellow River are the main r 5       here. China covers more than 9. 6 m 6       square kilometers. It has the largest population in the w 7      ;more than 1. 3 billion now.

  China is a developing c 8       . China has changed greatly in the recent 20 years. However,some areas remain poor and one of the serious p 9       is pollution. Now,that's enough and it's t 10       for me to say welcome. Wish all of you have a good time here.

1. h       2. m        3. 1       4. f       5. r      

6. m       7. w       8. c       9. p      10. t       

查看答案和解析>>

科目：初中英語 來源： 題型：

Every evening at six o'clock an old man went to a restaurant near his house. He ate dinner. After dinner,he d 1      coffee and talked to the people at the restaurant. The old man's name was Bill. Bill ate at the restaurant every evening because he was I 2      . His wife d 3      and he had no c 4      Every evening the s 5      waitress b 6      Bill his dinner. Her name was Cara. She was 17 years old. Car a was kind to Bill. She often talked to him. When Bill was 1 7      for dinner,she called him on the phone. "Are you OK?" she asked him.

One evening Bill didn't come to the restaurant. Cara called him,but he didn't a 8      the phone. Cara called the police. "Please go to Bill's house," Cara told the police. Later the police called Cara at the restaurant. "Bill died in his sleep," the police told her. Bill was 82 years old.

A week later,a man came to the restaurant. " I h 9      something for Cara , ”the man said. The man gave Cara a c 10      for $500,000. The money is from Bill.

1. d        2. 1        3. d          4. c        5. s       

6. b          7. 1         8. a        9.h       30. c      

查看答案和解析>>

科目：初中英語 來源： 題型：

Man,101,Passes Driver's Test Alden Couch celebrated (慶祝) his 101st birthday last Monday. He also c 1       another thing：he just p 2       his driver's test and got the driver's 1 3      (駕照) . "I haven't d 4      for 10 years,but I passed," he said.

Alden's friends h 5       a party for him. Couch drove his car to the party by h 6       ,After two cakes and a round of dancing,he drove home. Were there 101 c 7       on his cakes?

"No，no,not 101," he said on the telephone. "There would be a bonfire (篝火) with 101 candles."

Alden's son,64-year-old Bill Couch,said he sometimes f 8       his father in his car to make sure his dad drove s 9      

"I feel a lot better about that,”Bill Couch said. Alden Couch's new license will e 10       in 2012. During his lifetime,Couch has owned 10 to 15 cars. The first car he drove was his parents' car.

1. c        2. p       3. 1       4. d       5. h         

6. h        7. c       8. f        9. s       10. e       

查看答案和解析>>

科目：初中英語 來源： 題型：

A man fell out of his plane and fell back into it again. Two people rowed (劃) a small boat from New York to England in 56 days. One person was so big that he couldn't get into any hospital room. Would you believe these stories? Well,they may sound strange but they really happen. James Cornell has many strange but true stories like these in a book Very Strange People.

Here is a part of the contents (目錄) of Very Strange People.

Very Strange People Chapter page One A Dog's Life ...........................  3 

Two A Fallen Pilot  ............................  14 

Three High Wire Act (走鋼絲) ................... 33 

Four Fat Men  .................  41 

Five Over the Falls  ...............................  43 

Six The Unending (無終止的) House .......... ....................  53 

Seven Row,Row,Row Your Boat ....................... ...  60 

Eight The Tower Builder ......................................  85 

Unlike many reference (參考;) materials,the stories are listed in the book according to when they happened.

(   ) 1. In 1918,Captain Hedley fell off his plane in the sky,and soon he fell back into it again!You would most likely read about this story in Chapter         .

   A. 2   B. 3   C. 14   D. 6

(   ) 2. One morning in New York City,people saw a man walking on a rope (繩子) between two tall buildings.  You would most likely read this story in Chapter      

   A. 33   B. 3   C. 5   D. 6

(   ) 3. The Earl feeds his dogs better than most people feed their friends.  This story probably begins on Page       .

   A. 3   B. 33   C. 1   D. 53

(   ) 4. Sarah thought she would die as soon as her house was finished. So she kept on adding more and more rooms. Her story most likely appears on Page .

   A. 3   B. 43   C. 53   D. 85

(   ) 5. Because of his great size,Robert could not enter any hospital room. Which story appears behind this one?

   A. A Fallen Pilot. B. The Tower Builder.

   C. High Wire Act. D. Over the Falls.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：初中英語 來源： 題型：

When he was small,Hill was widely known as a bad boy.

At the age of 9,his father married his stepmother. At that time they lived poor in the countryside while his stepmother was from a wealthy family.

His father introduced Hill to his stepmother as he said, "Dear,I hope you notice in the whole country this is the worst boy,who has made me have no other way. Maybe before tomorrow morning,he will do a bad thing you will never imagine."

To Hill's surprise,his stepmother went up to him with a smile,held up his hands and looked at him carefully. She said to her husband, "You're wrong. He is not the worst boy,but the most intelligent and creative boy. Only he doesn't find a place to let out his passion."

His stepmother's words warmed his heart,tears almost rolling down. With this,he started building friendship with his stepmother. And this became the drive of his life,making him create 28 successful golden rules,which helped thousands of ordinary people set foot on the road to success.

Before his stepmother came,no one had ever praised him smart. However,his stepmother's words changed his life.

When Hill was 14 years old,his stepmother bought him a used typewriter and said to him, "I believe you will become a writer. " Hill accepted her gift and expectation,and started contributing to a local newspaper. He understood and enjoyed his stepmother's love while he saw with his own eyes she had changed his family with her love.

The strength from his stepmother led to Hill's imagination,inspired his creativity,helped him link with a lot of wisdom and made him a rich man and famous writer in the United States and one of the most influential persons in the 20th century.

Praise will never be unnecessary,especially for children. A sincere praise may be better than 10 ,000 severe blame.

(   ) 6. What surprised Hill was that         .

   A. his father told his stepmother he was a bad boy

   B. his stepmother had a great deal of money

   C. his stepmother praised him when they first met

   D. his father looked down upon him

(   ) 7. According to the passage,the underlined phrase "let out" is the closest in meaning to         .

   A. finish   B. express

   C. describe   D. cry

(   ) 8. Which of the following was one of Hill's achievements?

   A. He created 28 successful golden rules for the wealth.

   B. He became a famous writer in theUnited Kingdom.

   C. He became a wellknown typist.

   D. He was one of the most important writers in the 20th century.

(   ) 9. From the passage we can see that         .

   A. Hill's stepmother didn't regard him as what other people thought of him

   B. It was Hill's mother that led him to become a famous writer

   C. Hill's family was very rich all the time

   D. Hill was always full of wonderful imagination and creativity

(   ) 10. Which is the best title of the passage?

   A. Hill―a Famous Writer

   B. What Great Mother's Love

   C. The Praise That Changed the Life

   D. A Bad Boy Who Turned over a New Leaf

查看答案和解析>>

科目：初中英語 來源： 題型：

"I hate school,and Fm not going back!" Have you ever had that thought? Lots of kids have. Usually this feeling doesn't last long. But what if you have such feeling too much?

If you are stressed out,you might have a hard time making decisions. For example,in the morning,you can't decide what to eat,what to wear,or what to take for lunch.

Sometimes it's a problem with your school work. Maybe the work is too easy and you get bored. Maybe the work is too hard,and you don't feel as clever as the other kids. Or Maybe the reading is too difficult for you,but you are asked to do a lot of it.

You may be getting farther and farther behind the others,and it may seem that you will never catch up with your classmates.

When you know why you don't like school,you can start taking steps to make things better. It's a good idea to tell someone your problems at school. Your mom,dad,friends,teachers,or even classmates will be able to help you.

Another good idea is to write down your feelings about school. For instance,keep a diary or just write in a notebook. It's a great way to let out the emotion that makes you depressed. And you don't have to share what you have written with others.

The next time you find yourself dislike school,the following will also help you：

Make a list of everything you dislike or enjoy―even there is only one thing. See what you can change on the "don't like" list. Could you find a way to show your special interest or talent to others at school? Which activities could you take part in that would help you solve these "don't like" problems? Focus on what you can change and you might be able to get the good feeling back about school！


(   ) 11. This article mainly gives you some advice on         .

   A. how to beat stress

   B. what if you don't like school

   C. how to deal with the problems in studies

   D. communications with your parents

(   ) 12. How many steps are mentioned in the article to make things better if you don't like school?

   A. Two. B. Four. C. Three. D. Five.


(   ) 13. What may cause you to have strong feelings against school?

   A. Being too stressed out.

   B. Not doing well in studies.

   C. Too much homework.

   D. A.B and   C.


(   ) 14. We can know from the passage that         .

   A. most students hate school in a way

   B. all the students have the same problems

   C. making a list can solve all your problems

   D. a diary is something personal

(   ) 15. The underlined sentence "Focus on what you can change" in the passage means

   A. do something to change the condition

   B. wait and see

   C. have a positive attitude towards school work

   D. be friendly to others

查看答案和解析>>

科目：初中英語 來源： 題型：

There was a small village by the sea inAmerica. Every summer lots of people came here to spend their holidays. But a few of them came here only to end their lives. Two months ago right here a young woman jumped into the sea in the darkness of the night. When she was taken up from the sea,nothing could make her come to life. From then on,the people in the village began to pay more attention (注意) to each of the visitors. If someone looked unhappy or worried,they would watch him all day long with care. They would never let the same thing happen again.

A week later,came several visitors. Among them there was a young woman of twenty years old. One day she looked different from others. She went out alone at night. She was found just by a villager. The villager made no noise and followed her. When the young woman was walking to the beach,the villager rushed at her and tried hard to pull her back. "Let me go. Don't pull me!"cried the young woman, "I was playing on the beach this afternoon. Now I can't find the key to my suitcase. I think it must be left here. ""But why won't you look for it tomorrow morning?" said the villager. " Tomorrow morning I'll leave here and catch the early bus to New York. I must leave before the day breaks."

When the villager heard this,he had a good laugh and helped her look for the key in the moonlight.

(   ) 6. The small village was        the sea.

   A. far from   B. near   C. from   D. to

(   ) 7.        of the visitors came to this village in order to die.

   A. Few   B. Little

   C. A little   D. Several

(   ) 8. Why did a young woman go out alone at night one day？

   A. To go for a walk. B. To go swimming.

   C. To look for her key. D. To end her life.

(   ) 9. The villager rushed at the young woman because he wanted to         .

   A. save her   B. ask her for something

   C. kill her   D. frighten her

(   ) 10. The woman looked for the key at night because         .

   A. she couldn't get up early the next morning

   B. she had something important to do the next morning

   C. she had little time to look for it the next morning

   D. she wanted to leave the village at once

查看答案和解析>>

科目：初中英語 來源： 題型：

A wise old gentleman retired and bought a small but comfortable home near a junior middle school. He spent his first few weeks of his retirement in peace. Then a new school year started. Every afternoon,three young boys came down his street,kicking happily every trash can (垃圾罐) they came across. The crashing noise continued day after day,until finally the wise old man decided it was time to take some action.

The next afternoon,he walked out to meet the young kids as they walked their way down the street. Stopping them,he said, " You kids are a lot of fun. I like to see you show your energy like that. I used to do the same thing when I was your age. I'll give you each a dollar if you promise to come around every day and do your thing."

The kids were very pleased and continued to do their job on the trash cans. After a few days,the old man greeted the kids again,but this time he had a sad smile on his face. "The day before yesterday,I got a lot of money stolen," he told them. "From now on,I'll only be able to pay you 50        cents to kick the cans."The noise makers were clearly unhappy,but they did accept his offer and continued their afterschool work.

A few days later,the old man approached to them again as they kicked their cans down the street.

"Look," he said. "My TV set didn't work last week. It cost much money to have it repaired,so Fm not going to be able to give you more than 25        cents. Will that be okay?"

"Just a quarter?"the biggest kid shouted. "If you think we're going to waste our time,kicking these cans around for a quarter,you are nuts!No ways,master. We quit!"

(   ) 10. Why did the three kids kick trash cans after school?

   A. Because they could make some money to do so.

   B. Because it was the work that the old man gave them to do.

   C. Because they wanted to have something interesting to do on the way home after school.

   D. Because they wanted to draw the old man's attention.

(   ) 11. Which do you think is the best title of this reading？

   A. Less and Less Money

   B. Kicking Trash Cans

   C. A Good Way for Peace

   D. An Old Man and Three Kids

(   ) 12. What do you think of the old man?

   A. He stopped the kids making noise in a clever way.

   B. It was not right of him to cheat the kids.

   C. He was too lazy to kick the cans himself.

   D. It was unnecessary for him to waste so much money asking the kids to kick the cans for him.

(   ) 13. What does the underlined phrase " approached to" mean in the passage?

   A. Shouted at. B. Came close to.

   C. Came across. D. Got away from.

(   ) 14. The reading doesn't say,but we can infer that at last         .

   A. the old man got very angry

   B. the old man lived a peaceful life for the rest of his days

   C. the three children would not be able to enjoy themselves any more

   D. the three children thought the old man paid them too little

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊答案