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Animals do some pretty strange things.Giraffes clean their eyes and ears with their tongues.Snakes see through their eyelids (眼瞼)...But some strange animal tales are not true.
Myth(謬論)One：Ostriches(鴕鳥)bury their heads in the sand when they're scared.
This is completely wrong！The ostrich is the largest living bird，but its head is pretty small.If you see ostriches picking at the ground from a distance，it may look like their heads are buried in the ground.
Ostriches don't bury their heads in the sand—they wouldn't be able to breathe！But they do dig holes in the dirt to use as nests for their eggs.Several times a day，a bird puts its head in the hole and turns the eggs.So it really does look like the birds are burying their heads in the sand!
Myth Two：Mother birds will refuse to accept their babies if they've been touched by humans.
Sometimes，kindhearted humans who find a baby bird on the ground may want to return it to the nest.But the bird is probably learning to fly and shouldn't be disturbed.The tale may have been invented to keep people from handling young birds.
Most birds have a poorly developed sense of smell；they won't notice a human smell.One exception(例外)is vultures(禿鷲)，who look for dead animals for dinner，but you wouldn't want to mess with a vulture anyway!
Myth Three：Penguins fall over backwards when they look up at airplanes.
It is said that British pilots saw penguins fall over backwards like dominoes(多米諾骨牌)when they looked up at the sky.
The experiment found that penguins are perfectly capable of maintaining their balance，even if they are watching airplanes.But the reality isn't funny，as lowflying aircraft can cause penguins to panic and leave their nests.
【語篇解讀】 很多動物都有一些奇怪的行為。而本文介紹的是幾件有趣的但被大家誤解的事實。
1．What can we learn about ostriches?
A．They don't have their own nests.
B．They dig holes in the dirt for their eggs.
C．They are the birds with the smallest heads.
D．If they are frightened, they will bury their heads in the sand.
B [細節(jié)理解題。由Myth One中第三段“But they do dig holes in the dirt to use as nests for their eggs.”可知B項正確；A項文中沒有提到；鴕鳥的頭并不是世界上最小的，所以C項錯誤；D項錯誤。]
2．What can we learn from Myth Two?
A．Most people think the vulture is a lovely bird.
B．Birds prefer to look for dead animals for food.
C．All birds have a strong sense of smell, except for vultures.
D．It might have been invented to keep people from disturbing young birds.
D [細節(jié)理解題。由Myth Two中第二段最后一句話可知D項正確；由Myth Two中第三段最后一句話“...but you wouldn't want to mess with a vulture anyway！”可知由于禿鷹的飲食習慣，沒有人愿意打擾它們，可推知不可能有很多人認為它是一種可愛的鳥，所以A項錯誤；由Myth Two部分第三段“...vultures(禿鷲)，who look for dead animals for dinner...”可知B項錯誤；由Myth Two部分第三段可知C項錯誤。]
3．Which of the following events is TRUE?
A．Snakes see through their eyeballs.
B．Giraffes clean their eyes and ears with their tongues.
C．Penguins fall over backwards when they look up at airplanes.
D．Mother birds will refuse to accept their babies if they have been touched by humans.
B [細節(jié)理解題。由文章開頭第二句話可知B項正確；由第一段“Snakes see through their eyelids(眼瞼)”可知A項錯誤；由Myth Two和Myth Three可知C、D項錯誤。]
4．Where may this text have been taken from?
A．A science magazine.
B．A travel magazine.
C．A health magazine.
D．A geography magazine.
A [文章出處題。文章中對幾種動物都做了詳細的研究，然后才發(fā)現(xiàn)人們對它們的理解有所偏差，所以本文最有可能出自科學雜志。]
