高一英语测试试题.docx

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凯西国际英语高一英语测试卷 Name: Score:

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Passengerpigeons（旅鸽）onceflewovermuchoftheUnitedStatesinunbelievablenumbers.Writtenaccountsfromthe18thand19thcenturiesdescribedflocks（群）solargethattheydarkenedtheskyforhours.

Itwascalculatedthatwhenitspopulationreachitshighestpoint,thereweremorethan3billionpassengerpigeons–anumberequalto24to40percentofthetotalbirdpopulationintheUnitedStates,makingitperhapsthemostabundant birdsintheworld.Evenaslateas 1870whentheirnumbershadalreadybecomesmaller,aflockbelievedtobe1milewideand320miles(about515kilometers)longwasseennearCincinnati.

Sadly,theabundanceofpassengerpigeonsmayhavebeentheirundoing.Wherethebirdswereabundant,peoplebelievedtherewasanever-lastingsupplyandkilledthembythethousands.Commercialhuntersattractedthemtosmallclearingswithgrain,waiteduntilpigeonshadsettledtofeed,thenthrewlargenetsoverthem,takinghundredsatatime.Thebirdswereshippedtolargecitiesandsoldinrestaurants.

Bytheclosingdecadesofthe19thcentury,thehardwoodforestswherepassengerpigeonsnestedhadbeendamagedbyAmericans’needforwood,whichscattered （驱散）theflocksandforcedthebirdstogofarthernorth,wherecoldtemperaturesandspringstormscontributedtotheirdecline.Soonthegreatflocksweregone,nevertobeseenagain.

In1897,thestateofMichiganpassedalawprohibitingthekillingofpassengerpigeons,butbythen,nosizableflockshadbeenseeninthestatefor10years.ThelastconfirmedwildpigeonintheUnitedStateswasshotbyaboyinPikeCounty,Ohio,in1900.Foratime,afewbirdssurvivedunderhumancare.Thelastofthem,knownaffectionatelyasMartha,diedattheCincinnatiZoologicalGardeninSeptember1,1914.

Inthe18thandearly19thcenturies,passengerpigeons .

werethebiggestbirdintheworld B.livedmainlyinthesouthofAmerica