北京四中08-09学年度第二学期初三年级开学考试

　阅读理解B

　　    Do you think animals can predict (预示) the weather or other natural events? Farmers living in the countryside think so. For hundreds of years, they have observed animals.

　　    They think animals' behavior can be connected to future weather conditions or events. For example, if swans fly into the wind, a hurricane (飓风) is coming. Or, if cows lie down, a rainstorm is coming. There are many traditional stories connecting animals and natural events. Many people think that these stories are just folklore (民间传说), traditional stories and beliefs without scientific evidence (根据). Scientists, however, are beginning to take another look at some of these ideas.

　　    Kiyoshi Shimamura is a Japanese earthquake researcher. He noticed an increase in dog bites a short time before earthquakes hit. Then, he did an investigation of twelve public health centres in Kobe, Japan. These health centers treated people after the 1995 earthquake. He noticed some interesting information about the month before the big earthquake: treatment for animals bites had increased. In fact, aggressive (侵略的) behavior in dogs, such as biting and barking loudly, jumped 60 percent!

　　    People noticed other changes in animal behavior before the earthquake as well. For example, fish began swimming together in large groups, but only in the middle of the water and not near the edges. Also, birds flew away from their nests for many days, leaving their eggs unprotected. This animal behaviour suggests that animals may be able to predict natural events better than people.

　　54. How do dogs begin to behave just before an earthquake?

　　A. They lie down in grass.               

　　B. They stay together in large groups.

　　C. They leave their homes.               

　　D. They hurt people.

　　55. What other animals behave strangely before an earthquake?

　　A. Pigs           

　　B. Birds              

　　C. Cows           

　　D. All of the above

　　56. What did Kiyoshi Shimamura look at during his investigation?

　　A. Animal clinics treating dogs          

　　B. The number of patients with bites

　　C. The number of earthquakes a year      

　　D. Places dogs go during earthquakes

　　附加题：

　　What is the main idea of the passage?

　　A. What animals do during earthquakes  

　　B. Many earthquakes of Japan

　　C. Effect (影响) of natural events on animals’ actions

　　D. Folklore and other stories about animals