Question

According to some predictions, human beings will die out in 2012. Nearly all people think it’s impossible, but there are some more earthquakes in recent years.
Animals can predict the weather or other natural events. It may sound strange, but farmers living in the countryside think so. For hundreds of years , they have observed animals.
“Animals ’ behavior can be connected to future weather conditions or events.” They say. For example, if cows lie down, a rainstorm is coming. There are many traditional stories connecting animals and natural events. Many people think that these stories don’t have scientific evidence( 根据 ) at all. Scientists, however, are beginning to take another look at some of these ideas.
A Japanese earthquake researcher named Kiyoshi Shimamura noticed an increase in dog bites a short time before earthquake hit. Then he did research on twelve public health centers in Kobe, Japan. These health centers treated people after the 1995 earthquake . He got 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.
There are also other changes in animals’ behavior before the earthquake. For example, fish began swimming together in large groups , but only in the middle of the water and not near the edges. Birds flew away from their nests for many days, leaving their eggs unprotected . These animals’ behavior suggests that animals may be able to predict natural events better than people.
【小题1】What would cows behave before a rainstorm?

A．Running

B．Biting

C．Lying down

D．Sleeping

【小题2】What do dogs begin to do just before an earthquake?

A．They leave their homes.	B．They hurt people.
C．They lie down in grass.	D．They stay together in large groups.

【小题3】Which of the following animals behave strangely before an earthquake according to this passage?

A．Fish

B．Cows

C．Pigs

D．All of the above.

【小题4】In Kiyoshi Shimamura’s investigation(调查)，before the big earthquake, treatment for animals’  bites had _________.

A．disappeared

B．increased

C．been the same as before.

D．never changed.

【小题5】What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Natural events and animals’ actions.

B．What animals do during earthquakes

C．Many earthquakes of Japan.

D．Some stories about animals.

Answer 1

【小题1】C
【小题2】B
【小题3】D
【小题4】B
【小题5】A

解析试题分析：这篇文章讲述的是动物的行为与天气和自然事件之间的特殊关系。
【小题1】细节题。根据文章For example, if cows lie down, a rainstorm is coming.可知，暴风雨来临之前，牛就会躺下。故选C
【小题2】细节题。根据文章an increase in dog bites a short time before earthquake hit.可知，地震之前，狗就会伤害人。故选B
【小题3】细节题。根据文章可知，在地震之前，很多动物的习性都会变得很奇怪。故选D
【小题4】细节题。根据文章treatment for animals’ bites had increased .可知，在大地震来临之前，对动物咬伤的治疗数量就会增加。故选B
【小题5】主旨题。这篇文章讲述的是在大自然或者天气发生大的变化之前，动物的习性会变得很奇怪。故选A
考点：科普类说明文
点评：对于说明文的阅读，学生要把握所说明的核心内容，文章往往通过对这个主题全方位的介绍而设置题目，所以学生可以首先对说明核心的各方面进行简单的浏览，而后结合题目进行仔细的解答，即可迎刃而解。