Question

    Once upon a time, a proud swallow lived in a large tree. He liked his colorful feathers and his long tail so much that he believed nothing could be better than them. One day, he saw a crow and thought, “How silly this bird is! All his feathers are black.” He looked at himself lovingly and enjoyed his own feathers.

Just then, the crow flew and sat on the same branch(树枝) as the swallow. The swallow said, “All your feathers are black and your tail is so short.” The crow smiled and said, “But they help me fly.” The swallow said, “So do mine. But look at how beautiful they are!” He spread his wings and flew a little closer to the crow. The crow saw that the swallow had lots of blue feathers and some white and pink ones, too. He looked at his own feathers and thought, “It’s true. The swallow’s feathers are much prettier than mine.”

The crow said, “Swallow, you’re right. You have lovely feathers and a long tail, but only in summer. Your little feathers cannot keep you warm in winter at all. While you shiver in the cold, my thick feathers keep me warm in the cold winters.”

1.When the swallow said the crow’s feathers and tail weren’t beautiful, the crow _______.

A.became angry B.smiled and explained

C.flew away quickly D.became worried and sad

2.The underlined word “shiver” means “_______” in the passage.

A.shake B.lose C.fall D.turn

3.What does the story want to tell us?

A.Birds of a feather flock(聚集) together.

B.Don’t be proud of something that’s of little use.

C.Find out our own problems and solve them quickly.

D.Don’t make friends with people who are too proud.

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.B

【解析】

文章大意：本文是一篇寓言故事。一只拥有七彩羽毛却很骄傲的燕子说乌鸦的羽毛黑、尾巴短，然而乌鸦的羽毛能在寒冬里为他取暖，但燕子的那点儿羽毛却在寒冷中没有什么作用。告诉我们：不要因为一些没什么用的事物而骄傲。

1.细节理解题。根据第2段中“The swallow said, ‘All your feathers are black and your tail is so short.’ The crow smiled and said, ‘But they help me fly.’ ”可知燕子说乌鸦的羽毛和尾巴不漂亮后乌鸦笑着跟他解释羽毛能帮助他飞。故选B。

2.词义猜测题。shake颤抖；lose失去；fall失败；turn转动。根据画线词所在语境“Your little feathers cannot keep you warm in winter at all. While you shiver in the cold, my thick feathers keep me warm in the cold winters.”可知燕子的羽毛不能在冬季给他取暖，由此可推出他会在寒冷中颤抖，shiver意为“颤抖”。故选A。

3.主旨大意题。这个故事主要讲燕子因为自己没有什么用的七彩羽毛而骄傲，应该是告诉我们：不要因为一些没什么用的事物而骄傲。故选B。