HOW DO BIRDS SPEND THE WINTER?
The weather gets colder, days get shorter and leaves turn color and fall off the trees.Soon, winter is here.People live in warm houses and wear heavy coats outside.But what happens to the birds? Birds do many different, amazing things to get through the winter.Some of them “migrate”．This means they travel to other places where the weather is warmer or they can find food.
Many birds migrate in the fall.Because the trip can be dangerous, some travel in large flocks.For example, geese fly in noisy, “V”shaped groups.Other kinds of birds fly alone.
How do they know when it is time to leave for the winter? Scientists are still studying this.Many see migration as part of a yearly cycle of changes a bird goes through.The cycle is controlled by changes in the amount of daylight and the weather.
Birds can fly very long distances.For example, the Arctic tern (北极燕鸥) nests close to the North Pole (北极) in the summer.In autumn, it flies south all the way to Antarctica (南极)．Each spring it returns north again.Most birds migrate shorter distances.But how do they find their way to the same place each year? Birds seem to navigate like sailors once did, using the sun, moon and stars for direction.They also seem to have a compass in their brain for using the Earth's magnetic field.
|
[理解]
Read the passage and answer the following questions.
1. What kind of places are suitable for birds to live in winter?
The places where the weather is warmer or they can find food are suitable for birds to live in winter.
2. Why do some birds fly in groups?
Because the trip can be dangerous.
3. What are the possible reasons why birds can find their way to the same place each year?
First, birds seem to navigate like sailors once did, using the sun, moon and stars for direction.Second, they also seem to have a compass in their brain for using the Earth's magnetic field.
|
[积累]
1．get through the winter 过冬
2．migrate v. 迁徙
3．in large flocks 成群结队地
4．cycle n. 循环
5．the Earth's magnetic field 地球磁场
|
