The blue tits(山雀) have been inspecting the nest-box again this year. The male is the house-hunter but the female will make the final choice. He lands at the hole and turns his head to expose his white cheeks as a signal to attract the female from where she has been feeding.

　　Among many birds that nest in holes, the male has a light-coloured patch on its plumage(鸟羽) which acts as signal for drawing the female’s attention to a suitable nesting-place. Unlike the blue tit, the redstart(红尾鸲) may be only the male that strikingly coloured and the female is not beautiful.

　　A few years ago I was lucky enough to spot a pair of redstarts in action in a Walsh wood. The male was leading an interested female to holes that he had previously(先前) checked out. He sat at the entrance of each hole and put his head on to show off his white forehead, or his head in to reveal(显露) his tail.

　　If the female failed to react to his visual signals, the male sometimes sang for extra effect, while gliding towards her on spread wings and tail. Once the female accepts by following the male through the hole the displays stop, you must be at the right place at the right time to watch them.

Choice：

       1. How do the blue tits choose their nest?

　　A. They choose their nest together.

　　B. The male chooses their nest.

　　C. The house-hunter chooses their nest.

　　D. The female chooses their nest.

　　2. The writer was lucky to see ________.

　　A. how the male made his tricks

　　B. how an interested female played with the male happily

　　C. what the male displayed and won the female

　　D. that the male tried his best but failed to attract the female

　　3. You can spot a pair of redstarts in a Walsh wood ________.

　　A. at any time  B. regularly    C. in April    D. occasionally

　　4. The writer is probably ________.

　　A. a bird expert     B. a bird-hunter

　　C. a bird raiser       D. a scientist

background information

红尾鸲（qu）亦称红尾鸟。旧大陆的雀形目(Passeriformes)鸫科(Turdidae)红尾鸲属(Phoenicurus)约11种鸟类，或新大陆的12种在外形、行为上略近似的鸟类。旧大陆的红尾鸲体长14公分(5.5吋)。因尾红色而得名，经常摆动尾部。习性似鶲。普通红尾鸲(P.phoenicurus)在整个欧亚大陆繁育，雄鸟上体灰色，面及喉黑色，胸浅红色，尾红褐色。新大陆的红尾鸲为林莺(woodwarbler)，属林莺科(Parulidae)。美洲红尾鸲(Setophaga ruticilla)在加拿大到厄瓜多尔一带繁殖，在美洲的热带地区越冬；雄鸟主要呈黑色，翅和尾有红斑纹。另一种色彩鲜明的红尾鸲是亚利桑那南部到尼加拉瓜的彩色红尾鸲(S. picta)，雌雄均主要呈黑色，腹部亮红色，翅上及尾侧有大白斑；巢杯形，用草筑成，常筑在陡岸的地上。Myioborus属的10个热带种同样色彩鲜豔。

vocabulary

   expose 暴露

   reveal 揭露

  plumage 鸟羽

  strikingly  显眼地

答案解析

　本文主要是讲the male redstart 是怎样使出浑身解数吸引the female入巢的。

　　1. D。细节题。从第1段第2句话The male is the house-hunter but the female will make the final choice 可以做出正确选择。

　　2. C。判断题。从第3段第1句I was lucky enough to spot a pair of redstarts in action in a Walsh wood 和文章第三、四段的内容可知答案为C。

　　3. D。语义理解题。根据 A few years ago I was lucky enough to…和…you must be at the right place at the right time to see them 可知答案为D。

　　4. A。推断题。从文章内容来看，文中不仅提到了鸟的一些习性，而且对雄鸟如何吸引雌鸟入巢了解得很清楚，可见作者可能是一位研究鸟类的专家。