17．The Owl Count
Annie slept in the front of the seat with her father drove through the darkness．"We're almost there!"Dad announced cheerfully．"Soon well be observing and counting owls at the state park．"Yawning，Annie nodded and smiled．The time was 4：30a．m．Looking out into the darkness，Annie remembered learning in school that most owls are active at night，when they hunt for food．During the day they sleep in hard-to-find spots．
"Dad，why do you need to count owls？"she asked．"It's important for the scientists to have current information about bird populations，"he explained．"We want to know which birds have decreased in number and whether any new kinds of birds are coming into a certain area．You and I will write down the kinds of birds that we see today and keep a record of how many times we see each kind．Then we'll send out a report to a scientific organization that is collecting about birds from people all over the county．"
Dad pulled into the parking lot of the state park．Then，with flashing in hand，they began their hike into the woods．Annie zipped up her coat and tried to keep from trembling．She had not expected the morning to be so frigid．Luckily her gloves were in her pocket．
Suddenly Annie's father stopped and gestured for her to be still．Obeying，Annie did not take another step．She thoght she heard a low crying up head．"That's certainly a screech owl，"her father whispered．"Let's get a look at it．"After looking more closely，Annie could see that it was a small owl．Sensing danger，the owl narowed its eyes and pulled its feathers tightly against its body．Annie carefully wrote down in her notebook that they had seen a screech owl．
Walking a little farther，they came to a tall oak tree．"This looks like a perfect spot to attract owls，"Dad said．"I'm going to play a recording of common call of the barred owl．Maybe we can get one to answer．'Annie could hardly believe her ear．The recorded all sounded as if the bird were asking，"who cooks for you？"Moments later Annie thought she heard a return call in distance．She held her breath and waited．Suddenly a huge bird landed very quietly on a branch above them．
Annie had long forgotten how cold it was．She stood in wonder，shining her flashlight on the bird and studying it carefully．The barred owl was nearly two feet tall．Gray feathers surrounded its dark eyes．The bird did not matter．Annie would never forge the image of the powerful barred owl．
56．Why did Annie and her father go to the state park？C
A．To take a hike in the woods．
B．To record the call of barred owl．
C．To collect information about birds．
D．To protect the environment for wildlife．
57．The underline word"frigid"in paragraph 3probably meansC．
A．dark
B．clear
C．cold
D．nice
58．In paragraph 4，why did Annie's father stop her suddenly？A
A．He noticed a screech owl．
B．He heard somebody crying．
C．He sensed they were in danger．
D．He reminded her to take down note．
59．How did Annie feel when she saw the barred owl？D
A．bored
B．Relaxed
C．Frightened
D．Amazed．
分析 本文講述了Annie和爸爸在夜里去樹(shù)林觀察并且收集貓頭鷹出現(xiàn)的數(shù)據(jù)進(jìn)行研究的事情．
解答 56．答案 C 根據(jù)文章中第二段所描述的內(nèi)容，可知道Annie的爸爸需要觀察并且收集貓頭鷹出現(xiàn)的數(shù)據(jù)進(jìn)行研究，可知C選項(xiàng)的意思與之相符，故選C．
57．答案 C 分析此詞周?chē)木渥右呀?jīng)語(yǔ)境，由Annie zipped up her coat and tried to keep from trembling．以及Luckily her gloves were in her pocket，可知道她當(dāng)時(shí)是非常冷的，故本題選C．
58．答案 A 文章第四段的前兩句，可知Annie的爸爸讓她停下來(lái)并保持靜止，是因?yàn)榭匆?jiàn)了一只screech owl，為了不嚇跑它，故本題應(yīng)選A．
59．答案 D 根據(jù)文章最后一段中的stood in wonder，never forget the image of the powerful barred owl，可知推斷，Annie當(dāng)時(shí)的心情是很驚喜的，故選D．
點(diǎn)評(píng) 閱讀理解做題技巧：
1．略讀問(wèn)題和選項(xiàng)，帶問(wèn)題閱讀
做英語(yǔ)閱讀理解題時(shí)，首先應(yīng)瀏覽一遍所提問(wèn)題，然后帶著這些問(wèn)題有目的、有針對(duì)性地閱讀文章．
2．耐心通讀全文
遇到難解的詞組和句子不要急躁，要盡量根據(jù)上下文悟出文義，解題時(shí)要"帶著問(wèn)題讀短文"，分析判斷，整題解完后要認(rèn)真復(fù)查．
3．習(xí)慣猜詞
在英語(yǔ)閱讀過(guò)程中，應(yīng)該有意識(shí)地養(yǎng)成自己的猜詞習(xí)慣，千萬(wàn)不要一遇到生詞就查詞典．因?yàn)橹挥叙B(yǎng)成猜詞的習(xí)慣，并在閱讀實(shí)踐中結(jié)合自己的學(xué)習(xí)常識(shí)，才能培養(yǎng)自己的猜詞能力，從而進(jìn)一步提高閱讀能力．
