文档介绍：中考英语答题技法
阅读理解技巧（提高）
真题演练。
[2012浙江杭州】
It' s very early in the morning and I' m sitting outside. It' s also very cold and dark. With me is Jim Nightingale, and he is the reason I' m up so early. He passes me a hot cup of coffee. "Not long to wait now, " he says. I hope he' s right.
After a few minutes there is a very weak light in the east, and then I hear a bird singing. It sings very loud and very clear. "That' s the robin（知更鸟），” says Jim. A few more birds start singing with the robin and Jim knows the names of them too. Half an hour later, there are more and more birds singing, and it' s very loud! Suddenly, all around us the air is full of the sound of birdsong. This is the dawn chorus （晨鸣），and it' s beautiful.
“Wow, this is amazing!" I tell Jim, who is smiling. "Is there a dawn chorus every morning?"
"Birds can sing any time of the year but the best time is the end of winter and during the spring. This is when the birds sing most."
“Really? So, why do they sing?" I ask.
"Well, there are two reasons, explains Jim. " Most of the songbirds who sing are males. They want to find a female（雌性）so they sing to show how strong they are. The females listen and choose the best singer! The birds also sing to tell other males to go away. They need their own area; they don' t like sharing with another male."
I listen to the birds; the songs seem too much to me. "Do the birds sing