（ 请多多点击广告支持吧 ）
Section II Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.
Text 1
Less than a century ago, huge flocks of regent honeyeaters flitted all over southeastern Australia. Today, they’re one of the country’s most endangered birds. As their numbers dwindled, so did the complexity of males’ song—with potential consequences to their breeding success.
Now, researchers have restored the regent honeyeater’s traditional song by bringing in tutors: two wild-born male birds who passed their knowledge to captive-born birds. The work, described February 25 in the journal Scientific Reports, presents a fairly simple way to save animal cultures.
Fewer than 250 regent honeyeaters are estimated to remain in the wild, and past research has shown that many young males—unable to learn their own song from older birds—have been singing the sounds of other species or otherwise incorrect tunes. Meanwhile, captive-born birds have been singing melodies not heard in nature, which could reduce their chances of breeding and integrating into the wild.
That’s why a team of scientists worked to reintroduce the regent honeyeater’s traditional song to birds bred at two zoos in Australia, which took some trial-and-error. At the start, the researchers played recorded songs to juvenile birds “every day for about the first six months of their life”—a method that ultimately failed, says study co-author Daniel Appleby, a conservation biologist at Australian National University, to Donna Lu at the Guardian.
So, Appleby and his colleagues gave other young birds real teachers. Two wild-born males who knew the correct regent honeyeater tune spent their days alongside captive chicks. This time, the plan worked. “Three months in, we started hearing our first little renditions of a traditional wild song,” Appleby tells Emily Anthes at the New York Times.
The researchers soon learned that the teacher-to-pupil ratio mattered. “We realized that if you have too many birds to one tutor—so a big class size—they don’t learn as effectively,” Appleby says to the Guardian. They began to keep cohorts to no more than five students per teacher, and those who learned the song well sounded extremely similar to the wild birds. During the following year, many former pupils became vocal tutors themselves.
Within three years, the proportion of young birds that learned the traditional song went from 0 to 42 percent.
“It does seem to be that they could continue doing this for multiple generations in the same way, without too many problems, which is great,” says Rebecca Lewis, a conservation scientist at Chester Zoo in England who was not involved in the study, to the Times. “It’s a sustainable method.”
Today, more than half of the zoo-bred males sing songs close to the traditional one. The researchers hope that as they release more of these animals into the wild, the population will grow and the melody will spread. That’s especially important now, because the full version of the traditional song—taught by the original tutors—vanished from the wild during the study, so the captive-born birds are the only creatures carrying that cultural knowledge.
“We are extremely grateful to the two wild males recruited into the zoo population,” says study co-author Ross Crates, an ecologist at Australian National University, in a statement. “Without them, the traditional wild song would have been lost forever.”
21. The decline in the complexity of male regent honeyeaters' song is mainly attributed to ________.
[A] their frequent interactions with other bird species
[B] the deterioration of their natural habitats
[C] the sharp reduction in their population size
[D] their inability to adapt to the captive environment
22. According to Paragraph 3, young wild males sing incorrect tunes because they ________.
[A] lack proper vocal guidance from older birds
[B] struggle to integrate into the wild flocks
[C] intentionally mimic sounds of other species
[D] possess a lower chance of breeding successfully
23. To effectively restore the traditional song, researchers found it necessary to ________.
[A] play recorded songs to juvenile birds daily
[B] isolate the chicks for the first six months
[C] train the birds using trial-and-error methods
[D] introduce live wild-born males as teachers
24. The researchers adjusted their teaching strategy by ________.[A] encouraging former pupils to sing in the wild
[B] limiting the number of pupils for each tutor
[C] extending the duration of the training sessions
[D] mixing wild-born and captive-born chicks evenly
25. The preservation of the traditional song by captive-born birds is crucial because ________.
[A] it guarantees their survival in the natural environment
[B] it helps them outnumber the remaining wild populations
[C] it represents the only surviving trace of this cultural knowledge
[D] it proves the sustainability of the multiple-generation method
附注：根据历年考研英语真题阅读题源外刊等，摘选最新文章，模拟仿真出题。
参考答案见以下。
Quick look: CADBC
21.【正确答案】C
【解析】题型：事实细节题
定位： 第一段最后一句 "As their numbers dwindled, so did the complexity of males’ song..."（随着它们数量的减少，雄性鸣唱的复杂性也随之降低……）
分析： 文章明确指出雄鸟鸣唱复杂性下降是伴随着其数量减少（numbers dwindled）发生的。选项 C 中的 "sharp reduction in their population size"（种群规模的急剧减少）是 "numbers dwindled" 的同义替换，完美契合题意。
干扰项：[A] 频繁与其他鸟类互动，这在第三段提到是结果（唱了其他鸟的歌），而非鸣唱复杂性下降的根本原因。[B] 自然栖息地恶化，原文未直接提及。 [D] 无法适应圈养环境，第一段讲的是野生数量减少时的现象，此时尚未提圈养问题。
22.【正确答案】A
【解析】题型：因果细节题
定位： 第三段第一句 "...past research has shown that many young males—unable to learn their own song from older birds—have been singing the sounds of other species or otherwise incorrect tunes."
分析： 原文指出，许多年轻雄鸟唱错调子或唱其他物种的歌，原因在于它们“无法从年长的鸟那里学习自己的歌曲（unable to learn their own song from older birds）”。选项 A "lack proper vocal guidance from older birds"（缺乏年长鸟类的适当发声指导）是对破折号内原因的精准概括。
干扰项：[B] 努力融入野生鸟群，这是圈养鸟类由于唱了自然界没听过的旋律而可能面临的后果，并非野生年轻雄鸟唱错的原因。 [C] 故意模仿其他物种的声音，原文只是说它们唱了其他物种的声音，并没有说是“故意（intentionally）”的。 [D] 成功繁殖机会较低，这是唱错调子可能导致的结果，而不是原因。
23.【正确答案】D
【解析】题型：事实细节题
定位： 第四段末尾至第五段开头。第四段指出播放录音的方法“最终失败了（ultimately failed）”。第五段紧接着说 "So, Appleby and his colleagues gave other young birds real teachers. Two wild-born males... This time, the plan worked."
分析： 研究人员最初使用播放录音的方法失败了，最终使得计划成功（The plan worked / effectively restore）的方法是给它们“真正的老师（real teachers）”，即“两只野生出生的雄鸟（Two wild-born males）”。选项 D "introduce live wild-born males as teachers"（引入活的野生雄鸟作为老师）准确对应原文。
干扰项：[A] 每天给幼鸟播放录音，这是第四段提到的最终失败的方法。 [B] 将雏鸟隔离前六个月，原文并未提及隔离，只提到前六个月播放录音。 [C] 试错法是整个研究的统称，过于宽泛，并未指出具体使其成功的方法。
24.【正确答案】B
【解析】题型：事实细节题
定位： 第六段第二、三句 "We realized that if you have too many birds to one tutor... they don’t learn as effectively... They began to keep cohorts to no more than five students per teacher..."
分析： 研究人员发现师生比例很重要，如果一个老师带太多鸟，学习效果就不佳。因此，他们调整策略，将每个队列限制为“每位老师不超过5名学生（no more than five students per teacher）”。选项 B "limiting the number of pupils for each tutor"（限制每位导师的学生数量）完美对应了文中的调整措施。
干扰项：[A] 鼓励以前的学生在野外唱歌，原文是说以前的学生自己变成了声音导师（became vocal tutors themselves），并未提及鼓励去野外唱。 [C] 延长训练时间，原文未提及对时间长度的调整，只调整了班级规模。 [D] 将野生鸟和圈养鸟均匀混合，原文明确是两只野生雄鸟当老师，而非均匀混合。
25.【正确答案】C
【解析】题型：事实细节/推理题
定位： 文章最后一段最后一句 "...because the full version of the traditional song—taught by the original tutors—vanished from the wild during the study, so the captive-born birds are the only creatures carrying that cultural knowledge."
分析： 文章最后强调了圈养鸟类唱出传统歌曲的特殊重要性，因为在研究期间，完整版的传统歌曲已经在野外消失了，所以“这些圈养出生的鸟类是唯一承载这种文化知识的生物（the only creatures carrying that cultural knowledge）”。选项 C "it represents the only surviving trace of this cultural knowledge"（它代表了这种文化知识唯一幸存的痕迹）是原文的精准同义改写。
干扰项：[A] 保证它们在自然环境中的生存，"guarantees"（保证）一词过于绝对，原文只说希望种群增长。 [B] 帮助它们在数量上超过剩余的野生种群，原文未进行这种数量超越的比较。 [D] 证明多代方法的普遍可持续性，这是倒数第二段中其他科学家的评价，并不是最后一段强调的当下最具特殊意义的根本原因（野外绝唱）。
【词汇注释】
flit: verb (MOVE) to move lightly and swiftly 掠过；轻快地飞（文中指一个世纪前大群的食蜜鸟在澳大利亚东南部飞来飞去）
dwindle: verb (DECREASE) to become smaller in size or amount, or fewer in number 逐渐减少；缩小（文中指鸟类数量的减少）
rendition: noun (PERFORMANCE) a particular way of performing a song, piece of poetry, etc. 演绎；演唱（文中指小鸟们首次唱出传统野生歌曲的旋律）
cohort: noun (GROUP) a group of people/animals who share a characteristic 同伙；群体（文中指分配给每位老师的鸟类学习小组）
trial-and-error: noun (METHOD) a way of achieving an aim or solving a problem by trying a number of different methods and learning from the mistakes that you make 反复试验；试错法（文中指恢复传统歌曲经历了一系列试错）
【参考译文】
不到一个世纪前，大群的王吸蜜鸟（regent honeyeaters）在澳大利亚东南部飞来飞去。如今，它们已成为该国最濒危的鸟类之一。随着它们数量的减少，雄鸟鸣唱的复杂性也随之降低——这对它们的繁殖成功率产生了潜在后果。
现在，研究人员通过引入导师：两只在野外出生并把知识传授给圈养出生的雄鸟，恢复了王吸蜜鸟的传统鸣唱。这项工作展示了一种相当简单的拯救动物文化的方法。
据估计，野外现存的王吸蜜鸟已不足 250 只。过去的研究表明，许多年轻的雄鸟由于无法从年长的鸟类那里学习自己的歌曲，一直在唱其他物种的声音或不正确的调子。与此同时，圈养出生的鸟类一直在唱自然界中从未听过的旋律，这可能会降低它们繁殖和融入野外群体的机会。
这就是为什么一个科学家团队致力于将在澳大利亚两家动物园繁育的鸟类重新引入王吸蜜鸟的传统鸣唱中，这经历了一些试错。一开始，研究人员“在幼鸟生命的前六个月里每天”给它们播放录音——该研究的合著者、保护生物学家丹尼尔·阿普尔比（Daniel Appleby）表示，这种方法最终失败了。
因此，阿普尔比和他的同事给其他幼鸟找来了真正的老师。两只知道正确王吸蜜鸟曲调的野生雄鸟与圈养的雏鸟一起度过每一天。这一次，计划奏效了。“三个月后，我们开始听到它们第一次唱出传统野生歌曲的一小段旋律，”阿普尔比指出。
研究人员很快了解到，师生比例很重要。“我们意识到，如果一个导师带太多的鸟——也就是班级规模太大——它们的学习效率就会降低，”阿普尔比说。他们开始将每个队列限制为每位老师不超过 5 名学生，那些学得很好的鸟听起来与野生鸟类极其相似。在接下来的一年里，许多以前的学生自己也成为了声音导师。
在三年内，学会传统鸣唱的幼鸟比例从 0 增加到了 42%。“看起来它们确实可以用同样的方法毫无问题地繁衍好几代，这太棒了，”未参与这项研究的保护科学家丽贝卡·刘易斯（Rebecca Lewis）说。“这是一种可持续的方法。”
如今，超过一半的动物园繁育的雄鸟能唱出接近传统的歌曲。研究人员希望，随着他们将更多这些动物放归野外，种群数量将会增长，旋律也将随之传播。这一点现在尤为重要，因为由最初导师教授的完整版传统歌曲在研究期间已经在野外消失，因此，这些圈养出生的鸟类成为了唯一承载这种文化知识的生物。
附注：
本篇 Flesch–Kincaid 可读性指标（估算英文文章纯语言阅读难度，数值越大代表难度越大，十分制）评分为6.0。参考：2026年英语（一）真题四篇评分分别为 7.5、7.5、8.5、8.0，英语（二）为5.0、6.0、6.0、5.5；2025年英语（一）真题四篇评分分别为 7.0、8.0、7.5、9.0，英语（二）为5.5、6.5、6.0、7.0。在话题熟悉度，逻辑复杂度、段落结构线索丰富度方面综合指标（数值越大代表难度越大，十分制）评分为5.5。参考：2026年英语（一）真题四篇评分分别为 7.0、7.5、9.0、9.5，英语（二）为5.0，5.5、6.0、5.5；2025年英语（一）真题四篇评分分别为 6.5、8.5、7.5、9.5，英语（二）为5.0、6.5、6.0、6.5。
©图源水印/网络
（ 点击广告为主包加速吧）
