📖 原文
(1) Broad-tailed hummingbirds often nest in quaking aspens, slender deciduous trees with (2) smooth, gray-green bark found in the Colorado Rockies of the western United States. (3) After flying some 2,000 kilometers north from where they have wintered in Mexico, the (4) hummingbirds need six weeks to build a nest, incubate their eggs, and raise the chicks. (5) A second nest is feasible only if the first fails early in the season. Quality, not quantity is (6) what counts in hummingbird reproduction. (7) A nest on the lowest intact branch of an aspen will give a hummingbird a good view, (8) a clear flight path, and protection for her young. Male hummingbirds claim feeding (9) territories in open meadows where, from late May through June, they mate with females (10) coming to feed but take no part in nesting. Thus when the hen is away to feed, the nest is (11) unguarded. While the smooth bark of the aspen trunk generally offers a poor grip for the (12) claws of a hungry squirrel or weasel, aerial attacks, from a hawk, owl, or gray jay, are more likely. (14) The choice of where to build the nest is based not only on the branch itself but also (15) on what hangs over it. A crooked deformity in the nest branch, a second, unusually (16) close branch overhead, or proximity to part of a trunk bowed by a past ice storm are (17) features that provide shelter and make for an attractive nest site. Scarcely larger than a halved golf ball, the nest is painstakingly constructed of spiderwebs and plant down, (18) decorated and camouflaged outside with paper-like bits of aspen bark held together with (19) more strands of spider silk. By early June it will hold two pea-sized eggs, which each (20) weigh one-seventh of the mother's weight, and in sixteen to nineteen days, two chicks.
❓ 试题解析
问题 22： What aspect of broad-tailed hummingbird behavior does the passage mainly discuss?
A. Migration routes
B. Mating habits
C. Caring for the young
D. Selection of nest sites
✅ 正确答案： D）Selection of nest sites
📝 解析： 全文讨论蜂鸟选择巢址的因素：树枝位置、上方遮蔽物、材料等。
💡 解题技巧： 主旨题看各段重点（nest branch, choice of where to build, nest site）。
问题 23： According to the passage, in what circumstances do hummingbirds build a second nest?
A. If the winter is unusually warm
B. If the chicks in the first nest hatch early
C. If there is an unusually large supply of food
D. If the eggs are destroyed early in the season
✅ 正确答案： D）If the eggs are destroyed early in the season
📝 解析： “A second nest is feasible only if the first fails early in the season” — 第一窝失败（如蛋被毁）。
💡 解题技巧： 细节题定位“only if”。
问题 24： The word “counts” in line 6 is closest in meaning to
A. weighs
B. estimates
C. matters
D. numbers
✅ 正确答案： C）matters
📝 解析： “Quality, not quantity is what counts” — counts = 重要/有价值。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：counts = matters = is important。
问题 25： The word “clear” in line 8 is closest in meaning to
A. bright
B. exact
C. unobstructed
D. transparent
✅ 正确答案： C）unobstructed
📝 解析： “a clear flight path” — clear = 无障碍的/通畅的。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：clear = unobstructed = open。
问题 26： The word “they” in line 9 refers to
A. male hummingbirds
B. territories
C. meadows
D. females
✅ 正确答案： A）male hummingbirds
📝 解析： “Male hummingbirds claim feeding territories ... they mate with females” — they 指 male hummingbirds。
💡 解题技巧： 代词题找前一个分句的主语（Male hummingbirds）。
问题 27： According to the passage, which of the following is true of the male broad-tailed hummingbird?
A. It finds food for the female and the chicks.
B. It protects the nest while the female searches for food.
C. It is not involved in caring for the chicks.
D. It shares nesting duties equally with the female.
✅ 正确答案： C）It is not involved in caring for the chicks.
📝 解析： “take no part in nesting” — 不参与筑巢育雏。
💡 解题技巧： 细节题定位“take no part”。
问题 28： It can be inferred from the passage that the broad-tailed hummingbirds' eggs and chicks are most vulnerable to attacks by
A. insects
B. humans
C. birds
D. squirrels
✅ 正确答案： C）birds
📝 解析： “aerial attacks, from a hawk, owl, or gray jay, are more likely” — 空中攻击来自鸟类。
💡 解题技巧： 推理题定位“aerial attacks”。
问题 29： Which of the following would be a good location for a broad-tailed hummingbird to build its nest?
A. A branch near the top of a tree
B. The longest branch of a tree
C. A thick branch
D. A protected branch
✅ 正确答案： D）A protected branch
📝 解析： 文中提到 shelter 和 attractive nest site — 受保护的树枝。
💡 解题技巧： 推理题结合 shelter, overhead cover 等特征。
问题 30： The word “Scarcely” in line 17 is closest in meaning to
A. obviously
B. barely
C. consistently
D. needlessly
✅ 正确答案： B）barely
📝 解析： “Scarcely larger than a halved golf ball” — scarcely = 几乎不/仅仅。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：scarcely = barely = hardly。
问题 31： Which of the following was NOT mentioned in the passage as a nest-building material of the broad-tailed hummingbird?
A. Paper
B. Plant down
C. Spiderwebs
D. Tree bark
✅ 正确答案： A）Paper
📝 解析： 文中提到 spiderwebs, plant down, aspen bark（树皮）。paper 是比喻“paper-like”，不是实际材料。
💡 解题技巧： “NOT”题区分字面材料与比喻。
问题 32： The author compares the size of the broad-tailed hummingbird's nest to
A. a pea
B. a golf ball
C. a spiderweb
D. an egg
✅ 正确答案： B）a golf ball
📝 解析： “Scarcely larger than a halved golf ball” — 巢的大小比半个高尔夫球略大。
💡 解题技巧： 细节题定位比较对象。
问题 33： According to the passage, how long does it take for broad-tailed hummingbird eggs to hatch?
A. Less than a week
B. Two to three weeks
C. One month
D. More than six weeks
✅ 正确答案： B）Two to three weeks
📝 解析： “in sixteen to nineteen days” — 16-19天，约2-3周。
💡 解题技巧： 细节题定位数字及单位换算。
问题 34： Where in the passage does the author mention the number of eggs generally found in the nests of broad-tailed hummingbirds?
A. Line 5
B. Lines 10-11
C. Lines 15-17
D. Lines 20-21
✅ 正确答案： D）Lines 20-21
📝 解析： “it will hold two pea-sized eggs” — 两个蛋。
💡 解题技巧： 定位题找“two eggs”。
🌐 中文翻译
宽尾蜂鸟常在美国西部科罗拉多落基山脉的白杨树中筑巢，白杨是树皮光滑、灰绿色的细长落叶树。从它们在墨西哥越冬的地方向北飞行约2000公里后，蜂鸟需要六周时间来筑巢、孵卵和养育雏鸟。只有当第一窝在季节早期失败时，第二窝才是可行的。质量而不是数量才是蜂鸟繁殖中重要的。 在白杨树最低的完整树枝上的巢能给蜂鸟良好的视野、清晰的飞行路径以及对幼鸟的保护。雄蜂鸟在开阔的草地上 claim 觅食 territory，从五月下旬到六月，它们与前来觅食的雌鸟交配，但不参与筑巢。因此当雌鸟离开觅食时，巢无人守护。虽然白杨树光滑的树皮通常使饥饿的松鼠或鼬鼠的爪子难以抓握，但来自鹰、猫头鹰或灰噪鸦的空中攻击更有可能发生。 在何处筑巢的选择不仅基于树枝本身，还基于其上方的东西。巢枝上弯曲的畸形、上方异常近的第二根树枝、或靠近过去冰 storm 弯曲的树干部分，都是提供遮蔽并成为有吸引力的巢址的特征。巢 barely 比半个高尔夫球大，由蜘蛛网和植物绒毛精心建造，外部用纸质的白杨树皮碎片装饰和伪装，这些碎片由更多的蜘蛛丝固定在一起。到六月初，它将容纳两个豌豆大小的蛋，每个蛋重母亲体重的七分之一，并在十六到十九天后孵出两只雏鸟。
🏷️ 标签：#托福阅读 #真题解析 #备考资料
