1. (2018高一上·河南月考) 阅读理解

    They are called "sea parrots", and sometimes "clowns (小丑) of the sea"!

    Atlantic puffins (海鹦) are small seabirds which are around 25 cm in length. They have black and white feathers and a large parrot-like beak (鸟喙). The beak changes color during the year. In winter, the beak has a dull gray color, but it turns orange in spring!

    Puffins spend most of their lives out at sea, resting on the waves when not swimming. They live on the eastern coast of Canada and the United States, and the western coast of Europe.

    Puffins live off small fish such as herring, hake and sand eels. Puffins flap (拍) their wings up to 400 times a minute and speeding through the air at up to 88 km an hour. Wow! What's more, puffins can dive down 60m under water in search of their favorite fish.

    In spring and summer, thousands of puffins stay together on the coasts and islands of the North Atlantic Ocean to start a puffin family. They usually pair up with the same partner as before some may have been together for 20 years! Puffins dig out a hole usually in a grassy bank. Both parents take it in turn to incubate (孵化) the egg for the next 36-45 days!

Although puffins are not classed as an endangered animal, their population in some places is becoming smaller. The main reasons are overfishing, which can lead to a shortage of food for puffins, and pollution—especially oil spills (溢出). Not only does the oil make these beautiful birds sick, it harms their feathers.

1. （1） Where do puffins live?

   A . On the western coast of Canada and the United States. B . On the eastern coast of Europe. C . On the coasts of the North Atlantic Ocean. D . On the islands of the Pacific Ocean.
3. （2） According to the passage, puffins are ______.

   A . great flyers B . large birds on land C . grass-eating animals D . bad swimmers
5. （3） How do puffins breed (繁殖)?

   A . They mainly breed in early autumn. B . They pair up with different partners every year. C . Mother puffins lay eggs on the grass or sand. D . Father puffins also take part in incubating the eggs.
7. （4） The population of puffins is becoming smaller because of _____.

   ① the bad weather along the coast

   ② the process of taking too many fish from the sea

   ③ the harm from water pollution

   ④ humans' habits of eating the eggs of puffins

   A . ①② B . ②③ C . ③④ D . ①④