《2026年山东省中考试卷精选九年级英语》

B
Birds don't have very large brains, but they are super clever!
Recently, researchers in New Jersey discovered the Cooper's Hawk (库珀鹰) can understand how to use human traffic rules to hunt, so that they hunt more easily and successfully. This was discovered by Vladimir Dinets, who is both an animal expert and a mathematician, and his research was published on May 23, 2025, in Frontiers in Animal Behavior. Other studies have pointed out that birds often use human buildings and vehicles (机动车) to help them hunt, but recognizing traffic lights is a first.
In the winter of 2021, Dinets saw a young Cooper's Hawk standing in a tree near the traffic lights. It flew low over with the cover of stopped cars, and disappeared into the front yard across the street. A moment later, it reappeared, catching a sparrow (麻雀). This hunt left a deep impression on Dinets. It seemed to know when the traffic light was red.
Through continued observation (观察), Dinets believes it recognized traffic lights through the buzzing sound when the red light was on at a certain time. Also, the hawk knew that sparrows would be at a certain house because the owner put out rubbish every day. So, the hawk used the cars which lined up to get close to the sparrows without being seen, making it easier to catch them.
This is more difficult than imagined.
The Cooper's Hawk can't see its prey (猎物) from the tree. So it has to remember the surroundings (环境) and work out its way. Also, it has to know that some buzzing sounds have something to do with traffic lights. This behavior must come from careful calculations (计算), a great memory, and complex (复杂的) thinking skills. In a word, to have this hunting skill needs a lot of intelligence (智力).
Maybe other animals can do the same, but this Cooper's Hawk is the first wild animal they've discovered. These birds fly through here when migrating (迁徙) in summer and winter. This means the Cooper's Hawk probably learned to do this in just a few days or weeks.
Finally, Dinets also saw a Cooper's Hawk hunting in the same manner the following winter (2022), and he believes it is the same hawk, now an adult. However, in the summer of the year after that, the sound signal from the streetlight was gone, the people living there moved away, and there were no longer any sparrows there. From then on, until the article was published, Dinets never saw the Cooper's Hawk nearby again.
31. What did the Cooper's Hawk use to judge the traffic lights?
A. Traffic lights' colours.
B. The surroundings.
C. The stopped cars.
D. The buzzing sound.
32. In which sentence does "cover" have the same meaning as the underlined "cover"?
A. A dust cover hung over the painting.
B. I read the magazine from cover to cover.
C. The boys used the shop as a cover for hide - and - seek.
D. Once the forest cover is destroyed, rains wash away the soil.
33. How does the writer support the idea "This is more difficult than imagined."?
A. By offering examples.
B. By giving numbers.
C. By making comparisons.
D. By presenting facts.
34. What do we know about the Cooper's Hawk?
A. It is the first wild animal to use buildings to hunt.
B. It caught its prey with the help of the house owner.
C. It may learn the hunting skill in a short period.
D. It appeared for the last time on May 23, 2025.
35. Which is the best title of the passage?
A. A discovery about the Cooper's Hawk
B. Traffic lights' role in directing hunting
C. The influence of human life on animals
D. The value of scientific research to nature

答案： 31.D [解析]细节理解题。根据第四段中的“Through continued observation(观察)，Dinets believes it recognized traffic lights through the buzzing sound when the red light was on at a certain time.”可知，库珀鹰是通过红灯亮起时产生的蜂鸣声来辨认交通灯的。故选D。
32.C [解析]词义猜测题。原文句意为“库珀鹰利用停放的车辆作为掩护飞得很低，穿过街道消失在前面的院子”可知，本处cover意为“掩护”。A项句意为“画作上方悬挂着一个防尘罩”，cover意为“覆盖物”；B项句意为“这本杂志我从头到尾看过”，cover意为“封面、封皮”；C项句意为“那些男孩们把商店当作捉迷藏的掩护场所”，cover意为“掩护”；D项句意为“一旦森林覆盖被破坏，雨水就会冲走土壤”，cover意为“覆盖”。故选C。
33.D [解析]细节理解题。第五段说“这比想象的更难”，紧接着第六段用具体的事实分析了这句结论的原因，并未提供举例(A项)、给出数字(B项)或和其他事物进行比较(C项)，所以A、B、C项均错误。故选D。
34.C [解析]推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中的“This means the Cooper’s Hawk probably learned to do this in just a few days or weeks.”可知，库珀鹰很可能是在很短
本处means后面接的是省略that的宾语从句
的时间内学会这项狩猎技能的。故选C。
易错警示 本题易错选成A项。根据倒数第二段中的“Maybe other animals can do the same，but this Cooper’s Hawk is the first wild animal they’ve discovered.”可知，库珀鹰是被发现具有此行为能力(利用交通信号灯进行狩猎)的第一种动物，也许还有没被发现的别的动物，故A项错误。
35.A [解析]标题归纳题。文章围绕动物专家兼数学家Vladimir Dinets对库珀鹰的研究展开，重点介绍了他发现库珀鹰能理解并利用人类交通规则捕猎这一现象及相关观察过程。A项(一项关于库珀鹰的发现)最能概括文章核心内容，适合作本文的标题。故选A。
长难句分析
Through continued observation(观察)，Dinets believes it recognized traffic lights through the buzzing sound when the red light was on at a certain time.
句意：通过不断的观察，Dinets认为它是通过红灯在一定时间亮起时产生的蜂鸣声来辨认交通灯的。
译文：通过不断的观察，Dinets认为它是通过红灯在一定时间亮起时产生的蜂鸣声来辨认交通灯的。
分析：believe后是省略that的宾语从句，when引导时间状语从句。