The canopy, the upper level of the trees in the rain forest, holds a huge number of climbing mammals of moderately large size, which may include monkeys, cats, civets, and porcupines. Smaller species, including such rodents as mice and small squirrels, are not as prevalent overall in high tropical canopies as they are in most habitats globally.
Small mammals, being warm blooded, suffer hardship in the exposed and turbulent environment of the uppermost trees. Because a small body has more surface area per unit of weight than a large one of similar shape, it gains or loses heat more swiftly. Thus, in the trees, where shelter from heat and cold may be scarce and conditions may fluctuate, a small mammal may have trouble maintaining its body temperature.
Small size makes it easy to scramble among twigs and branches in the canopy for insects, flowers, or fruit, but small mammals are surpassed, in the competition for food, by large ones that have their own tactics for browsing among food-rich twigs. The weight of a gibbon (a small ape) hanging below a branch arches the terminal leaves down so that fruit-bearing foliage drops toward the gibbon’s face. Walking or leaping species of a similar or even larger size access the outer twigs either by snapping off and retrieving the whole branch or by clutching stiff branches with the feet or tail and plucking food with their hands.
Small climbing animals may reach twigs readily, but it is harder for them than for large climbing animals to cross the wide gaps from one tree crown to the next that typify the high canopy. A macaque or gibbon can hurl itself farther than a mouse can: it can achieve a running start, and it can more effectively use a branch as a springboard, even bouncing on a limb several times before jumping. The forward movement of a small animal is seriously reduced by the air friction against the relatively large surface area of its body. Finally, for the many small mammals the supplement their insect diet with fruits or seeds, an inability to span open gaps between tree crowns may be problematic, since trees that yield these foods can be sparse.
21. Which of the following animals is less common in the upper canopy?
22. The word “they” (in Paragraph 1) refers to ______.
23. The word “typify” (in Paragraph 2) is closest in meaning to ______.
24. Which of the following terms is defined in the passage?
25. Which of the following questions does the passage answer?
问题1选项
A.Monkeys.
B.Cats.
C.Porcupines.
D.Mice.
问题2选项
A.trees
B.climbing mammals of moderately large size
C.smaller species
D.high tropical canopies
问题3选项
A.resemble
B.protect
C.characterize
D.divide
问题4选项
A.Canopy
B.Terminal leaves
C.Springboard
D.Air friction
问题5选项
A.How is the rain forest different from other habitats?
B.How does an animal’s body size influence an animal’s need for food?
C.Why does rain forest provide an unusual variety of food for animals?
D.Why do large animals tend to dominate the upper canopy of the rain forest?
第1题:D
第2题:C
第3题:C
第4题:A
第5题:D
21.【选项释义】
21. Which of the following animals is less common in the upper canopy? 21. 以下哪一种动物在树冠上层不常见？
A. Monkeys. A. 猴子。
B. Cats. B. 猫。
C. Porcupines. C. 豪猪。
D. Mice. D. 老鼠。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】第一段第一句“在雨林的树冠层（canopy），也就是树木的上层（upper level of the trees），有大量的中等大小的爬行哺乳动物，其中可能包括猴子、猫、果子狸和豪猪”可知，在树冠上层常见的动物是猴子、猫、果子狸和豪猪；结合第二句“较小的物种，包括老鼠和小松鼠等啮齿动物，在热带高树冠层中并不像（not as prevalent overall in high tropical canopies as）在全球大多数栖息地中那样普遍”，由其中的not as prevalent可知，老鼠和小松鼠这种较小的物种在树冠上层并不常见，D项正确。
【干扰项排除】A、B、C选项都是在树冠上层常见的动物，属于反向干扰。
22.【选项释义】
22. The word “they” (in Paragraph 1) refers to ______. 22. 第一段中的“他们”指的是______。
A. trees A. 树
B. climbing mammals of moderately large size B. 中等大小的攀爬哺乳动物
C. smaller species C. 较小的物种
D. high tropical canopies D. 高热带的树冠
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】定位第一段第二句“较小的物种（Smaller species），包括老鼠和小松鼠等啮齿动物，在热带高树冠层中并不像在全球大多数栖息地中那样普遍（not as prevalent overall in high tropical canopies as they are in most habitats globally）”，其中用了as…as…的比较，比较的是in high tropical canopies和in most habitats globally，所以they指的是前面所提到的small species，C项正确。
【干扰项排除】A、B、D选项都不正确，属于曲解原文。
23.【选项释义】
23. The word “typify” (in Paragraph 4) is closest in meaning to ______. 23. 第四段中typify 这个单词的意思最接近______。
A. resemble A. 相像
B. protect B. 保护
C. characterize C. 特征
D. divide D. 分割
【考查点】词义推测题。
【解题思路】定位第四段第一句“小型攀援动物能够容易地爬树枝，但相比大型攀援动物来说，它们更难跨过从一个树冠到另一个typify为高树冠之间的宽间隙”，从句子中可知，typify在定语从句中做的是谓语动词，宾语是high canopy，来修饰next tree crown，而high就是next tree crown的特征，所以typify的意思和“特征”相近，C项正确。
【干扰项排除】A、B、D选项属于曲解原文。
24.【选项释义】
24. Which of the following terms is defined in the passage? 24. 下面哪个术语在文章中有定义？
A. Canopy A. 树冠
B. Terminal leaves B. 顶端的叶子
C. Springboard C. 跳板
D. Air friction D. 空气阻力
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】定位文章第一句“树冠层，也就是雨林树木的上层（The canopy, the upper level of the trees in the rain forest）”，可知canopy的定义在文章有解释，A项正确。
【干扰项排除】B、C、D选项均没有提到它们的定义，属于出处错位。
25.【选项释义】
25. Which of the following questions does the passage answer? 25. 这篇文章回答了下列哪个问题？
A. How is the rain forest different from other habitats? A. 热带雨林与其他栖息地有何不同？
B. How does an animal’s body size influence an animal’s need for food? B. 动物的体型如何影响动物对食物的需求？
C. Why does rain forest provide an unusual variety of food for animals? C. 为什么雨林为动物提供了不同寻常的食物？
D. Why do large animals tend to dominate the upper canopy of the rain forest? D. 为什么大型动物倾向于支配热带雨林的上层树冠？
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】这篇文章主要描述了动物栖息在树冠层的优点，第一段先介绍树冠上常见的栖息动物；接着后面三段通过对小型哺乳动物和大型哺乳动物在树冠层生存的对比，来介绍大型动物更有利于支配雨林的上层树冠，如第三段第一句“小型身材利于它们在树冠的树枝和树干间攀爬来寻找昆虫、花、或水果，但在对食物的竞争上小型哺乳动物却被大型哺乳动物超越，大型的动物有它们自己的策略来穿梭于食物丰富的树枝间”，以及最后一段第一句“小型攀援动物能够容易地爬树枝，但相比大型攀援动物来说，它们更难跨过从一个树冠到另一个高树冠之间的宽间隙”，所以D项是文章回答的问题。
【干扰项排除】
A、C选项文中没有对雨林进行比较，属于无中生有；
B选项属于以偏概全，不够全面。
