【正文】 ns – a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the total bird population in the Untied States, making it perhaps the most abundant bird in the world. Even as late as 1870 when their numbers had already bee smaller, a flock believed to be 1 mile wide and 320 miles(about 515 kilometers) long was seen near Cincinnati. Sadly, the abundance of passenger pigeons may have been their undoing. Where the birds were most abundant, people believed there was an ever – lasting supply and killed them be the thousands. Commercial hunters attracted them to small clearings with grain, waited until pigeons had steeled to feed, then threw large s over them, taking hundreds at a time. The birds were shipped to large cities and sold in restaurants. By the closing decades of the 19th century, the hardwood forests where passenger pigeons nested had been damaged by Americans? need for wood, which scattered (驅(qū)散 ) 天河 flocks and forced the birds to go farther north, where cold temperatures and spring storms contributed to their decline. Soon the great flocks were gone, never to be seen again. In 1897, the state of Michigan passed a law prohibiting the killing of passenger pigeons, but by then, no sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10 years. The last confirmed wild pigeon in the United States was shot by a boy in Pike County, Ohio, in 1900. For a time, a few birds survived under human care. The last of them, known affectionately as Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden on September 1, 1914. 24. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, passenger pigeons _________. A. were the biggest bird in the world B. lived mainly in the south of America C. did great harm to the natural environment D. were the largest bird population in the US 25. The underlined word “undoing” probably refers to the pigeons? _______. A. escape B. ruin C. liberation D. evolution 26. What was the main reason for people to kill passenger pigeons? A. To seek pleasure B. To save other birds C. To make money D. To protect crops 27. What can we infer about the law passed in Michigan? A. It was ignored by the public. B. It was declared too late. C. It was unfair. D. It was strict. C Salvador Dali (19041989) was one of the most popular of modern artists. The Pompidou Centre inParis is showing its respect and admiration for the artist and his powerful personality with an exhibition bringing together over 200 paintings, sculptures, drawings and more. Among the works and masterworks on exhibition the visitor will find the best pieces, most importantly The Persistence of Memory. There is alsoL?Enigme sans Fin from 1938, works on paper, objects, and projects for stage and screen and selected parts from television programmes reflecting the artist?s showman qualities. The visitor will enter the World of Dali through an egg and is met with the beginning, the world of birth. The exhibition follows a path of time and subject with the visitor exiting through the brain. The exhibition shows how Dali draws the viewer between two infinities (無限 ). “From the infinity small to the infinity large, contraction and expansion ing in and out of focus: amazing Flemish accuracy and the showy Baroque of old painting that he used in his museumtheatre in Figueras,” explains the Pompidou Centre. The fine selection of the major works was done in close collaboration (合作 )with the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain, and with contributions from other institutions like the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. 28. Which of the following best describes Dali according to Paragraph 1? A. Optimistic. B. Productive C. Generous. D. Traditional. 29. What is Dali?s The Persistence of Memory considered to be? A. One of his masterworks. B. A successful screen adaptation. C. An artistic creation for the stage. D. One of the beat TV programmes. 30. How are the exhibits arranged at the World of Dali? A. By popularity. B. By importance. C. By size and shape. D. By time and subject. 31. What does the word “contributions” in the last paragraph refer to? A. Donations. B. Projects. C. Artworks. D. Documents.