2016届高考英语二轮复习阅读理解一百四十集选练：（8）_高考复习指南

2016届高考英语二轮复习阅读理解一百四十集选练：（8）

　　D．The new product can still be improved for better use．

　　—5、ABACD

　　2016高考训练题。阅读理解阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　BIRDS can fly----- this is something that we take for granted. But have you ever thought about how they developed this amazing ability?

　　It may be impossible for us to go back in time in person to witness how it happened，but scientists from Yale University，US，studied the fossils of ancient birds. These fossils are like recorded tapes of ancient times that took the scientists back 150 million years.

　　Back then, there lived a kind of animal known as the Archaeopteryx. It is considered to be the earliest bird because it had feathers and wings-----the key factors for a bird to fly. Meanwhile, it also had features of a reptile，such as teeth in its mouth, claws on its wings，and a long，bony tail，which means the ancestors of birds were probably reptiles.

　　In order to escape from dangerous animals, reptiles leaped from tree to tree. They gradually grew feathers on their arms so they could leap a little farther, then a little farther still. However, they were far from becoming true fliers because their wings and feathers were quite different from those of birds today.

　　Looking closely at the fossils, scientists found that ancient feathers contained many layers of long feathers, like a penguin's. This made the wings rather heavy and difficult for birds to move up and down. “We don't think these things could take off from the ground," said Nicholas Longrich, of Yale University, lead author of the study. “They can’t fly like a modern bird.”