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Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws （爪） on its wings when young. They build their homes about 4.6 m above the river, an important feature （特征） for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin.
In appearance, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside. The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos. Its most striking feature, though, is only found in the young.
Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip. Using these four claws, together with the beak （喙）, they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive birds must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws.
During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.
1. What is the text mainly about?
A. Hoatzins in dry and rainy seasons.
B. The relatives and enemies of hoatzins.
C. Primitive birds and hoatzins of the Amazon.
D. The appearance and living habits of hoatzins.
2. Young hoatzins are different from their parents in that ______.
A. they look like young cuckoos
B. they have claws on the wings
C. they eat a lot like a cow
D. they live on river banks
3. What can we infer about primitive birds from the text?
A. They had claws to help them climb.
B. They could fly long distances.
C. They had four wings like hoatzins.
D. They had a head with long feathers on the top.
4. Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?
A. To find more food.
B. To protect themselves better.
C. To keep themselves warm.
D. To produce their young.
river bank 河岸
stomach n . 胃，腹部
hoatzin n . 麝雉
underside n . 下侧，下部表面，底面
relative n . 亲属，亲缘植物（或动物）
cuckoo n . 布谷鸟，杜鹃
striking adj . 显著的，突出的，引人注目的
leading edge 前缘，（尤指飞机的）机翼前缘
tip n . 末端
bush n . 灌木（丛）
primitive adj . 原始的，早期的
producing n . 生产，繁殖
1. Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws on its wings when young.
本句的核心结构是there be句型，along引导地点状语，that引导定语从句，修饰bird，定语从句中有多个并列的谓语动词。
（参考译文） 在亚马逊河和奥里诺科河的岸边栖息着一种鸟，这种鸟在学会飞翔之前能够游泳，飞行时的样子像一只肥鸡，以绿叶为食，胃口大得像牛，幼年时期翅膀上长着爪子。
2. During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.
drier months的字面意思是“比较干旱的月份”，其实就是指热带雨林的“旱季”。about在这里表示“到处，四处”。collect together意思是“集结在一起”。unit表示“单位，单元”。
（参考译文） 在十二月至三月的干旱季节里，麝雉成群结队地在林中飞来飞去，每群20至30只，但到了四月雨季来临时，它们会组成较小的生活群落，每群2至7只，目的是为了繁衍后代。