I bent down in the shade under a sixty-foot-tall cactus（仙人掌）, waiting for them to appear.

I bent down in the shade under a sixty-foot-tall cactus（仙人掌）, waiting for them to appear. The time was eight thirty in the morning. For seven mornings I had come to the same distant spot in the Sonoran Desert, in southern Arizona. I was here to watch the roadrunner, a small fast-running bird.
I spotted two birds under a bush with red flowers. The roadrunners rushed out from under it. The birds moved rapidly on long skinny legs. Their feathers were brown and black. Their tails were seven inches long. Roadrunners use the tail for balance when running.
That day, the roadrunners performed a courtship（求婚）dance. They ran in wild circles. Suddenly, one stopped and stood still, its round eyes full of light. The second bird took hold of a small stick off the ground and presented it to the first, a gift serving as a symbol of their partnership.
I returned to the spot each day, leaving bits of boiled chicken hoping they would return. Roadrunners eat snakes, lizards, mice, beetles, and spiders. Food is in short supply in the desert, so my offerings were welcome. The pair grew used to me.
Soon after the pair finished building their nest six white eggs appeared in the nest bowl. In about three weeks, six roadrunner chicks, skin as black as coal, cried for food. Their parents brought food such as fence lizards and stink bugs. They fed their young until they were a month and a half old.
Early one morning, a coyote（丛林狼）came around, nose to the ground, for fresh bird meat. The roadrunners fearlessly drove the coyote away, but it was soon back. After three attacks the coyote went away for good, tail between its legs.
I stopped watching the nest when the little roadrunners, at two months of age, were ready to live on their own. It was hard to break away from “my roadrunner family.” Whenever I see a roadrunner now, rushing over the ground, I say hello to it as an old friend.
【小题1】The author went to the Sonoran Desert to .A．go on a tour of the desertB．carry out research into some animals in the desertC．make an observation about a kind of birdD．enjoy an adventure in southern Arizona【小题2】What can we learn about roadrunners from the text?A．They have short tails and legs.B．They move at a fast pace.C．Their feathers are red and brown.D．They don’t like boiled chicken.【小题3】We can learn from the last but one paragraph that the roadrunners were .A．braveB．cleverC．easily-frightenedD．lazy【小题4】Which of the following would be the best title for the text?A．How do roadrunners seek a partner?B．My close friendship with roadrunners.C．Roadrunner family in the Sonoran Desert.D．How did I find roadrunners in Arizona?C

(答案→)C 解析：本文讲述了作者仔细观察索诺兰沙漠的走鹃家族的故事。【小题1】细节理解题。根据 I was here to watch the roadrunner, a small fast-running bird.可知答案为C.【小题2】细节判断题。根据The birds moved rapidly on long skinny legs.可知B项正确，A项错误；根据Their feathers were brown and black.可知C项错误；根据I returned to the spot each day, leaving bits of boiled chicken hoping they would return.可知D项错误。【小题3】细节理解题。根据The roadrunners fearlessly drove the coyote away, but it was soon back. After three attacks the coyote went away for good, tail between its legs，可知A项正确。【小题4】标题概括题。纵观本文，可知讲述了作者观察索诺兰沙漠的走鹃家族的故事，所以C为正确答案。

这个问题的回答的对