Every year, Hilario Ascasubi, a town in the south of Argentina’s Buenos Aires province, is invaded by tens of thousands of noisy cliff parrots that cause millions of dollars in damage.

    The people of Hilario Ascasubi have been disturbed by a giant colony of parrots for several years now, but many are complaining that things are getting worse every year. The parrot population is growing, and so is the level of property damage they cause. The green-feathered birds love nothing more than biting on electrical and internet wires, driving providers crazy in a never-ending race to keep networks in working order. Bird droppings on sidewalks and streets are also a big problem, as is the constant noise the birds make night and day. Many of the 5,000 inhabitants of Hilario Ascasubi are at their wits’ end, claiming that they can’t go on living alongside the birds.

    The town’s parrot problem is nothing new, and officials have been trying to deal with it, but nothing has worked. Noise bombs and laser (激光) lights have been used to drive the birds away, but they got used to them after a while and now they do not affect them. Because cliff parrots are a protected species in Argentina, harsher measures of dealing with them are strictly forbidden, so locals have no choice but to put up with their feathered neighbors.

    Although listening to the people of Hilario Ascasubi, you would think that the cliff parrots are the invaders, experts claim that the birds are actually refugees driven out of their natural habitat by human greed. “There was a displacement, cities began to grow, they started with agriculture, with wheat and with livestock,” Paolo Sánchez Angonova, an agricultural engineer who has been studying parrot overpopulation since 2013, said. “Then, from the south of the province of Buenos Aires, deforestation (滥伐森林) occurred, which caused the parrot to lose its habitat.” As a result, the parrots looked for other places to settle and found that towns like Hilario Ascasubi were ideal.

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1.1. What is the main issue Hilario Ascasubi is facing with the cliff parrots?

A The parrots are causing indoor air pollution.

B The parrots are competing with humans for food.

C The parrots are damaging property and infrastructure.

D The parrots are causing a decrease in the local population.

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据第二段内容可知，悬崖鹦鹉对电线和互联网线路造成破坏，以及在人行道和街道上产生鸟粪，这些都是对财产和基础设施的损害。故选C。

2.2. Why can’t the locals take harsher measures to deal with the cliff parrots?

A Because they are afraid of harming other animals.

B Because the birds are protected species in Argentina.

C Because they think the birds are useful to the environment.

D Because they believe the birds will leave on their own.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第三段的“Because cliff parrots are a protected species in Argentina, harsher measures of dealing with them are strictly forbidden”可以推断出，当地人不能采取更严厉的处理措施是因为这种鹦鹉是阿根廷的保护物种。故选B。

3.3. According to the expert, what caused the cliff parrots to lose their habitat?

A Human activities.

B A natural disaster.

C The invasion of other bird species.

D Their preference for urban environments.

解析：选A。推理判断题。根据最后一段Paolo Sánchez Angonova的话“There was a displacement, cities began to grow, they started with agriculture, with wheat and with livestock”可以推断出，由于人类活动导致它们栖息地丧失，这些鹦鹉被迫成为逃亡者，寻找新的地方栖息。故选A。

4.4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A A town has tried various methods to deal with the noise problem.

B Scientists have found a way to get rid of the cliff parrots.

C Human activities have driven cliff parrots out of their natural habitat.

D The town of Hilario Ascasubi is facing a serious parrot problem.

解析：选D。主旨大意题。文章主要讲述了Hilario Ascasubi小镇面临的鹦鹉问题，包括它们造成的破坏和当地人与官员的应对措施。故选D。