At this time of year, with the nights closing in spring can seem very far away. For hill farmers, th

12. A    13. C    14. A    15. B
【解析】
这是一篇说明文。本文主要讲述了受多种因素的影响，白腰杓鹬的栖息地面积减少，繁殖成功率下降。
【12题详解】
句意猜测题。根据第一段For hill farmers, the call of the Eurasian curlew will be a reminder that winter is nearly over for another year. However, there are some parts of the UK and Ireland where farmers are no longer hearing their call.(对山区农民来说，白腰杓鹬的鸣叫将提醒他们冬季即将结束。然而，在英国和爱尔兰的一些地区，农民们已不再听到它们的叫声)可知，很多地方的农民听不到白腰杓鹬的叫声了，而每年它们的叫声会提醒农民们春天将会到来，所以推测划线句可能是说春天没有像预期的那样到来。由此可知，划线句子的意思为“春天并没有像预期的那样到来”。故选A。
【13题详解】
推理判断题。根据第三段The number of breeding curlews across the UK has dropped by 48% since the mid-'90s. There are less than 150 pairs remaining in Irelan, down from 3,750— ,000 pairs in the late '80s, which is a disastrous decline of 96%.(自90年代中期以来，全英国繁殖的杓鹬的数量已经下降了48%。目前，爱尔兰只剩下不到150对，而上世纪80年代末有3750万对，灾难性的下降了96%)由此可推知，作者本段用了各种数字来支持自己的观点。故选C。
【14题详解】
主旨大意题。根据第四段What is driving the decline? What seems to be the problem? Firstly, the curlew is long-lived and should be able to keep stable numbers if each pair raises one baby bird every couple of months. Unfortunately, in many areas their breeding success rate is much lower. The main cause of this lack of production is loss of suitable living places due to land use change, such as agricultural practices and forestry. Secondly, their enemies, including foxes and crows, have multiplied rapidly over the last few decades.可知是什么导致了这种下降？问题是什么？首先，白腰杓鹬的寿命很长，如果每对鸟每隔几个月养一只雏鸟，它应该能够保持稳定的数量。不幸的是，在许多地区，它们的繁殖成功率要低得多。这种生产缺乏的主要原因是由于农业和林业等土地利用变化而导致适宜居住的地方丧失。其次，它们的敌人，包括狐狸和乌鸦，在过去几十年里迅速繁殖。由此可知，第4段主要从白腰杓鹬的繁殖成功率下降和天敌数量增长迅速两方面介绍了白腰杓鹬面临的威胁，主要讲了白腰杓鹬正面临威胁。故选A。
【15题详解】
推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句We cannot lose the curlew so how can we make a difference?可知我们不能失去白腰杓鹬，那么我们怎样才能有所作为呢？由此可推知，作者接下来最可能讨论为拯救白腰杓鹬所做的努力。故选B。