题目内容
Some pigs lend to be optimistic while others have a more pessimistic view, according to a new research that is meaningful to animal welfare. The study, published in the journal Biology Letters, is the first to show that mood and personality interact in an animal, influencing judgment.
Asher, a researcher at the University of Newcastle's Institute of Neurowcience, and her team housed groups of pigs in the two types of environments. One reflected sandard commercial conditions and the other was cushier with more space and plenty of sell, deep straw. After the pigs got accustomed to these new homes over a few weeks, the rescarchers picked 18 pigs from each type of housing arrangement to train and test their judgment.
"To do this, we trained each pig that in one corner of a training room there would be a bowl with chocolate sweets — specifically M&Ms, pigs love M&Ms — and in a bowl at the opposite side of the room there would be a bowl that would contain coffee beans, which pigs find bitter-tasting," senior author Lisa Collins of the University of Lincoln's School of Life Sciences said.
Over a number of training trials, pigs learned to go to the bowl reliably when it was in the corner where they had figured out to expect M&Ms. On the contrary, they quickly learned to avoid the bowl when it wasn't in the corner where they would expect to find the coffee beans.
The rescearchers next placed an unfamimliar bowl in different locations, to see how the pigs would react. Some gaily dashed to the bowl no matter what, exhibiting optimism that it would contain their favorite foods. Others, however, behaved as though they expected it to contain coffee beans, displaying pessimism.
The findings suggest that a one-size-fits-all answer to animal welfare issues does not exist. Even if pigs are just equal to bacon or other meal for some people, there is still cause for concern. Students have suggested that how an animal is treated during its lifetime can directly affect meal quality and taste.
1.What was the study devoted to figuring out?
A. The influence of pigs' living environment.
B. The influence between humans and pigs.
C. The didferences of two types of pigs' personality.
D. The relationship between pigs' mood and judgment.
2.What does the underlined word “cushier” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. simple. B. more comfortable.
C. non-profitable. D. less free.
3.Which bowl can test whether a pig is optimistic or pessimistic?
A. The bowl with chocolate sweets.
B. The bowl containing coffee beans.
C. The bowl full of both sweets and beans.
D. The bowl unfamiliar to two types of pigs.
4.What do the findings of the new research imply?
A. People should treat pigs equally.
B. People's health relies on meat quality.
C. People should meet pigs' various needs.
D. People's attitude toward pigs is totally wrong.
