Question

【题目】According to a team of researchers, an animals’ ability to perceive(感知)time is linked to their pace of life.

“Our results lend support to the importance of time perception in animals where the ability to perceive time in a very short time may be the difference between life and death for fast moving creatures.” commented lead author Kevin Healy from Trinity College Dublin.

The study was done with a variety of animals using a phenomenon based on the maximum speed of flashes of light an individual can see before the light source is seen as constant. Dogs, for example, have eyes with a refresh rate higher than humans.

One example of this phenomenon at work, the authors say, is the housefly and its ability to avoid being hit. The research showed flies “observe motion in a shorter time than our own eyes can achieve,” which allows them to avoid being hit.

Professor Graeme Ruxton of the University of St Andrews in Scotland, who worked jointly on the research project, said in a statement, “Having eyes that send updates to the brain at much higher frequencies than our eyes do is of no value if the brain cannot process that information equally quickly. Thus, this work highlights the impressive abilities of even the smallest animal brains. Flies might not be deep thinkers, but they can make good decisions very quickly. ”

In comparison, the tiger beetle (虎甲虫）runs faster than its eyes can keep up, basically becoming blind, which requires it to stop periodically to re-evaluate its prey’s (猎物)position.

Our results suggest that time perception offers an as yet unstudied dimension along which animals can specialize and there is considerable range to study this system in more detail.

【1】What is the research mentioned in the passage mainly about?

A. Pace of life of animals. B. Time perception of animals.

C. Lifetime of small animals. D. Impressive abilities of animals.

【2】What does Kevin Healy’s comment mean in Para. 2?

A. The ability of animals to perceive time depends on their high moving speed.

B. The survival of fast moving animals relies on their ability to perceive time.

C. Animals with quicker pace of life have better perception of time.

D. Animals with poor ability of time perception have a shorter life.

【3】Why can houseflies avoid being hit?

A. They can think very deeply before they act.

B. They can fly much faster than their eyes can keep up.

C. They can process the information as quickly as they receive it.

D. They can send information to brain more quickly than to their eyes.

【4】What will a tiger beetle have to do to catch a moving prey?

A. Try to run as fast as it can.

B. Prevent itself from becoming blind.

C. Slow down to gain its time perception.

D. Stop occasionally to spot the prey again.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】B

【3】C

【4】D

【解析】本文为介绍说明文。文章主要介绍了对动物时间感知的研究。

【1】推理判断题。根据第一段的According to a team of researchers, an animals’ ability to perceive(感知) time is linked to their pace of life.（根据一组研究人员，动物的时间感知与它们的生活节奏有关）及下文对该研究的细节陈述可知，文章中提到的研究是关于动物的时间感知的。故选B。

【2】推理判断题。根据第二段Kevin Healy所说的the ability to perceive time in a very short time may be the difference between life and death for fast moving creatures.（对于能快速移动的动物而言，在很短时间内感知时间可能就是生与死的区别）可推知，快速移动的动物的生存依赖于它们对时间的感知能力。故选B。

【3】推理判断题。根据第四段中的The research showed flies “observe motion in a shorter time than our own eyes can achieve,” which allows them to avoid being hit.（研究显示，苍蝇“比我们的眼睛能在更短的时间内观察到运动”，这让它们能避免被袭击）及第五段中的Flies might not be deep thinkers, but they can make good decisions very quickly.（苍蝇可能不是深刻的思考者，但它们可以很快做出好的决定）可推知，苍蝇能避免被袭击，是因为它们能立即处理收到的信息。故选C。

【4】细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中…the tiger beetle (虎甲虫）runs faster than its eyes can keep up, basically becoming blind, which requires it to stop periodically to re-evaluate its prey’s (猎物)position.（虎甲虫移动的比它的眼睛快，基本上是盲目的，这就要求它不时地停下来，重新评估它猎物的位置）可知，虎甲虫为了抓住移动的猎物，需要不时地停下来再次确定猎物的位置。故选D。