题目内容
Birds don’t need lessons in building nests. Fish don’t need coaching to learn how to swim. All animals have instincts. They’re born with natural abilities to do certain things. Wild animals also learn by copying their parents and practicing. And pets learn through training.[来源:学#科#网]
But instincts and training aren’t the only keys to animals’ behavior. Scientists say animals’ thoughts and feelings also influence their actions. Animals often make choices, plans, and sensible changes. They can help others and solve problems. Some even make and use tools!
If animals could talk, what would they say about their thoughts and feelings? A gorilla (大猩猩) born in captivity (关在笼子里) has helped answer that question. Koko, a gorilla, was taught to use sign language. She has learned hundreds of words!
Koko once had a pet cat she named All Ball. “Koko love Ball,” she signed. “Soft good cat.” One time, she blamed the cat for biting her by signing “You bad dirty toilet!” When her pet died, Koko cried. “Sad for sleeping cat,” she signed.
Koko calls herself “fine animal gorilla”. She uses sign language to argue, joke, and ask and answer questions.
“Most animals can’t use words to tell us their thoughts,” says Dr. Jonathan Balcombe. “But Koko shows us that animals have their own ideas and feelings.” Dr. Balcombe is a scientist at the Humane Society of the United States. He says there’s even more to discover about animals through field studies. In field studies, people watch animals in their natural environment.
“Scientists who study animals’ natural behaviors learn how animals live and think,” Balcombe says. “That knowledge can help others respect every animal who shares the planet with us.”
1.The underlined word “instincts” in Paragraph 1 probably refers to the ability that ________.
A. animals copy their parents B. animals learn by practicing
C. animals are born with D. animals learn through training
2.The example of Koko shows that ________.
A. an animal likes to have its own pet B. an animal can learn to speak through training
C. an animal has the natural ability to speak D. an animal can speak its mind
3.According to Balcombe, learning how animals live and think can ________.
A. help people care for animals B. teach animals to use words
C. train animals to use tools D. train animals to be cleverer
4.What might be the best title for the passage?
A. Raising animals as pets B. Understanding animals
C. Training animals to speak D. Protecting animals from danger
1.C
2.D
3.A
4.B
【解析】略
Why don’t birds get lost on their long migratory (迁居的) flights? Scientists have puzzled over this question for many years. Now they’re beginning to fill in the blanks.
Not long ago, experiments showed that birds rely on the sun to guide them during daylight hours. But what about birds that fly mainly by night? Tests with artificial stars have proved conclusively that certain night-flying birds are able to follow the stars in their long-distance flights.
One such bird, a warbler(鸣禽) , had spent its lifetime in a cage and had never flown under a natural sky. Yet it showed an inborn ability to use the stars for guidance. The bird’s cage was placed under an artificial star-filled sky at migration time. The bird tried to fly in the same direction as that taken by his outdoor cousins. Any change in the direction of the make-be-live stars caused a change in the direction of his flight. Scientists think that warblers, when flying in daylight, use the sun for guidance. But the stars are apparently their main means of navigation (导航). What do they do when the stars are hidden by clouds? Apparently, they find their way by such landmarks as mountain ranges, coast lines, and river courses. But when it’s too dark to see these, the warblers circle helplessly, unable to get their direction.
1.The reasons why birds don’t get lost on migratory flights__________.
A.have been known to scientists for many years |
B.are known by everyone |
C.have only recently been discovered |
D.will probably remain a mystery |
2.Warblers migrate__________.
A.from North America to South America |
B.using what is apparently an inborn navigational ability |
C.only once during their lifetime |
D.when they are freed from their cages |
3.When the stars are hidden by clouds, warblers find their way by__________ .
A.an artificial star |
B.some landmarks |
C.their inborn ability |
D.A and B |
4.This article is a good example of the way scientists__________ .
A.discover workable answers to universal questions by studying particular cases(特别案例) |
B.jump to conclusions |
C.find a law and then investigate(调查) |
D.are disappointed by the habits of animals |