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Alex knew colors and shapes．He learned about 150 English words．With his language ability he made himself known as perhaps the world’s most famous talking bird．
But Alex．a parrot，died two weeks ago when he was 31．Irene，a psychologist（心理学家）at Harvard University，studied and worked with the parrot for nearly 30 years．
In 1977, Irene, then an excellent student in chemistry at Harvard, bought Alex from a pet store．At that time, scientists were not quite sure whether birds could learn to communicate with humans．
But using the methods of teaching, Irene helped Alex to learn about 150 words, and to count small numbers, as well as colors and shapes．
In experiments, Irene would give Alex a small reward （奖励）, like a grape．Alex learned to ask for the grape by watching what the trainer was doing to get it．The researchers then worked with the bird to help him with pronunciation．
Alex showed a surprising ability to learn．For example, when he was shown a blue paper circle, he could tell what color the paper was, what shape it was, and after touching it what it was made of．
Like other parrots, he also picked up some words when staying in the lab, like "calm down" and "good morning"．He could also show his happiness and sadness．
Even before the week he died, Alex was working with Irene on difficult words． As she put him into his cage for the night that Thursday, Irene said that Alex looked at her and said," You be good．See you tomorrow．I love you．"
He was found dead in his cage the next morning．
根据短文内容，选择正确答案。
1．Alex is the name of_______
A．an excellent student B．a clever bird
C．a trainer D．a psychologist
2．How did Irene get the parrot?
A．A friend gave it to her． B．She caught it in a forest．
C．She bought it from the market． D．The passage doesn't mention it．
3．The underlined words "picked up" in the seventh paragraph mean_______
A．捡到 B．挑选 C．举起 D．学到
4．The best title of the passage can be _______．
A．A Thinking Parrot B．The Owner of a Parrot
C．How to Teach a Parrot to Speak D．Parrots，Our Close Friends
5．The passage is probably taken from a_______．
A．history textbook B．novel（小说）
C．newspaper D．dictionary
查看习题详情和答案>>Dr. Irene Pepperberg, a scientist at the University of Arizona，has worked with Alex for nineteen years. Teaching Alex to speak and understand wasn’t easy at first．He had to learn one word at a time. Irene and an assistant(助手)would teach Alex by showing him what a word meant．Irene would hold up an object, saying “What’s this?” Her assistant would give the word—“candy”，for example—while Alex watched .Irene would praise(表扬)her assistant, then ask Alex the name for the object．When he got it right，Irene would praise him and give him the object to play with as a reward．It took Alex many weeks to1earn his first word．After that，each new word became easier and easier for him．
Why did Irene spend so much time getting a parrot to talk? Scientists like Irene are interested in discovering how intelligent(聪明)animals are and hew their brains(大脑)work. But studying animal intelligence has always been difficult, partly because animals haven’t been able to communicate(交流)clearly with humans．Teaching Alex to speak words that he understands has let Irene talk to him directly．She can ask him questions，and he can answer them in English．In this way，Irene is finding out what kinds of things Alex’s brain can do．She has found that parrots are much smarter than scientists used to think.
1．According to the passage，how is Alex remarkable(不寻常的)?
A．He can use the English language to answer questions．
B．He uses words in English instead of bird calls to call other birds．
C．He can copy the pronunciations of more than 100 English words．
D．A1ex has a brain that is much bigger than those of other parrots.
2．How did Dr. Pepperberg teach Alex to speak with understanding?
A．She said the same word all day long so that Alex could repeat it.
B．She taught Alex a special sign language．
C．She gave Alex rewards if he would say what she said．
D．She gave Alex a candy every time he answered correctly．
3．Why did Dr. Pepperberg teach Alex to speak with understanding?
A．She wanted to prove it could be done．
B．She wanted to provide a model for people who want talking birds．
C．She wanted to find out how many words parrots could remember.
D．She wanted to find out what kinds of things his brain could do.
4．According to the passage，Alex has proved that ．
A．birds are not the only animals that can learn a language
B．parrots are much cleverer than scientists used to think
C．birds age just as intelligent as humans
D．teaching parrots to speak a human language isn’t very difficult
查看习题详情和答案>>很多人喜欢养宠物，对此你有什么看法？
(A)请阅读以下四位同学所养宠物的情况，然后根据所给材料填写下列表格。
Information About Student A and his Pet
Kind of pet：a dog
Pet's Name：Ajax
How long he has had his pet：4 years
Where he got it：a pet shop
What he has trained it to do：Catch a ball
Information About Student B and his Pet
Kind of pet：a parrot
Pet's Name：Pete
How long he has had his pet：10 years
Where he got it：a friend
What he has trained it to do：say hello and make laughing noises
Information About Student C and her Pet
Kind of pet：a goldfish
Pet's Name：Goldie
How long she has had her pet：6 months
Where she got it from：a pet shop
What she has trained it to do：nothing
Information About Student D and her Pet
Kind of pet：a lamb
Pet's Name：Lollipop
How long she has had her pet：3 months
Where she got it from：a farmer．(The lamb's mother died．)
What she has trained it to do：come when you call its name
(B)如果你想了解这些同学宠物的情况，你可以怎样向他们提问？(what kind, name, how long, where, what…to do)
1．________________
2．________________
3．________________
4．________________
5．________________
(C)这四位同学都是你的朋友，请你选择其中的一位向大家介绍她(他)的宠物
________ is my friend．She has ________
(D)你养宠物吗？对此你有什么看法？
(注：本部分是开放作文，你可以自由表达你的观点，但要注意语言的准确性。50词左右。)
teaching Alex to speak and understand wasn't easy at first. He had to learn one word at a time. Irene and an
assistant (助手) would teach Alex by showing him what a word meant. Irene would hold up an object, saying
"What's this?" Her assistant would give the word-"candy", for example-while Alex watched. Irene would praise
(表扬) her assistant, then ask Alex the name for the object. When he got it right, Irene would praise him and
give him the object to play with as a reward. It took Alex many weeks to learn his first word. After that, each
new word became easier and easier for him.
Why did Irene spend so much time getting a parrot to talk? Scientists like Irene are interested in discovering
how intelligent (聪明) animals are and how their brains work. But studying animal intelligence has been difficult,
partly because animals haven't been able to communicate (交流) clearly with humans. Teaching Alex to speak
words that he understands has let Irene talk to him directly. She can ask him questions, and he can answer them
in English. In this way, Irene is finding out what kinds of things Alex's brain can do. She has found that parrots
are much smarter than scientists used to think.
B. He uses words in English instead of bird calls to call other birds.
C. He can copy the pronunciations of more than 100 English words.
D. Alex has a brain that is much bigger than those of other parrots.
B. She taught Alex a special sign language.
C. She gave Alex rewards if he would say what she said.
D. She gave Alex a candy every time he answered correctly.
B. She wanted to provide a model for people who want talking birds.
C. She wanted to find out how many words parrots could remember.
D. She wanted to find out what kinds of things his brain could do.
B. parrots are much cleverer than scientists used to think.
C. birds are just as intelligent as humans.
D. teaching parrots to speak a human language isn't very difficult.