Question

【题目】 You may have seen a talking parrot on a TV show, in a movie, or even in someone's home. The parrot has learned to copy sounds that people make. Birds are not the only animals that can copy the noises they hear. Dolphins, bats, and some apes (猿猴) also copy sounds. Now we can add elephants to this list of copycats (盲目模仿者).

Dr. Joyce Poole is a zoologist. She studies the sounds of elephants. While she was in Kenya, she would hear strange noises made by Mlaika, a 10-year-old elephant, after sunset.

Mlaika lived near a highway. Dr. Poole says, "I could not tell the difference between Mlaika's call and the distant (远处的) truck noise." She and other scientists studied Mlaika's sounds. It turned out that Mlaika was copying the sounds of the trucks driving by. Why would Mlaika copy trucks that she heard going by on the highway? Animals that are able to copy sounds may enjoy practicing new sounds. When they are kept outside of their natural environment, they may copy unusual sounds. That may be why an elephant would copy the sound of a truck.

"Mlaika was not the only copycat elephant," Dr. Poole says. Calimero is a 23-year-old male (雄性的) African elephant. He spent 18 years with two female (雌性的) Asian elephants. Asian elephants make chirping sounds (sounds made by birds) to talk with another. African elephants usually do not make chirping sounds. But Calimero now does. He is copying his Asian elephant friends. Dr. Poole says that elephants need to form bonds with their family and friends. She says, "They make sounds to communicate with each other. When they are separated, they use sounds to keep in touch.”

Parrots, dolphins, humans and elephants show that being copycat is one way that animals and people make new friends and keep old ones.

【1】According to the passage, what does Mlaika copy?

A.The sound of people.B.The sounds of trucks.C.The sounds of birds.

【2】Why is Calimero mentioned in the passage?

A.To show the cleverness of African elephants.

B.To introduce a special life skill of Asian elephants.

C.To add another example of copycat elephants.

【3】From Para 4, we can know________.

A.how Asian and African elephants are alike.

B.why the African elephant can make chirping sounds.

C.why the Asian elephants make noises after sunset.

【4】What does underlined word “bonds” mean?

A.发带B.乐队C.纽带

【5】What does the passage mainly talk about?

A.Elephants are also copycats.B.What an elephant can do.C.The sounds of elephants.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】C

【3】B

【4】C

【5】A

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了动物模仿声音的现象。除了鹦鹉、海豚等会模仿声音外，大象也会模仿声音。文中提到了会模仿拖拉机声音的大象以及模仿亚洲象声音的非洲象等，这些现象表明动物的模仿是建立和保持友谊的一种方法。

【1】细节理解题。根据第三段“It turned out that Mlaika was copying the sounds of the trucks driving by”可知，Mlaika在模仿卡车的声音。故选B。

【2】推理判断题。根据第四段“Mlaika was not the only copycat elephant…He is copying his Asian elephant friends”及语境可知，Calimero这头非洲象会模仿亚洲大象的声音，因此作者以它为例证明Mlaika并不是唯一会模仿的大象。故选C。

【3】主旨大意题。根据“He is copying his Asian elephant friends…They make sounds to communicate with each other.”可知，本段主要介绍非洲象模仿亚洲象发出啁啾声音的原因，即用声音与家人和朋友建立联系、互相交流。故选B

【4】词句猜测题。根据前后文“Dr. Poole says that elephants need to form bonds with their family and friends…They make sounds to communicate with each other”可知，大象需要在家人和朋友之间形成一条纽带，以便于建立联系、互相交流，故划线部分bonds意为“纽带”。故选C。

【5】主旨大意题。根据第一段最后一句“Now we can add elephants to this list of copycats”及全文内容可知，本文主要介绍了除鹦鹉、海豚等动物之外，大象也会模仿各种声音，并列举了两个例子证明这一现象，故本文主要讲述了“大象也是模仿者”。故选A。