Be careful what you say around your dog.It might understand more than you think.
A border collie named Rico recognizes the name of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany.The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child.Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee(黑猩猩).
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects.Then the owner the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back.In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right.As the dog couldn’t see anyone to get dues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words.
In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew.The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.
The correct object was chosen in seven out of 10 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by process of elimination(排除法).A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive.
Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog.For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed(品种)known for its mental abilities.In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.
It’s hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say.Even if they do, they can’t talk back.Still, it wouldn’t hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then.You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!
(1)
From paragraph 2 we know that ________.
[ ]
A.
animals are as clever as human beings
B.
dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees
C.
chimpanzees have good word-learning skills
D.
dogs have similar learning abilities as 3-year-old children
(2)
Both experiments show that ________.
[ ]
A.
Rico is smart enough to get all commands right
B.
Rico can recognize different things including toys
C.
Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics
D.
Rico won’t forget the names of objects once recognizing them
(3)
Which of the following statements is true?
[ ]
A.
The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie’s mental abilities.
B.
Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training.
C.
The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects.
D.
Rico is born to understand its owner’s commands.
(4)
What does the writer want to tell us in the last paragraph?
[ ]
A.
To train your dog.
B.
To talk to your dog.
C.
To be friendly to your dog.
D.
To be careful with your dog.
阅读理解,请认真阅读下列短文,从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。
At the age of 22, Liu Lu is barely old enough to shave and may indeed still have peach fuzz on his face instead of whiskers, but his youth has not prevented him from becoming the youngest professor in China.Last week, Zhongnan University in the central Chinese city of Changsha appointed Liu to a professorship and also awarded him one million yuan in recognition for his solving a complicated math problem called the “Seetapun Enigma”.It's not unusual for young people such as Liu to do great things.Most great poetry and many great scientific and mathematical discoveries have leaped from the minds of young geniuses.We only have to think of the poetry of Byron, the inventions of Edison and the theoretical breakthroughs of Einstein.
Unlike Liu, however, most geniuses have to wait a long time to receive the recognition and rewards of their achievements.So Liu's skyrocket to the top has ruffled some feathers in academia and on Weibo.The critics believe that a professorship should only be given after long years spent in the academic trenches writing research papers and teaching in classrooms.In other words, professors should have to pay their dues.
For the most part, though, people have supported Liu's appointment.They believe that creativity, innovation and individual genius should be encouraged in China.If China is to grow and prosper, it needs young minds like Liu's.
But that raises another question:Is Liu a good role model? Liu was only a mediocre student in high school and university, and, as yet, does not have a postgraduate degree.Will others see Liu's success as an excuse to ignore the traditional school system?
When we are young we all think that we are special; budding geniuses just waiting to flower.While it may be true that we are special, not many of us are geniuses.For most of us, the knowledge and discipline that we learn in school will be the basis for our success in later life.We should accept that, but schools should also accept the “specialness” of individual students and do more to encourage students to develop that specialness.After all, as Liu has shown, having a little peach fuzz on your face doesn't mean you can't do great things.
(1)
What does the underlined sentence in Para.2 probably mean?
[ ]
A.
Liu succeeds overnight and it has inspired many young people.
B.
Liu's success overnight makes some people angry and upset.
C.
Liu is as proud as a bird of his appointment.
D.
Even birds are frightened since Liu succeeds so abruptly.
(2)
What's the purpose of the examples of Byron, Edison and Einstein presented in Para.1?
[ ]
A.
To introduce some famous people around the world.
B.
To prove that young minds are also likely to do great things.
C.
To prove that Chinese people can make amazing achievements just like foreign people.
D.
To convince readers that the solution to “Seetapun Enigma” is as great as Byron's poetry, Edison's invention and Einstein's theoretical breakthroughs.
(3)
The author may probably agree with the following EXCEPT ________.
[ ]
A.
Liu is a good role model for young people.
B.
School should give students more space to develop their specialness.
C.
All special people are not geniuses.
D.
Liu's success shouldn't be an excuse to neglect the traditional school system.
(4)
What's the author's attitude towards Liu's appointment according to the passage?