Certain animals have an intuitive awareness of quantities. They know without analysis the difference between a number of objects ands a smaller number. In his book The Natural History of Selbourne (1786), the naturalist Gilbert White tells how he surreptitiously removed one egg a day to make up plover’s nest, and how the mother laid another egg each day to make up for the missing one. He noted that other species of birds ignore the absence of a single egg but abandon their nest if more than one egg has been removed. It has also been noted by naturalist that a certain type of wasp always provides five-never four, never six-caterpillars for each of their eggs so that their young have something to eat when the eggs hatch. Research has also shown that both mice and pigeons can be taught to distinguish between odd and even numbers of food pieces. These and similar accounts have led some people to infer that creatures other than human can actually count. They also point to dogs that have been taught to respond to
The word “surreptitiously” in line 4 is closest in meaning to （）.
- A、quickly
- B、secretly
- C、occasionally
- D、stubbornly
正确答案:B
答案解析:有
According to the information in the passage, which of the following is LEAST likely to occur as a result of animal’s intuitive awareness of quantities?
- A、A pigeon is more attracted by a box containing two pieces of food than by a box containing one piece.
- B、When asked by its trainer how old it is, a monkey holds up five fingers.
- C、When one of its four kittens crawls away, a mother cat misses it and searches for the missing kitten.
- D、A lion follows one antelope instead of a herd of antelopes because it is easier to hunt a single prey.
正确答案:B
答案解析:有
The author mentions that all of the following are aware of quantities in some way EXCEPT （）.
- A、plovers
- B、mice
- C、caterpillars
- D、wasps
正确答案:C
答案解析:有
The author refers to Gilbert’s book in paragraph 1 in order to （）.
- A、show how attitudes have changed since 1786
- B、Contradict the idea that animals can count.
- C、provide evidence that some birds are aware of quantities.
- D、Indicate that more research is needed in this field.
正确答案:C
答案解析:有
What is the main idea of the passage?
- A、Careful training is required to teach animals to perform tricks involving numbers
- B、Animals cannot count more than one kind of object
- C、of all animals, dogs and horses can count best
- D、Although some animals may be aware of quantities, they cannot actually count
正确答案:D
答案解析:有
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