A
(2019江苏七市高三第二次调研考试)
Australian magpies can understand what other birds are saying to each other,a new study has found.
The research,published in the journal Animal Behavior,says the magpie has learned the meanings of different noisy miner calls and essentially eavesdrops (偷听) to find out which predators(食肉动物) are near.
Noisy miners—a small,native honeyeater—have different warning calls for ground-based and aerial(飞行的)predators.By playing both kinds of recording to a series of wild magpies,researchers observed the magpies raising their beaks(喙) to the sky,or dropping their heads to the ground.
Researchers attracted the magpies with cheese,then played the noisy miner calls,videotaping the results.
As a control,they also rolled a large orange ball towards the magpies to see how they ordinarily tilted(倾斜) their beaks to ground threats,and threw the ball to see how they reacted to aerial threats.
The researchers recorded an average maximum beak angle of 29 degrees for the thrown ball,and an average maximum of 9 degrees when it was rolled.
The miners’ aerial warning caused an average maximum beak angle of 31 degrees,and the ground warning caused an average maximum of 24 degrees.
One of the study’s authors,Dominique Potvin,said the magpies showed an astonishing level of insight.
Magpies and miners broadly face the same types of predators and the two frequently live in the same ecosystem.
Potvin said this had encouraged the magpies’ learned behavior.
“Magpies are generally found on the ground and noisy miners are generally found up in trees.It pays for the magpie to pay attention to somebody who has a better view of predators than they do.”
She said it was unclear whether other birds could do the same,but it was highly likely other magpies around Australia already did.
“Magpies are a pretty smart group.We’re not sure if they’re learning this from other magpies or if they’re figuring it out on their own,but the ability is there.”
As part of the experiment,researchers also played a third call:a common,non-warning call from a crimson rosella.They found the magpies did not respond.
Potvin said that we had been actively exploring animal cognition(认知) research.“It’s a good piece of the puzzle,” Potvin said.“Looking at the social relationships between species that live in communities.”
1.What have the researchers found about Australian magpies?
A.They can understand other bird calls.
B.They can communicate with noisy miners.
C.They have a special preference for cheeses.
D.They have the ability to warn the predators.
2.How did the researchers get their findings?
A.By calculating the beak angles of aerial and ground-based predators.
B.By comparing the magpie’s responses to threats with the miner’s.
C.By monitoring the magpie’s responses to the miner’s warning calls.
D.By recording the magpie’s louder scream for other birds’ attention.
3.The magpies’ cognition can help them .
A.have a better view of the predators than the miners
B.better protect themselves from the potential threats
C.cooperate with other birds to drive away the predators
D.live in harmony with other birds in the same ecosystem
4.We can learn from the passage that .
A.the magpies are smart learners of other birds’ behaviour
B.it’s likely that other birds have developed the same ability
C.the findings have clarified the relationships between species
D.a lot more remains to be explored about animal cognition
语篇解读:本文为说明文。文章主要介绍了关于喜鹊的最新研究发现,包括实验内容和实验的发现。
答案及剖析:
1.A 细节理解题。根据第二段中的says the magpie has learned the meanings of different noisy miner calls and...可知,喜鹊可以理解其他鸟类的叫声。故A选项正确。
2.C 细节理解题。根据第三、四、五、六、七段,研究人员通过定量研究,先研究喜鹊平时的喙是怎么倾斜的,再与掘穴鸟有叫声时候的反应进行监控、对比,获得了发现结果。故C选项正确。
3.B 细节理解题。根据文章倒数第五段“Magpies are generally found on the ground...”,因为一般喜鹊会在地上,掘穴鸟在树上,掘穴鸟有更好的视线发现捕食者,喜鹊的认知能力可以帮助喜鹊提防它们的捕食者,使得喜鹊可以更好地保护自己。predator 与threat同义替换,这个对考生的词汇量还是要求非常高的。故B选项正确。
4.D 细节理解题。A选项说喜鹊在学习其他鸟类的行为上比其他鸟类更聪明,文中未提及,排除;B项说其他鸟类可能也进化出了同样的能力,文章倒数第四段说还不清楚其他鸟类怎么样,排除;C项说研究已经完全搞明白了物种间的关系,可是文章最后说的是我们正在积极探索,可知还没有完全弄明白,排除。根据最后一段的Potvin said that we had been actively exploring animal cognition(认知) research.可知关于动物认知,还有很多有待探索。故D选项正确。
