Question

【題目】 In the long dispute over whether dogs are smarter than cats, a recent study published in the journal Learning & Behavior suggests that dogs are no more exceptional than other animals when it comes to smartness and intelligence.

The news is sure to cause the debate among dog owners and scientists who study dog behaviors. The authors reviewed existing studies and data on animal cognition (認知) and found that while dogs are smart and trainable, they are not “super smart”, despite what most dog owners will tell you. Dog research was quite popular in the 1990s and continues to be so. When it came to other animals, though, scientific studies on intelligence were barely involved in, despite evidence to suggest that horses, chimpanzees ( 黑猩猩 ) and cats had tricks of their own. Almost everything a dog claimed to do, other animals could do too.

Researchers set out to test the supposition (假設，猜想). They compared dog cognition with members of three similar groups: meat-eating animals, social hunters and farm animals. Among the animals they studied were wolves, cats, chimpanzees, dolphins, horses and pigeons. What they found was that “dog cognition does not look exceptional”. Dogs can not use tools, unlike dolphins, New Caledonian crows and chimpanzees, which have been observed using plant stems to hunt for termites (白蟻). Homing pigeons are trained to fly home, sometimes crossing hundreds of miles of unfamiliar area. At the same time, farm animals share similar characters with their dog partners. Horses, like dogs, perform complex tasks. And cats? They have more in common with dogs than one might think. Still it is much easier to show intelligence in dogs because they like to be trained. Dogs are not smarter than they are supposed to be, given what they are.

【1】What opinion does the recent study hold about dogs?

A.They can be trained to do many things.

B.They don’t have any intelligent advantage.

C.They’re lazy compared with chimpanzees.

D.They show exceptional smartness when trained.

【2】How did the researchers conduct the study?

A.By referring to existing studies and data.

B.By comparing animals’ cognition ability.

C.By questionnaire surveys on dog owners.

D.By observing different animals’ behaviors.

【3】What do we infer about cats from the last paragraph?

A.Cats can use tools to fish.

B.Cats can go home from far away.

C.Cats can learn to do complex tasks.

D.Cats are more unwilling to be trained.

【4】What is the main idea of the text?

A.Cats are smarter than they were.

B.Dogs aren’t so clever as we think.

C.Any animal is smart and trainable.

D.All animals should be treated equally.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】B

【3】D

【4】B

【解析】

本文是一篇說明文。主要講述根據(jù)科學研究和實驗表明，狗不像人們認為的那樣更聰明，也并不比其他動物聰明。

【1】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第一段In the long dispute over whether dogs are smarter than cats, a recent study published in the journal Learning & Behavior suggests that dogs are no more exceptional than other animals when it comes to smartness and intelligence. 在關于狗是否比貓聰明的長期爭論中，最近發(fā)表在《學習與行為》雜志上的一項研究表明，在聰明和智力方面，狗并不比其他動物更例外。由此可知，這項研究表明狗并沒有什么智力方面的優(yōu)勢，故選B。

【2】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第三段第一句Researchers set out to test the supposition (假設，猜想). They compared dog cognition with members of three similar groups: meat-eating animals, social hunters and farm animals. 研究人員開始測試這一假設。它們將狗的認知與三個類似群體的成員進行了比較：食肉動物、社會獵人和農(nóng)場動物。由此可知，研究人員是通過對比狗和其他動物的認知能力來進行研究的，故選B。

【3】推理判斷題。根據(jù)文章最后一段And cats? They have more in common with dogs than one might think. Still it is much easier to show intelligence in dogs because they like to be trained.還有貓？ 他們和狗的共同點比人們想象的要多。然而，在狗身上表現(xiàn)出智慧要容易得多，因為它們喜歡被訓練。因為貓和狗的共同點比較多，但是，狗卻表現(xiàn)的更聰明，是因為狗喜歡被訓練，由此推斷貓不太喜歡被訓練，故選D。

【4】主旨大意題。根據(jù)文章描述以及最后一句Dogs are not smarter than they are supposed to be, given what they are. 考慮到狗的特點，它們并不比人們認為的更聰明，由此可以總結(jié)為文章的中心就是描述狗并不像我們想象的那么聰明，故選B。

定位關鍵詞適用于解答細節(jié)理解題。通過定位關鍵詞解題，考生在閱讀題干時，把題干中有標記意義的詞或詞組劃記出來，或者選項中的關鍵詞，然后用這個詞回到原文當中定位。如小題1題干中的recent study，可以回到原文的第一段當中去，根據(jù)文章第一段In the long dispute over whether dogs are smarter than cats, a recent study published in the journal Learning & Behavior suggests that dogs are no more exceptional than other animals when it comes to smartness and intelligence. 在關于狗是否比貓聰明的長期爭論中，最近發(fā)表在《學習與行為》雜志上的一項研究表明，在聰明和智力方面，狗并不比其他動物更例外。由此可知，這項研究表明狗并沒有什么智力方面的優(yōu)勢，故選B。