Question

Have you ever heard of the expression “birdbrain”? People use it to talk about someone who is stupid, but crows(乌鸦) show that this is unfair. Now it has been discovered that crows may understand analogies (类推法).

It was once thought that only humans could understand analogies, which help us to solve problems creatively.

To test this ability in animals, scientists do RMTS tests. If a pair was AA, for example, picking BB to match it would be correct. If the pair was CD, however, then EF would be correct.

Monkeys have learned RMTS, but scientists wanted to know if crows could do it, too. An international team led by Edward Wasserman from the US first trained two crows to match things by color, shape and number in what is called IMTS, then moved onto RMTS.

For the IMTS test, the birds were put in a cage with a plate that had three cards and two cups in it. The card in the middle was the sample (样本), while the other wasn’t. The cup with the card that matched the sample card had some food to eat.

In the second part of the experiment, the birds were tested with RMTS tests. A card with two same-sized circles, for example, meant they should pick the test card with two same-sized squares and not two different-sized circles (圆). The birds did well in the more difficult test and picked the correct card more than three quarters of the time, Science News reports.

Wasserman was surprised that crows were able to solve the problem without any training in RMTS. “What the crows have done is surprising,” he said.

So perhaps it’s time to stop saying “birdbrain” for good.

1.In the opening paragraph, the writer used “birdbrain” to     .

A. teach people how to use this expression

B. introduce a famous scientist Edward Wasserman

C. introduce recent findings about crows’ intelligence (智力)

D. get readers interested in the background of the expression

2.The underlined phrase “this ability” in the 3^rd paragraph refers to     .

A. the ability to play cards

B. the ability to find food to eat

C. the ability to understand analogies

D. the ability to pick the test card

3.In the RMTS test, if the birds were given the sample like this, which card should they  pick?

A.       B.     C.      D.

4.Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?

A. Monkeys understand analogies. 

B. Crows show how clever they are.

C. Crows did well in RMTS.

D. Monkeys are cleverer than crows.

Answer

1.C

2.C

3.B

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文介绍了乌鸦会类推法。RMTS的科学家介绍如果一组图形是AA模式，选择BB模式是对的，如果是CD模式，选择EF模式是对的。在RMTS测试中，如果乌鸦被给两个一样大的圆的图片，它们会选带有同样大的三角形的图片。科学家惊讶地发现没有经过训练的乌鸦也能在RMTS测试中解决这个问题。

1.C推理判断题。根据 People use it to talk about someone who is stupid, but crows(乌鸦) show that this is unfair. Now it has been discovered that crows may understand analogies (类推法).可知在文章开头提到人们用“birdbrain”表示“白痴”，但是乌鸦证明这种说法是不公平的，乌鸦理解类推法，这是要介绍乌鸦的智商高。故选C。

2.C词义猜测题。根据 Now it has been discovered that crows may understand analogies (类推法).可知乌鸦的这种能力指的是类推法，故选C。

3.B推理判断题。根据A card with two same-sized circles, for example, meant they should pick the test card with two same-sized squares and not two different-sized circles (圆). The birds did well in the more difficult test and picked the correct card more than three quarters of the time, Science News reports.可知在RMTS测试中，如果乌鸦被给两个一样大的圆的图片，它们会选带有同样大的三角形的图形，故选B。

4.

考点：科普类短文阅读。