Question

Chimpanzees，long considered reluctant to share，apparently can display selfless tendencies，revealing one more key way our closest living relatives are like humans，scientists find． These findings could shed light on the evolution of altruism in humans．

Previously，a belief was widely held that human altruism evolved only after humans split from their ape cousins about 6 million years ago．In recent years，however，research has revealed just how much chimpanzees have in common with us．They can hunt with spears，play with dolls and mourn their partners'death.

“Most of the earlier studies had presented the apes with a complex implement that helped them deliver food to themselves or others，often so complicated that the experiments tested tool skills rather than social tendencies，”De Waal told Live Science．“Ours is the first study that uses no such implement at all.”

In addition to using complex food-delivery systems，past experiments often placed the chimpanzees so far apart that they might not have realized how their actions benefited others．In these new，simplified experiments，two apes were housed next to each other with a screen through which they could see each other．Then，one chimpanzee had to choose between two differently colored tokens （币） from a bin，one of which represented a pro-social （亲社会的） option，the other a selfish option．The pro-social option would cause both chimpanzees to receive a piece of banana wrapped in paper．The selfish option only rewarded the ape who made the choice.

In a study with seven adult female chimps placed into various pairs，the scientists found all the apes showed a definite preference for the pro-social option．“For me，the most important finding is that like us，chimpanzees take into account the needs and wishes of others，”researcher Victoria Horner，said.

The chimpanzees behaved especially altruistically toward partners who either patiently waited or gently reminded them that they were there by drawing attention to themselves．They were less likely to reward partners who pressured through making a fuss，begging persistently or spitting water at them．This is opposite to a long-standing view that the chimpanzees only share food under pressure.

1.The word“ altruism” （paragraph 1） is closest in meaning to ______.

A． selfishness

B． selflessness

C． willingness

D． reluctance

2.Recent researches are performed with less complicated implements mainly to ______.

A． show that chimps are only good at using implements

B． see whether chimps are willing to share food with others

C． find out if chimps are likely to reward partners

D． test chimps’ social tendencies instead of tool skills

3.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage？

A． Evolution History of Altruism in Humans

B． Similarities between Chimps and Mankind

C． Chimps Do Show Selfless Behavior

D． Chimps Only Share Food under Pressure

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.C

【解析】文章主要讲的是科学家的研究发现。长久以来，人们认为黑猩猩不愿意和其它的黑猩猩分享。但是，显而易见的是，黑猩猩能够展现出无私的行为。

1.B推理判断。根据Chimpanzees...apparentlycandisplayselflesstendencies”可知，黑猩猩显然能展现无私的倾向，这些发现能够阐明人类利他主义的演变过程，故选B

2.D细节理解。根据第三段“acompleximplement...oftensocomplicatedthattheexperimentstestedtoolskillsratherthansocialtendencies”可知，复杂的研究工具只是测试了黑猩猩在使用工具方面的技能，而不是测试的社交倾向，因此，使用较简单的研究工具是为了测试黑猩猩的社交倾向，故选D

3.C 文章标题。根据第一段“Chimpanzees，longconsideredreluctanttoshare，apparentlycandisplayselflesstendencies”和倒数第二段“likeus，chimpanzeestakeintoaccounttheneedsandwishesofothers”与最后一段“Thechimpanzeesbehavedespeciallyaltruisticallytowardpartners”可知，文章主要讲的是，黑猩猩会为其它的黑猩猩考虑，表现出无私的行为，故选C。