Question

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

People can often see a talking parrot on a TV show, in a movie, or even in someone’s home. The parrot has learned    1.   (copy) sounds that people make. Dolphins, bats, and some apes also copy sounds. Now we can add elephants     2.   this list of copycats (盲目的模仿者).

Dr. Joyce Poole is a zoologist,     3.  studies the sounds of elephants. While she was in Kenya, she would hear strange noises     4.  (make) by Mlaika after sunset. Mlaika was      5.   8-year-old African elephant       6.    it lived near a highway.

Dr. Poole says that she couldn’t tell the difference between Mlaika’s call and the      7.   (distance) truck noise. Why did     8.   copy the sounds of the trucks driving by? Animals that are able to copy sounds may enjoy     9.    (practice) new sounds. When they are kept outside of their natural environment, they may copy unusual sounds.

So far Dr. Poole     10.   (spend) 18 years with two female Asian elephants. Asian elephants make sounds like birds to talk with one another.

Parrots, dolphins, humans, and elephants show that being a copycat is one way that animals and people make new friends and keep old ones.

Answer

1.to copy

2.to

3.who

4.made

5.an

6.and

7.distant

8.it

9.practicing /practicing

10.has spent

【解析】

试题分析：本文属于说明文，介绍了两只会模仿声音的动物：鹦鹉和大象。

1.】to copy 考查动词短语。短语learn to do sth学会做某事，动词不定式to do sth作为动词learn的宾语。句意：那只鹦鹉已经学会了重复人们发出的声音。

2.】to 考查动词固定搭配 。动词短语add sth to sth把...加到...之上；句意：现在我们把大象加到这个盲目的模仿者的名单上。根据下文可知一头大象也学会了模仿声音了。

3.】who 考查定语从句。本题定语从句的先行词是zoologist，关系代词who指代先行词，在句中做主语。

4.】made 考查分词做定语。本句中名词noise与动词make之间构成被动关系，所以使用过去分词短语做定语修饰名词noise，相当于定语从句that were made...。

5.】an 考查冠词。横线后8-year-old African elephant 中的名词elephant大象，是一个可数名词，使用不定冠词a/an修饰表示泛指，因为eight是以元音开始的单词，所以使用an。

6.】and 考查连词。句意：Mlaika是一头八岁的大象，生活在高速公路旁边。这两句话之间是并列关系，所以使用表示并列关系的连词and连接这两句。

7.】distant 考查形容词。横线后面是名词短语truck noise，在英语中要使用形容词修饰名词或名词短语，所以使用distance的形容词distant。

8.it 考查代词。代词it指代上文出现的同一事物，本句中的it指代上文中提到的八岁的大象Mlaika。句意：为什么它要模仿经过的车辆的声音？

9.practicing /practicing 考查固定搭配。短语enjoy doing sth喜欢做某事；喜欢模仿声音的动物也喜欢弄出一些声音出来。

10.

考点：考查说明文阅读