Question

    Ready or not, here they come: Scientists who played hide-and-seek with rats found that their furry subjects seemed to love the game- and they were remarkably good at it.

The researchers taught six adolescent male rats how to play a one-on-one version of hide-and-seek. They equipped a large room with cardboard barriers and small containers to serve as hiding places for humans and rats, respectively. The game started when the rat was placed in a small box in the middle of the room. If the rat was the “seeker,” the scientist would hide and then remotely open the box. If the rat was the “hider the scientist would crouch (蹲伏) by the box when the rat came out. This prompted the little rodent to running quickly for cover. All six rats learned how to be the seeker. Five of them were able to handle hiding as well.

Compared with something like playful wrestling, hide-and-seek is more complex for several reasons. It requires an understanding of the rules, a clear grasp of players’ distinct roles and the ability to assume different roles on different rounds. This unconventional experiment sheds light on the sophisticated sense of play in these tiny rodents, and also hints at the evolutionary usefulness of this type of play.

Peggy Mason, a neurobiologist (神经生物学家) at the University of Chicago, said that she was most impressed by the discovery that the rats didn’t just learn hide and seek—they wanted to play it. Play probably helps young animals learn how to socially interact, Mason said. She pointed to evidence that when rodents are prevented from playing during early development, they don’t grow into normal adults. Instead, they become anxious, they don’t play well with others and they aren’t great parents.

1.What can we know about the experiment?

A.Rats do better than other creatures in hide-and-seek.

B.Rats may enjoy themselves in hide-and-seek.

C.Rats prefer hide-and-seek to other games.

D.Rats may be subject to humans in hide-and-seek.

2.What may drive the rat to hurriedly hide in the experiment?

A.The scientist’s getting close.

B.Potential danger out of the box.

C.Its sense of safety under the cover.

D.Other rats’ call for help.

3.Which of the following best describes hide-and-seek?

A.Unique B.Outdated

C.Easy D.Demanding

4.What may be a possible cause of a poor rat parent?

A.Deep anxiety over their kids’ growth.

B.Unwillingness to get on well with their kids.

C.A lack of confidence in their kids.

D.Absence of play in their early life.

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。科学家通过实验发现，老鼠喜欢并且擅长捉迷藏游戏。这项非常规的实验揭示了这些小型啮齿动物的复杂游戏意识，也暗示了这种游戏的进化实用性。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段中的“Scientists who played hide-and-seek with rats found that their furry subjects seemed to love the game- and they were remarkably good at it.”可知，与老鼠玩捉迷藏的科学家发现，他们毛茸茸的对象似乎很喜欢这款游戏，而且他们非常擅长这种游戏。故选B。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段中的“If the rat was the “hider”, the scientist would crouch (蹲伏) by the box when the rat came out. This prompted the little rodent to running quickly for cover.”可知，如果老鼠是“藏匿者”， 那么当它出来时发现科学家在箱子旁蹲伏，这会使它迅速奔跑寻求掩护。故选A。

3.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“Compared with something like playful wrestling, hide-and-seek is more complex for several reasons. It requires an understanding of the rules, a clear grasp of players’ distinct roles and the ability to assume different roles on different rounds”可知，与摔角之类的活动相比，“捉迷藏”是更为复杂的。老鼠需要了解规则，清楚地掌握玩家的不同角色，以及具备在不同回合中扮演不同角色的能力，故选D。

4.推理判断题。根据第四段中的“She pointed to evidence that when rodents are prevented from playing during early development, they don’t grow into normal adults. Instead, they become anxious, they don’t play well with others and they aren’t great parents.”可知，她指出，有证据表明，当啮齿动物在早期发育过程中无法玩耍时，它们就不会长大成为成年鼠。相反，它们变得焦虑不安，彼此无法愉快玩耍，也不能成为优秀的老鼠父母。故选D。