Question

    If maths is the language of the universe, bees may have just uttered their first words. New research suggests these busybodies of the insect world are capable of addition and subtraction (减法) — using colors in the place of plus and minus symbols.

In the animal kingdom, the ability to count — or at least distinguish between differing quantities — isn’t unusual: It has been seen in frogs, spiders, and even fish. But solving equations (方程式) using symbols is rare, so far only achieved by famously brainy animals such as chimpanzees and African grey parrots.

Building on previous research that says the social insects can count to four and understand the concept of zero, researchers wanted to test the limits of what their tiny brains can do.

Scientists trained 14 bees to link the colors blue and yellow to addition and subtraction, respectively. They placed the bees at the entrance of a Y-shaped maze (迷宫), where they were shown several shapes in either yellow or blue. If the shapes were blue, bees got a reward if they went to the end of the maze with one more blue shape (the other end had one less blue shape); if the shapes were yellow, they got a reward if they went to the end of the maze with one less yellow shape.

The testing worked the same way: Bees that “subtracted” one shape when they saw yellow, or “added” one shape when they saw blue were considered to have aced the test. The bees got the right answer 63% to 72% of the time, depending on the type of equation and the direction of the right answer — much better than random guesses would allow—the researchers report today in Science Advances.

Though the results came from just 14 bees, researchers say the advance is exciting. If a brain about 20,000 times smaller than ours can perform maths using symbols, it could pave the way to novel approaches in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Just don’t ask the bees to do your homework anytime soon.

1.Why do the scientists conduct the research?

A.To teach them maths. B.To test the power of tiny brains.

C.To explain the meaning of colors. D.To get access to machine learning.

2.What does the underlined word “aced” in Paragraph 5 probably mean?

A.Given up. B.Entered for.

C.Got through. D.Checked over.

3.What might the research make contributions to?

A.Language acquisition. B.Arithmetic learning.

C.Protection of animals. D.Development of AI.

4.What can be the best title for the text?

A.Bees “Like” Counting

B.Bees “Tell” Colors Apart

C.Bees “Perform” Maths Using Shapes

D.Bees “Get” Addition and Subtraction

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.D

【解析】

本为说明文。如果数学是宇宙的语言，蜜蜂可能刚刚说出了它们的第一个单词。新的研究表明，昆虫世界的这些多管闲事的动物能够进行加减法——用颜色来代替加减法符号。文章介绍了对蜜蜂的研究。

1.推理判断题。根据第三段中的researchers wanted to test the limits of what their tiny brains can do.可知，研究者们开展这项研究是为了来测试蜜蜂微型大脑的能力。故B选项正确。

2.词义猜测题。根据第四段中的Scientists trained 14 bees to link the colors blue and yellow to addition and subtraction及第五段中的Bees that “subtracted” one shape when they saw yellow, or “added” one shape when they saw blue可知，蓝色代表着加，黄色代表着减，那么当蜜蜂看到黄色时“减去”一个形状，或者当它们看到蓝色时“增加”一个形状时，这说明蜜蜂通过了测试。因此划线词aced与got through“通过”。故C选项正确。

3.推理判断题。根据倒数第一段中的If a brain about 20,000 times smaller than ours can perform maths using symbols, it could pave the way to novel approaches in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.可知，这项研究也许能为人工智能的发展做出贡献。故D选项正确。

4.主旨大意题。通读全文可知，本文主要介绍了对蜜蜂是否能够进行加减法的研究，因此D项“蜜蜂会加减法”适合做本文最佳标题。故D选项正确。