Question

    New Holland honeyeaters are experts at sounding the alarm when there's danger, according to new research from biologists at the Australian National University(ANU)and the University of Cambridge.

Study authors, Dr. Jessica McLachlan and Professor Rob Magrath, found honeyeaters can spread the word in the blink of an eye, using a two-stage alarm.

It's particularly effective when they are threatened by fast-moving birds of prey.

＂When a hawk is swooping down, its target has only a second to flee to cover-a split second can make the difference between life and death," Dr. McLachlan said.

＂But animals often signal urgent danger using repeated notes, which makes sure others hear the warning but it takes a long time to deliver."

＂So there's a problem. How to send a lightning-fast message in a long call?”

New Holland honeyeaters solve this problem elegantly. They "front-load" information about urgency into the first note of their alarm call, so other honeyeaters can respond quickly.

The clever honeyeaters follow this up with more notes to reinforce the message and signal how long to remain hidden.

＂They use a long call, with lots of notes, to make sure the message is heard," Professor Magrath said." And the more notes, the more urgent the danger."

＂But they also modify the first note to indicate if it's necessary to take immediate cover. So it's a two-part message that is quick, reliable and informative."

The technique is so effective the authors expect to see other species adopt it.

＂Many other species modify alarm calls as the threat increases, but there is surprisingly little known about how fast they convey the message," Professor Magrath said.

The researchers conducted their study in Canberra's National Botanic Gardens over a period of several years.

＂These birds live in the Gardens and are used to having people around. This helped us to record natural interactions with their predators(捕猎者)，such as sparrow hawks and currawongs, and to video the honeyeaters' responses to different alarm calls," Professor Magrath said.

1.According to Dr. Jessica McLachlan,______

A.speed counts when it comes to honeyeaters' life or death

B.the second-part message in a honeyeater's call is more reliable

C.the message about where to take cover is conveyed very fast

D.the urgency degree relies on the first note in a honeyeater's call

2.What does"they"in Paragraph 12 refer to?

A.alarm calls B.modified notes

C.other species D.clever honeyeaters

3.The researchers' findings are mainly based on

A.the comparison between honeyeaters and other birds

B.the analysis of length of alarm calls made by honeyeaters

C.the record of the honeyeaters' response and signal transmission

D.the observation of birds in Canberra's National Botanic Gardens

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。澳大利亚国立大学的研究人员经过几年的观察和研究发现，新荷兰食蜜雀是声音警报方面的专家。

1.细节理解题。根据第四段的＂When a hawk is swooping down, its target has only a second to flee to cover-a split second can make the difference between life and death," Dr. McLachlan said.(McLachlan博士说，当鹰俯冲下来时，它的猎物只有一秒钟的时间逃到掩护下——瞬间就能决定它的生死)可知，McLachlan认为速度对于食蜜雀来说很重要，因为短短的一瞬间就可以决定它们的生死。A. speed counts when it comes to honeyeaters' life or death(速度对于食蜜雀的生死来说很重要)符合以上说法，故选A项。

2.词义猜测题。根据第十二段的＂Many other species modify alarm calls as the threat increases, but there is surprisingly little known about how fast they convey the message," Professor Magrath said.可知，Magrath教授说，随着威胁的增加，许多其他物种会改变报警信号，但令人惊讶的是很少有人知道他们传达信息有多快。结合上下文，可知划线部分they指代的是上文提到的other species“其他物种”。C. other species(其他物种)符合以上说法，故选C项。

3.细节理解题。根据倒数第二段的The researchers conducted their study in Canberra's National Botanic Gardens over a period of several years.(研究者们在堪培拉国家植物园进行了几年研究)和倒数第一段的＂These birds live in the Gardens and are used to having people around. This helped us to record natural interactions with their predators(这些鸟生活在花园里，习惯了有人在身边。这有助于我们记下它们与天敌的互动)可知，研究者们的发现是基于在堪培拉国家植物园对鸟类的观察。D. the observation of birds in Canberra's National Botanic Gardens(在堪培拉国家植物园对鸟类的观察)符合以上说法，故选D项。