Question

    Most of us likely consider snakes to be cold to others of their kind, just as they are cold to us human beings.

But those beliefs are wrong-especially when it comes to garter snakes (袜带蛇) , a new study says. These nonpoisonous creatures, which range from the chilly plains of Canada to the forests of Costa Rica, have special preferences about which snakes they hang out with-in other words, they have “friends.”

“All animals-even snake-need to interact with others,” says study leader Morgan Skinner, a doctoral candidate in behavioral ecology at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. To investigate this theory, Skinner carried out a novel experiment to assess the personalities and sociability of eastern garter snakes. The results showed that “like us, they seek out social contacts, and they’re particular about whom they socialize with,” says Skinner.

The idea that snakes have close friends may be surprising, but such relationships are increasingly being found throughout the animal kingdom, from bats to elephants. A recent analysis of bats showed, for example, that bats and humans both have conditional friendships.

Scientists are likely better at discovering friendships among animals now than, say, 30 years ago, partly because many societies are more accepting of such a concept, and because researchers have far better tools for gathering and analyzing the data.

However, the scientists have no idea what’s motivating friendships in garter snakes, though they do know it’s not related to reproduction or mating (交配): The study snakes did not prefer the opposite sex as friends. But such partnerships must be offering some benefit-otherwise the animals would not waste the energy forming such bonds. For example, snake friends usually curl up together, which helps them keep heat and defend against natural enemies.

Whatever the reason, says Gordon Burghardt, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Tennessee, the study “should help convince people that snakes aren’t all mysterious loners, but have more social intelligence and a larger social ability than most of us realize.”

1.What can we know from the new study?

A.Snakes make friends for their next generation.

B.Snakes are kinder to each other than to mankind.

C.Snakes have special preferences for their partners.

D.Snakes also need social contacts and close friends.

2.Why can friendships among animals be researched better than before?

A.Because of the unique experiment by Skinner.

B.Because of more social support and better equipment.

C.More researchers are gathering and analyzing the data.

D.More people are changing their attitude toward animals.

3.In which way is snakes’ friendship special?

A.Snakes’ friendship does not last long.

B.Snakes prefer the opposite sex as friends.

C.Snakes make friends for the benefit of themselves.

D.Snakes are not particular about whom to make friends with.

4.What’s the main idea of the text?

A.Snakes may also have friends.

B.Snakes are good at making friends.

C.Snakes can live with us peacefully.

D.Snakes will never feel lonely.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.C

4.A

【解析】

本文为说明文。新研究表明发现，蛇并不像我们通常所认为的冷漠，它们也有朋友，比我们想象中拥有更多的社交智慧和更强大的社交能力。

1.

推理判断题。根据第三段“All animals-even snake-need to interact with others,” says study leader Morgan Skinner (研究负责人摩根·斯金纳说， “所有的动物——甚至蛇——都需要与其他人互动”)和The results showed that “like us, they seek out social contacts, and they’re particular about whom they socialize with,” says Skinner.(结果表明，像我们一样，它们(蛇)寻求社会联系，而且它们对与谁交往很挑剔。)可知，这项新的研究表明，这些蛇类也像我们人类一样需要社会交流，需要选择它们的社交伙伴，也就是说它们也有朋友和友谊。故选D。

2.

细节理解题。根据第五段…partly because many societies are more accepting of such a concept, and because researchers have far better tools for gathering and analyzing the data(与30年前相比，现在的科学家可能更善于发现动物之间的友谊，部分原因是许多社会更能接受这样的概念，也因为研究人员有更好的工具来收集和分析数据)可知，由于有了更多的社会支持和更好的设备，动物之间的友谊能得到更好的研究。故选B。

3.

推理判断题。根据倒数第二段…such partnerships must be offering some benefit-otherwise the animals would not waste the energy forming such bonds. (这样的伙伴关系必须能带来一些好处，否则它们就不会浪费精力来建立这样的关系。)可知，蛇的友谊特殊之处在于蛇交朋友是为自己带来好处，故选C。

4.

主旨大意题。本文主要是介绍一项新的研究发现，大多数人以往对蛇类动物那种冷漠的传统观念是错误的，它们也像人类一样拥有朋友。故选A。