Question

   In a new study from the University of Iowa,

! researchers found that pigeoiis can categorize and name both nattffal and human-made objects — and not just a few objects. These birds categorized 128 photographs into 16 categories,and they did so simultaneously(同时地) .

   Ed Wasserman,UI professor of psychology and I corresponding author of the study,says the finding I suggests a similarity between how pigeons learn :words and the way children do. “Our pigeons were trained on all 16 categories simultaneously,a much closer analog(类似物) of how children leam words I and categories,” Wasserman says of the study,published online in the journal Cognition.

   For researchers like Wasserman,who has been;studying animal intelligence for decades,this latest!experiment is further proof that animals — whether primates(灵长目动物) ，birds,or dogs — are smarter than once assumed and have more to teach scientists.

   “As our methods have improved,so too have!our understanding and appreciation of animal ：intelligence ,” Wasserman says. “Differences between :humans and animals must indeed exist: many are already known. But,they may be outnumbered by ;similarities. Our research on categorization in pigeons;suggests that those similarities may even extend to i how children learn words."

   This time,researchers used a computerized version of the “name game” in which three pigeons were shown 128 black-and-white photos of objects from 16 basic categories. They then had to peck (啄) on one of two different symbols: the correct one for that photo and an incorrect one that was randomly chosen from one of the remaining 15 categories. The pigeons succeeded in learning the task.

   Pigeons have long been known to be smarter than average birds. Among their many talents,pigeons have a “homing instinct(本能) ” that helps them find their way home from hundreds of miles away. They have better eyesight than humans and have been trained to spot orange life jackets of people lost at sea.

   Wasserman acknowledges the recent pigeon study is not a direct analog of word learning in children and more work needs to be done. However,the model used in the study could lead to a better understanding of the associative principles involved in children's word learning. “That's the similarity that we are pursuing,but a single project — however creative it may be — will not be enough to answer such a big question ,” Wasserman says.

6. What does the new study indicate?

   A. Aniinals are strange to scientists.

   B. Animals are smarter than humans.

   C. Animals are cleverer than we once thought.

   D. Animals are less similar to humans than expected.

7. What can be concluded from the experiment?

   A. Pigeons are good learners.

   B. It is a complicated process to learn.

   C. Humans do better in solving problems.

   D. Pigeons learn differently from children.

8. What is Paragraph 6 mainly about?

   A. How pigeons travel.

   B. Why pigeons are smart.

   C. Pigeons’ good eyesight.

   D. Pigeons’ special ability.

9. What does the underlined part “a big question”(in the last paragraph) refer to?

   A. How children learn words.

   B. How animals get motivated to learn.

   C. When children show eagerness to learn to speak.

   D. If pigeohs and children leam words in a similar way.

10. The text is most likely to be taken out of a .

   A. science report   B. personal diary

   C. zoo guidebook   D. fashion magazine

Answer 1

6. C 7. A 8. D 9. D 10. A

(自然)本文是说明文。研究表明鸽子与儿童的词汇学习原理可能有一定的相似性。

6. C.细节理解题。由第三段中的this latest experiment is further proof that animals ... are smarter than once assumed 可知。

7. A.推理判断题。由第一段中的 researchers found that ... simultaneously及第五段末的The pigeons succeeded in learning the task 可推断，鸽子善于学习。

8. D.段落大意题。第六段主要讲了鸽 子的两项特殊本领：归巢本能和极佳 的视力。

9. D.篇章_构题。由最后一段中的 the model ... children's word learning 及 That's the similarity that we are pursuing可推断，划线部分指代鹤子和儿童学习词汇的原理是否相似。

10. A.文章出处题。本文主要讲对鸽子 的研宂表明动物比我们设想的要聪 明很多，而且鸽子和儿童的词汇学习 原理可能相似。据此可推断，本文应 节选自一篇科学报道。