Science News Tool to crow about New Caledonian crows, birds with surprising and impressive
英语试题 05-02
Science News
Tool to crow about
New Caledonian crows, birds with surprising and impressive abilities, seem to use tools constantly, not just when they’re trying to get food. Oxford researchers report that New Caledonian crows use sticks to poke (戳) at new and potentially threatening objects, providing the first evidence that birds use tools for more than just finding food. Of the 10 crows tested in the experiment, four used sticks to poke at and explore a rubber spider (蜘蛛), a flashing bicycle light and other items that they had never seen before, the scientists report online in Animal Cognition. Checking out possible threats without making direct contact may benefit curious birds like crows.
Apes (猿) show handedness
Contrary to earlier reports, ape species, including chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans, show humanlike hand preferences when handling objects. Chimpanzees and gorillas favored the right hand and orangutans the left hand, a team led by psychologist William Hopkins of Agnes Scott College, found in a study to appear in the Journal of Human Evolution. Hopkins and his colleagues observed which hand 777 apes used to reach peanut butter inside a long tube. He wants to explore reasons for orangutans’ left-handedness. No human societies exist in which the majority of individuals are left-handed, and neither are there societies in which left-handedness is completely absent.
Plants go downhill
Researchers looking uphill for biological responses to climate change may be missing species moving downhill, say researchers from California. Plant species do move, as seeds that are spread tend to grow better in one place than in another. As temperatures rise, some species could, or already do, move uphill to find the kind of cool spots they’re used to. But the best elevation (高度) for a plant to maintain its water balance can shift with climate change. Comparing survey and climate records from the 1930s and the present day for 64 California plant species, the best water-balancing elevation shifted downhill more often than up, the scientists report in Science.
8. What was the crows’ purpose in using sticks?
A. To move objects. B. To find some food.
C. To threaten a spider. D. To avoid possible danger.
9. What does the underlined “Apes show handedness” imply?
A. Apes prefer to use one hand rather than the other.
B. Apes prefer to use the right hand like humans.
C. Apes tend to use their hands to handle objects.
D. Apes use their hands for different purposes.
10. According to the text, what causes plant species to move uphill?
A. Their water needs. B. Climate records.
C. Global warming. D. The low elevation.
11. What is the text mainly about?
A. Scientific discoveries. B. Scientific experiments.
C. Scientific approaches. D. Scientific theories.
答案
Tool to crow about
New Caledonian crows, birds with surprising and impressive abilities, seem to use tools constantly, not just when they’re trying to get food. Oxford researchers report that New Caledonian crows use sticks to poke (戳) at new and potentially threatening objects, providing the first evidence that birds use tools for more than just finding food. Of the 10 crows tested in the experiment, four used sticks to poke at and explore a rubber spider (蜘蛛), a flashing bicycle light and other items that they had never seen before, the scientists report online in Animal Cognition. Checking out possible threats without making direct contact may benefit curious birds like crows.
Apes (猿) show handedness
Contrary to earlier reports, ape species, including chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans, show humanlike hand preferences when handling objects. Chimpanzees and gorillas favored the right hand and orangutans the left hand, a team led by psychologist William Hopkins of Agnes Scott College, found in a study to appear in the Journal of Human Evolution. Hopkins and his colleagues observed which hand 777 apes used to reach peanut butter inside a long tube. He wants to explore reasons for orangutans’ left-handedness. No human societies exist in which the majority of individuals are left-handed, and neither are there societies in which left-handedness is completely absent.
Plants go downhill
Researchers looking uphill for biological responses to climate change may be missing species moving downhill, say researchers from California. Plant species do move, as seeds that are spread tend to grow better in one place than in another. As temperatures rise, some species could, or already do, move uphill to find the kind of cool spots they’re used to. But the best elevation (高度) for a plant to maintain its water balance can shift with climate change. Comparing survey and climate records from the 1930s and the present day for 64 California plant species, the best water-balancing elevation shifted downhill more often than up, the scientists report in Science.
8. What was the crows’ purpose in using sticks?
A. To move objects. B. To find some food.
C. To threaten a spider. D. To avoid possible danger.
9. What does the underlined “Apes show handedness” imply?
A. Apes prefer to use one hand rather than the other.
B. Apes prefer to use the right hand like humans.
C. Apes tend to use their hands to handle objects.
D. Apes use their hands for different purposes.
10. According to the text, what causes plant species to move uphill?
A. Their water needs. B. Climate records.
C. Global warming. D. The low elevation.
11. What is the text mainly about?
A. Scientific discoveries. B. Scientific experiments.
C. Scientific approaches. D. Scientific theories.
答案
苏19057182-3号