2. 外语
  3. Male lions are rather reticent about expending their energy in hunting—more than three-quarters of kills are made by lionesses.

Male lions are rather reticent about expending their energy in hunting—more than three-quarters of kills are made by lionesses.

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问题     Male lions are rather reticent about expending their energy in hunting—more than three-quarters of kills are made by lionesses. Setting off at dusk on a hunt, the lionesses are in front, tensely scanning ahead, the cubs lag playfully behind, and the males bring up the rear, walking slowly, their heads nodding with each step as if they are bored with the whole matter. But slothfulness may have survival value. With lionesses busy hunting, the males function as guards for the cubs, protecting them particularly from hyenas.
    Hunting lionesses have learnt to take advantage of their environment. Darkness provides them with cover, and at dusk they often wait near animals they want to kill until their outlines blend into the surroundings. Small prey, such as gazelle, present lions with no problem. They are simply grabbed with the paws, or slapped down and finished off with a bite in the neck. A different technique is used with large animals, such as wild beast. Usually a lioness pulls her prey down after running up behind it, and then seizes it by the throat, strangling it. Or she may place her mouth over the muzzle of a downed animal, and suffocate it.
    Lions practice remarkably sophisticated cooperative hunting techniques. Sighting prey, lionesses usually fan out and stalk closer until one is within striking distance. The startled herd may scatter or blot to one side right into a hidden lioness. Sometimes lionesses surround their quarry. While perhaps three crouch and wait, a fourth may backtrack and then circle far around and approach from the opposite side, a technique not unknown in human warfare.
    No obvious signals pass between the lions, other than that they watch one another. A tactic may also be adapted to a particular situation. One pride of lions often pursued prey at the end of narrow strip of land between two streams. Several lionesses would sit and wait until gazelle wandered into this natural dead-end. Then they would spread out and advance quite in the open, having learnt that the gazelle would not try to escape by running into the bush beside the river, but would run back the way they had come.
    A lioness has no trouble pulling down an animal of twice her weight. But a buffalo, which may scale a ton, presents problems. One lioness and a young bull battled for an hour and a half, the buffalo whirling around to face the cat with lowered horns whenever she came close. Finally she gave up and allowed him to walk away. But on another occasion, five males came across an old bull. He stood in a swamp, belly-deep in mud and water, safely facing his tormentors on the shore. Suddenly, inexplicably, he plodded towards them, intent it seemed on committing suicide. One lion grabbed his rump, another placed his paws on the bull’s back and bit into the flesh. Slowly, without trying to defend himself, the buffalo sank to his knees and, with one lion holding his throat and another his muzzle, died of suffocation.
This passage best answers which of the following questions?
选项 A、How do lions hunt in the wilderness?
B、Why are lions afraid of buffalo?
C、What is the function of the male lion in the pride?
D、How intelligent are animals in the cat family?
答案A
解析
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