首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Man, even in the lower stages of development, possesses a faculty which, for want of a better name, I shall call number sense. T
Man, even in the lower stages of development, possesses a faculty which, for want of a better name, I shall call number sense. T
admin
2009-04-23
59
问题
Man, even in the lower stages of development, possesses a faculty which, for want of a better name, I shall call number sense. This faculty permits him to recognize that something has changed in a small collection when, without his direct knowledge, and object has been removed from or added to the collection.
Number sense should not be confused with counting, which is probably of a much later common trait and involves as we shall see, a rather intricate mental process. Counting, so far as we know, is an attribute exclusively human, whereas some brute species seem to possess an elementary number sense alike to our own at least, such is the opinion of competent observers of animal behavior, and the theory is supported by a weighty mass of evidence.
Many birds, for instance, possess such a number sense. If a nest contains four eggs, one can safely be taken; but when two are removed, the bird generally deserts. In some unaccountably way the bird can distinguish two from three. But this faculty is by no means confined to birds. In fact, the most striking instance we know is that of the insect called the" solitary wasp". The mother wasp lays her eggs in individual cells and provides each egg with a number of live caterpillars(毛虫) per cell. But most remarkable is the case of the Genus Eumenus, a variety in which the male is much smaller than the female grub(蛆) and apportions(分配) the quantity of food accordingly: she does not change the species or size of the victims, but if the egg is male, she supplies it with five victims; if female, with ten. The regularity in the action of the wasp and the fact that this action is connected with a fundamental function in the life of the insect makes this last case less convincing than the one which follows. Here the action of the bird seems to border on the conscious.
A landowner was determined to shoot a crow which made its nest in the water tower of his estate. Repeatedly he tried to surprise the bird, but in vain: at the approach of man the crow would leave its nest. One day the landowner hit upon a trick, two men entered the tower, one remained within, the other came out and went on. But the bird was not deceived: it kept away until the man within came out. The experiment was repeated on the succeeding days with two, three, then four men, yet without success. Finally, five men were sent: as before, all entered the tower, and one remained while the other four came out and went away. Here the crow lost count. Unable to distinguish between four or five, it promptly returned to its nest.
选项
答案
number sense
解析
根据题干中关键词counting可定位到原文第二段首句前半部分Number sense should not be confused with counting(数字感觉与计数不同,二者不应混为一谈)。由此可判断,counting和number sense的概念并不相同。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/8aZK777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
Whathavepeoplediscoveredabouthobbies?Hobbiescanbeprofitableand______.
Whendidpeoplebeginridinganewkindofbike?
Ourcompanycultureis______makesussuccessfulincreatingafriendlyandexcitingenvironment.
A、Attherailwaystation.B、Attheairport.C、Atthepolicestation.D、Atthebank.B根据男士所问的“airticketandpassport”可知,两人可能是在机场
A、Attherailwaystation.B、Attheairport.C、Atthepolicestation.D、Atthebank.B根据男士所问的“airticketandpassport”可知,两人可能是在机场
Whenthefirebrokeout,______(他碰巧去机场接他妻子了).
A、He’ssurprisedshechosethatagency.B、Hewonderswhyshe’skeptherjob.C、Hedoesn’tknowwhenherclassesstarted.D、Hedo
______(重大事故接连出现,给人民生命财产造成严重损失)havetaughtusasoberinglesson.
A、Agreed.B、Angry.C、Ambitious.D、Proud.A妻子和丈夫态度一致,赞同这封投诉信。
随机试题
保存血小板的恒温室的温度应为
糖尿病患者尿酮体为阳性,即可诊断为糖尿病酮症酸中毒。()
个体户何强开办的汽车修理厂是某保险公司指定的汽车修理厂家何强在为他人修理汽车时,多次夸大汽车毁损程度,向保险公司多报汽车修理费用,从保险公司骗取15万余元下列选项中对何强的行为处理正确的是()
在高等代数中,有一种线性变换叫作正交变换,即不改变任意两点的距离的变换。下列变换中不是正交变换的是()。
市场上出售的“蒸馏水”“纯净水”等商品,作为日常饮用水,并不利于儿童的身体健康。在制备适合儿童饮用的商品饮用水时至少还需要添加的微量物质是()。
大学生贷款或者打工挣钱买苹果手机,有人认为不好。有人认为能够理解.辛苦后才有享受.你怎么看?
潜台词本是戏剧用语,指的是台词实际包含而没有明确说出的意见,所谓题外之旨,言外之意。丰富的潜台词往往能使表演更加耐人寻味。根据上述定义,以下哪项表述中包含典型的潜台词?
(2018年真题)下列关于走私罪的表述,正确的是()。
若程序在运行时陷入死循环,则该情况属于______。
【S1】【S6】
最新回复
(
0
)