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  3. New research suggests that animals have a much higher level of brainpower than previously thought. If animals do have intelligen

New research suggests that animals have a much higher level of brainpower than previously thought. If animals do have intelligen

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问题     New research suggests that animals have a much higher level of brainpower than previously thought. If animals do have intelligence, how do scientists measure it? Before defining animals’ intelligence, scientists defined what is not intelligence. Instinct is not intelligence. It is a skill programmed into an animal’s brain. Rote(机械记忆)conditioning is also not intelligence. Tricks can be learned by repetition, but no real thinking is involved. Scientists believe that insight(顿悟), the ability to use tools, and communication using human language are all effective measures of the mental ability of animals.
    Scientists define insight as a flash of sudden understanding. When a young gorilla could not reach fruit from a tree, she noticed some boxes scattered about the lawn near the tree. She piled up the boxes, and then climbed on them to reach her reward. The gorilla’s insight allowed her to solve a new problem without trial and error.
    The ability to use tools is also an important sign of intelligence. Crows use sticks to get nuts out of cracks. The crow exhibits intelligence by showing it has learned what a stick can do. Likewise, seals use rocks to crack open shells in order to get at the meat.
    Many animals have learned to communicate using human language. One chimp can recognize and correctly use more than 250 abstract symbols on a keyboard. These symbols represent human words. An amazing parrot can distinguish five objects of two different types. He can understand the difference between the number, color, and kind of object. The ability to classify is a basic thinking skill. He seems to use language to express his needs and emotions. When ill and taken to the animal hospital for his first overnight stay, this parrot turned to go. "Come here!" he cried to a scientist who works with him. "I love you. I’m sorry. Wanna go back?"
    The research on animal intelligence raises important questions. If animals are smarter than once thought, would that change the way humans interact with them? Would humans stop hunting them for sport or survival? Would animals still be used for food, clothing, or medical experimentation? Finding the answer to these tough questions makes a difficult puzzle even for a large-brained, problem-solving species like our own.
The parrot’s being able to distinguish five objects of two different types indicates______.
选项 A、its ability to classify
B、its ability to count
C、a grasp of human language
D、a flash of sudden understanding
答案A
解析 此题是一道细节判断题，考查考生根据文章内容和相关重点细节进行总结归纳和推断的能力。问题问鹦鹉能分辨5个两种类型的物体表明了什么。利用查阅式阅读法，我们可以在第四段中找到相关信息，这部分指出：“一只令人吃惊的鹦鹉可以分辨出5个两种不同类型的物体。它可以理解数字、颜色和物体种类的差别。分类的能力是一种基本的思维能力。”所以，本题的答案应该是A，分类的能力。选项B：计数的能力；C：对人类语言的掌握能力；D：顿悟的闪现；这三个选项均为干扰项。
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