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  3. If you have ever wondered how an elephant smells, scientists have the answer. Researchers have discovered that African Elephants

If you have ever wondered how an elephant smells, scientists have the answer. Researchers have discovered that African Elephants

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问题     If you have ever wondered how an elephant smells, scientists have the answer. Researchers have discovered that African Elephants have the largest number of genes【C1】______smell of any mammal. Given the size of their trunks, and how important it is【C2】______their survival, it is probably unsurprising that an elephant’s nose is not only the longest in the animal kingdom, but also the most effective.
    In【C3】______, humans and other primates have a poor sense of smell. "The functions of these genes are not well known,【C4】______they are likely important for the living environment of African elephants," said author Dr Yoshihito Niimura of the University of Tokyo. "【C5】______, an elephant’s nose is not only long but also superior. " The sense of smell is【C6】______to all mammals, and they use it for【C7】______food, finding mates and locating their offspring.
    In a study published in Genome Research, scientists【C8】______the 13 mammal species and found that African Elephants have twice the number of smell genes【C9】______dogs and five times more than humans. They have around 2,000 genes alone that are associated with scent. Humans in comparison have just under 400 and some other primates even【C10】______. The study found that 20,000 genes are【C11】______for the sense of smell in mammals, of which around half are functional, but the collections【C12】______for each species. Horses have around 1,000 smell genes, rabbits around 750 and rats about 1,200.
    "The large repertoire of elephant (smell) genes might be attributed to elephants’ heavy【C13】______on scent in various contexts, including social【C14】______and reproduction," added Dr Niimura. African and Asian elephants possess a【C15】______scent organ behind each eye, and male elephants can produce a special substance during annual mating, which is characterized【C16】______increased aggressiveness. And【C17】______studies have revealed that, African elephants can reportedly【C18】______between two Kenyan ethnic groups—the Maasai, whose young men【C19】______manhood by spearing elephants, and the Kamba, who are agricultural people that【C20】______little threat to elephants through smell.
【C15】
选项 A、gigantic
B、specific
C、natural
D、similar
答案B
解析 空格要求填入形容词修饰scent organ(嗅觉器官)。把备选答案代入原文，A项gigantic“巨大的”，文中讨论了大象的嗅觉基因数量很多，并不能推出嗅觉器官很大，故不可选。C项natural“自然的”，“自然的器官”不符合常用表达。D项similar“相似的”，用于表示两个东西的对比，而原文中用了表单数的不定冠词a，故排除。B项specific“独特的，与众不同的”，可以表示大象的嗅觉器官和其他动物的不同，因此确定B项为答案。
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