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  3. Cuckolds are men whose wives gave birth to infants that were blatantly not their own. The well known trickery of the cuckoo, the

Cuckolds are men whose wives gave birth to infants that were blatantly not their own. The well known trickery of the cuckoo, the

admin2016-10-21  26
问题     Cuckolds are men whose wives gave birth to infants that were blatantly not their own. The well known trickery of the cuckoo, the bird from which "cuckold" is derived, is as a nest parasite — laying eggs for other birds to hatch and raise. New research suggests the cuckoo has another trick it uses to ruffle its victims’ feathers.
    Common cuckoos usually lay a single egg in the nest of a host bird. The eggs often look remarkably similar to the host’s. Upon hatching, the cuckoo chick eliminates any of its potential rival chicks by pushing them or their eggs out of the nest. However, there is more to this elaborate deceit than is generally realized.
    As far back as ancient times a similarity has been noted between many cuckoo species and hawks, in size, shape and plumage. More recently researchers have discovered that hawk-like markings are more prevalent in cuckoo species that engage in nest parasitism than in cuckoo species that do not. Researchers wondered whether this similarity was noticed by birds too.
    They set up peanut feeding stations and over two years found that great and blue tits, both of which are not parasitised by cuckoos, were the main visitors. They then experimented by placing a mounted specimen of a sparrowhawk, cuckoo, dove, or duck, at the feeders for five minutes. The team reported that the tits were as scared of cuckoos as they were of sparrowhawks, raising alarm calls and staying away from feeders at all costs. With the duck and dove they detected no such behavior.
    When researchers covered the hawk-like markings on the cuckoo the tits treated it as if it were a duck or dove. Covering the same markings on the sparrowhawk had no such effect, but adding them to the dove caused the tits to treat the dove as they would a sparrowhawk or a cuckoo.
    The authors argue that actual cuckoo hosts, such as meadow pipits, dunnocks and reed warblers, may have directed the evolution of the cuckoo’s resemblance to hawks by attacking cuckoos that approached their nests. If a cuckoo with slightly hawk-like plumage caused hosts to delay or avoid an attack in the past, this would have favored the evolution,of hawk mimicry.
    It is an arms race —-and a matter of adapting and counter-adapting. The better the cuckoo disguises its eggs and itself, the more host birds improve their ability to spot the impostor. Although such an evolutionary dynamic may seem like something that exists only in the wild, it is possible for it to happen in human society as well — between cuckolds and their cheating partners, constantly driving men to be better at detecting adultery and women to be better at getting away with it.
Which of the following statements about the second paragraph is NOT true?
选项 A、Cuckoos usually lay eggs of similar shape and color to the host’s in other birds’ nest.
B、Cuckoo chicks can get rid of the host birds’ chicks.
C、Cuckoo chicks can get rid of the host birds’ eggs before they hatch.
D、Cuckoo chicks mimic the appearance of the host birds’ chicks.
答案D
解析 细节题。第二段第一、二句说明A正确，第二段第三句说明B和C正确，布谷鸟雏鸟不仅将宿主的鸟蛋推出巢外，还将其他幼 鸟推出以保证自己从宿主母鸟处获得足够的食物供应。D原文未提。
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