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
Conventional wisdom has it that male birds are loyal and faithful because the business of feeding nestling is so demanding that
Conventional wisdom has it that male birds are loyal and faithful because the business of feeding nestling is so demanding that
admin
2010-03-26
66
问题
Conventional wisdom has it that male birds are loyal and faithful because the business of feeding nestling is so demanding that it takes two to rear the clutch successfully. Cooperation is therefore the best way of ensuring reproductive success.
By contrast, most mammals have a lengthy gestation (怀孕) follower by lactation (哺乳期), which leaves males on the sidelines. With little to contribute to the rearing process, they tend to opt for polygamy (一夫多妻) in one form or another.
Male mammals are only monogamous (一夫一妻的) under a limited number of condition. One is when females are so widely dispersed that a male would find it difficult to defend more than one at a. time. In this case, he may do well to stick with one female to make sure that no other males mate with her when she does come into estrus (发情期). The dik-dik, a diminutive African antelope, is one species that seems to live by this role.
However, many species are monogamous even when males could in principle defend several females. In these cases, it turns out that the male provides a service for the female. By investing in her and his young, the male gains more offspring in a lifetime than he does by pursuing the alternative strategy of polygamy.
In South American marmoset and tamarin monkeys, this service amounts to full responsibility for everything to do with childcare, except lactation. As a result, females manage to produce twins twice a year—if they had to do all the work alone, it is unlikely that they could do better than a single infant once a year. So, males who become monogamous and share the workload can expect to obtain around four times as many offspring as males who abandon their mates in favor of serial polygamy. A polygamous male would have to locate and mate with at least four times as many females as a monogamous one, so it pays to be monogamous.
As for humans, monogamy may have developed hand in hand with the evolution of large brains. Pair bonding could have ensured that women got enough food to raise-their big-brained, slow-growing and highly vulnerable offspring to adulthood. Our ancestors probably opted for some form of monogamy when they began eating meat and hunting.
The passage mainly discusses _______.
选项
A、division of labor between male and female mammals
B、how male are involved in the rearing process
C、how females choose their partners
D、factors affecting monogamy and polygamy
答案
D
解析
主旨大意题。考查整篇文章的主题。A“雄性和雌性哺乳动物的劳动分工”和B“雄性如何参与到养育后代的过程中”只是文章在论述雌雄两性养育后代过程时提到的细节问题;C“雌性如何选择自己的伴侣”在文章中根本没有提到;D“影响一夫一妻和一天多妻的因素”是基于全篇的概括,文中第一段讲鸟类选择一夫一妻制的原因;第二段讲有些哺乳动物选择一夫多妻的原因;第三、四段讲了哺乳动物选择一夫一妻的原因;最后一段讲了人类在这方面的历史与发展,可见,全文都是围绕一夫一妻和一大多妻进行论述的,故选D。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/x9OK777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
A、Malesarearrestedaboutfourtimesmorethanfemales.B、Accordingtothesurvey,61%ofallmenfeelunsafeintheirownneig
A、Themanthinksthewomaniswastinghertime.B、Themanthinksthewomanshouldmakefulluseofhertime.C、Themaniseager
Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayentitledOnAgingPopulation.Youshouldwriteatleast150wor
Shynessisthecauseofmuchunhappinessforagreatmanypeople.Shypeopleareanxiousand(36)______;thatis,theyareexces
A、Hisgeneroussuggestionsandhelp.B、HisimprisonmentinWorldWarI.C、Theresponsibilityofhelpingothers.D、Hisimpacton
A、Shetookahistoryclasslastyear.B、Shedoesn’ttrusttheman’sopinion.C、Shedidn’tlikehersociologyprofessor.D、Shepr
Anxietyisanormalresponsetophysicaldanger,soitisveryusefulandverypopularamongpeople.Recently,researchershave
Anxietyisanormalresponsetophysicaldanger,soitisveryusefulandverypopularamongpeople.NowintheUnitedStates,
A、Shewillplaybasketball.B、ShewillgotoseesickLily.C、Shewillgoswimming.D、Shewillplayvolleyball.DM:Areyoufree
A、Hewasabravesoldier.B、Hetookwarphotographs.C、Hepaintedportraits.D、Hedesignedaportablecamera.B
随机试题
【背景资料】某建筑工程,建筑面积108000m2,现浇剪力墙结构,地下3层,地上50层。基础埋深14.4m,底板厚3m,底板混凝土标号为C35。底板钢筋施工时,板厚1.5m处的HIRB335级直径16mm钢筋,施工单位征得监理单位和建设单位同意后
突触前神经元轴突末梢释放神经递质是哪种离子内流诱发的
对本案具有管辖权的法院是()。人民法院受理本案后,遂欲通过我国驻美使领馆将起诉状副本送达被告,但由于被告已经搬离原住址,起诉状副本被退回。此时,人民法院应当()。
我国于1994年颁布实施了《中华人民共和国劳动法》(以下简称《劳动法》),2008年颁布实施了《中华人民共和国劳动合同法》(以下简称《劳动合同法》),对这两个法律之间的关系,下列认识不正确的是:( )。
《思想政治》必修课程共设四个课程模块。即:思想政治l(经济生活);思想政治2(政治生活);思想政治3(文化生活);思想政治4(生活与哲学)。上述四个课程模块的构建,具有哪些特点?
下列哪些是班级组织结构的主要内容?()
肖某育有二子一女,长子甲拒绝对肖某尽赡养义务,次子乙患脑瘫且无生活来源,女儿丙婚前、婚后均与肖某共同生活。2004年肖某捡到一弃婴丁并予以抚养,但未办理收养手续。2012年7月,肖某死亡。分配遗产时()。
青少年道德发展的初步成熟期是在()
A、WhatcanIdoforyou?B、Eightpeople.C、Certainly.C
Thewaythatpeoplespendtheirmoney,andtheobjectsonwhichtheyspendit,arethelastareaswherefreechoiceandindividu
最新回复
(
0
)