Question

Dolphins call out the specific names of loved ones when they become separated, a study finds．Other than humans, they are the only animals known to do this, according to the study．The big difference with dolphins is that these communications consist of whistles（鳴叫）, not words．

Earlier research found that dolphins have a “signature whistle” that would be somewhat like human shouting, “Hey everybody! I’m an adult healthy male named George, and I mean you no harm．”

The new finding is that dolphins also say the names of certain other dolphins．“Animals produced copies of the same sound when they were separated from a close partner．This supports our belief that dolphins copy another animal’s signature whistle when they want to reunite with that animal,” Stephanie King, who led the study, says．

King and her colleagues collected acoustic（聲音的）data from wild dolphins around Sarasota Bay, Florida, from 1984 to 2009．The researchers also studied four adult male dolphins housed at the Seas Aquarium, also in Florida．

Those males are adults that keepers named Calvin, Khyber, Malabar and Ranier, all of whom, as well as all of the wild ones, developed their own signature whistles that served as names in communication with other dolphins．

“A dolphin uses its signature whistle to broadcast its identity and announce its presence．The signature whistles allow animals to identify one another over long distances and allow animals to recognize one another and to join up with each other,” King explains．“Dolphin whistles can be heard up to 20km away, depending on water depth and whistle frequency（頻率）．”

The researchers said dolphins copy the signature whistles of loved ones, such as a mother, when the two are separated．These “names” are always used in positive situations, and are only directed toward loved ones．

While researchers are often unwilling to apply the word language to non-human communications, dolphins clearly have a very complex communication system．

1.The underlined word “housed” in Paragraph 4 probably means “_________”．

A．raised B．saved C．discovered D．hunted

2.Which one plays a part in whether dolphin whistles can be heard over a distance?

A．The dolphin’s identity．

B．The water temperature

C．The whistle frequency．

D．The dolphin’s age．

3.When do dolphins copy the signature whistles of loved ones?

A．When there is a fight．

B．When their keeper comes．

C．When they are apart．

D．When they are hungry．

4.The passage probably is taken from______

A．A magazine about scientific advances．

B．A website about various animals．

C．A report on animal acoustics．

D．An essay about the relationship between humans and animals．

Answer 1

1.A

2.C

3.C

4.B

【解析】

試題分析:本文講述的是海豚通過鳴叫其他親人的“特殊的名字”當他們分開的時候。

1.1】A細節(jié)推理題。House作動詞有“住，收藏”之意。A．raised養(yǎng)育 B．saved 得救，保存C．discovered 發(fā)現(xiàn)D．hunted狩獵；The researchers also studied four adult male dolphins housed at the Seas Aquarium, also in Florida．句意：研究人員也從養(yǎng)在弗羅里達的海洋水族館的四只成年雄性海豚的身上收集信息�？芍�，這四只海豚是養(yǎng)在水族館里的，故選A.

2.C細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第六段：Dolphin whistles can be heard up to 20km away, depending on water depth and whistle frequency（頻率）．句意：海豚的鳴叫聲能夠在20米開外被聽到，這取決于水的深度和鳴叫的頻率。故選C.

3.3】C細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第七段：The researchers said dolphins copy the signature whistles of loved ones, such as a mother, when the two are separated．句意：研究人員說，海豚復制他們親人的鳴叫聲，比如一個海豚媽媽，當她與親人分開的時候。故選C.

4.4】B主旨大意題。本文開始提出一個觀點：研究表明海豚在跟親人們分開的時候會呼喚親人們的“特殊的名字”通過鳴叫聲。然后通過幾個例子證明這一觀點表明這一研究的真實性。推斷這篇文章可能是從研究各種動物的不同方面的網(wǎng)站上找下來的。文章既沒有提到科技的日新月異，動物的聲學報道和人與動物的關系，故選B.

考點：考查說明文閱讀