The latest in cat research reveals that the lovely animal seems to have a basic grasp on both the laws of physics and the ins and outs of cause and effect.
According to a newly published study，cats seem to be able to predict the location of hiding prey （獵物） using both their ears and an inborn （天生的） understanding of how the physical world works.
In a recent experiment，Japanese researchers taped 30 domestic cats reacting to a container that a team member shook.Some containers rattled （發(fā)出響聲）；others did not.When the container was tipped over，sometimes an object fell out and sometimes it didn't.
It turns out that the cats were remarkably smart about what would happen when a container was tipped over.When an object did not drop out of the bottom of a rattling container，they looked at it for a longer time than they did when the container behaved as expected.
"Cats use a causal-logical understanding of noise or sounds to predict the appearance of invisible objects，" lead researcher Saho Takagi says in a press release.The researchers conclude that cats' hunting style may have developed based on their common-sense abilities to infer where prey is，using their hearing.
Scientists have explored this idea with other lovely creatures；babies.Like cats，babies appear to engage in what's called "preferential looking" — looking longer at things that are interesting or unusual than things they perceive as normal.
When babies' expectations are disturbed in experiments like the ones performed with the cats，they react much like their animal friends.Psychologists have shown that babies apparently expect their world to be consistent with the laws of physics and cause and effect as early as two months of age.
Does the study mean that cats will soon grasp the ins and outs of cause and effect？Maybe.Okay，so cats may not be the next physics faculty members at America's most important research universities.But by demonstrating their common sense，they've shown that the divide between cats and humans may not be that great after all.
（1）What do we learn from a newly published study about cats？ CC
A．They can be trained to understand the physical world.
B．They know what kind of prey might be easier to hunt.
C．They have a natural ability to locate animals they hunt.
D．They are capable of telling which way their prey flees.
（2）What may account for the cats' response to the noise from the containers？ DD
A．Their inborn sensitivity to noise.
B．Their unusual sense of direction.
C．Their special ability to perceive.
D．Their mastery of cause and effect.
（3）In what way do babies behave like cats？ AA
A．They focus on what appears odd.
B．They view the world as normal.
C．They do what they prefer to do.
D．They are curious about everything.
（4）What can we conclude about cats from the passage？ BB
A．They have higher intelligence than many other animals.
B．They interact with the physical world much like humans.
C．They display extraordinarily high intelligence in hunting.
D．They can aid physics professors in their research work.
【答案】C；D；A；B
【解答】
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發(fā)布：2024/4/20 14:35:0組卷：12難度：0.5
相似題
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1．Rainforests provide much of the world's oxygen.People have been trying to protect them for years.But another type of forest，the cloud forest，is just as important to humans.
These forests are at the tops of mountains，generally near the equator （赤道）.These wet，wooded mountaintops are mainly in African and Central and South American countries.They are called "cloud forests" because their height allows for the formation of clouds among the trees.The trees in these forests pull water out of the clouds.The water gathers on the leaves and falls into small rivers below，which flow into towns at the bottom of the mountain.The yearly rainfall in these areas is about 180 centimetres.Cloud forests can pull in up to 60 percent of that.The water is important to the plants and the people in the area.It helps them survive.
Cloud forests are also home to countless species of plants that can't be found anywhere else.One small cloud forest has as many types of plants as there are in all of Europe.In fact，there are so many that scientists haven't made a complete list of them yet.
These forests are being destroyed at increasing speed.Trees are being cut down，and roads are being built in their place.Some people have a goal to get government money to protect the forests.But they have had little success so far.Another way is to take the place of the destroyed plants with new ones.That，too，has been difficult because the plants are so special.There's plenty of work to be done，but saving the cloud forests is still possible with creative solutions.
（1）Where can you probably find cloud forests？
A．In North America.
B．Far from the equator.
C．In an African country.
D．At the foot of mountains.
（2）How much rainfall is pulled in by the cloud forests in those areas every year？
A．About 60 cm.
B．About 108 cm.
C．About 180 cm.
D．About 300 cm.
（3）What is the main idea of paragraph 3？
A．Europe is short of plant types.
B．Scientists are working on a list.
C．Cloud forests are getting smaller.
D．Cloud forests house many plants.
（4）What will be discussed in the following part of the text？
A．Ways to protect cloud forests.
B．Goals of cloud forest protectors.
C．Difficulties in planting new trees.
D．Successes of getting wide support.
（5）Where can we probably find the text？
A．In a storybook.
B．In a travel guide.
C．In a chemistry textbook.
D．In a geography magazine.發(fā)布：2025/1/1 18:0:1組卷：7引用：3難度：0.5 -
2．Photo Research "If you want to be a better photographer，stand in front of better stuff." Photographer Jim Richardson shared it with otjye.airs.He spends a great deal of time doing photo research，looking for great locations to shoot.
Seeing a wonderful place is bread-and-butter photography-it's just part of the job.Getting there is only half of any great photograph's story.The other half is how the photographer prepares to capture the subject once in front of jye.ai.It is believed that groundwork is part of photography，as essential as knowing exposure and lighting or recognizing the decisive moment to take the shot.Research sounds like a boring task for many photographers，while for others digging into a subject in advance is part of the pleasure.
Philosophically，photographers seem to divide along that line.On one side are those who desire only to be in the moment.On the other side are the planners.They would never dream of going out the door without a full list of how they're going to approach the shoot.Actually，there is a third group nowadays.They just take photos of the whole scene and do all the creative work in Photoshop after the event.Most photographers do both：research carefully to prepare their schedule and then act in the moment once on site.
Photographers should do a lot of research in order to get ready for a photographic trip.This includes creating a file for each location they are due to visit.They start a file for each place and begin to make a list of the pieces of information.Knowing what the place looks like in advance is invaluable，so it is good to hit several Internet photo sites.Besides clueing them into the photographic possibilities of the location，this can also show what angles have already become overused and which they should therefore avoid.But photographers will also find angles they didn't expect from locations they hadn't imagined.Armed with these they will be better prepared to push the boundaries of what they expect.
"Above all，I'll look for places and events that are seasonal and timeless.I open my mind to what might make a great subject for a picture，" Jim said. "Most travelers tend to think only of places they're visiting，without looking deeper into culture，history or meaning.I try to get in time with the rhythm of the place and in tune with its melody.But most of all I just want to be ready.If I'm ready，I can just about count on being lucky."
（1）What does the underlined word "capture" in Paragraph 2 probably mean？
A．Identify.
B．Record.
C．Arrange.
D．Explore.
（2）What point does the author make about photographers in Paragraph 3？
A．They are unable to decide on the best plan of action.
B．It is possible for them to adopt flexible ways of working.
C．The third group is not as imaginative as some of the others.
D．Some of them refuse to try to understand the way others work.
（3）What is the main idea of Paragraph 4？
A．Sound preparation is a must for a satisfactory photo.
B．One should create photo sites in a photographic trip.
C．Taking photos requires vivid imagination in advance.
D．It is essential to do photo research in central locations.
（4）In the last paragraph，Jim states that.
A．he feels good to visit those historical places
B．he refuses to spend too much time in one place
C．he is careful about choosing the right place to visit
D．he likes to go to places that few people bother to visit發(fā)布：2025/1/1 18:0:1組卷：20引用：3難度：0.7 -
3．The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital．She is quiet but alert（警覺）．Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it．She stares at it carefully．A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another，this time with the spots differently spaced．As the cards change from one to the other，her gaze（凝視） starts to lose its focus - until a third，with three black spots，is presented．Her gaze returns；she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card．Can she tell that the number two is different from three，just 24 hours after coming into the world？
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer？The same experiment，but with three spots shown before two，shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes．Perhaps it is just the newness？When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects（a comb，a key，an orange and so on），changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves．Could it be the pattern that two things make，as opposed to three？No again．Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three，or three to two．The effect even crosses between senses．Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two；likewise（同樣地） when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots．
（1）The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby's．
A．sense of hearing
B．sense of sight
C．sense of touch
D．sense of smell
（2）Babies are sensitive to the change in．
A．the size of cards
B．the colour of pictures
C．the shape of patterns
D．the number of objects
（3）Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats？
A．To reduce the difficulty of the experiment．
B．To see how babies recognize sounds．
C．To carry their experiment further．
D．To keep the babies' interest．
（4）Where does this text probably come from？
A．Science fiction．
B．Children's literature．
C．An advertisement．
D．A science report．發(fā)布：2025/1/1 17:0:1組卷：3引用：3難度：0.5
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