19.To the untrained eye it might seem like just a bit of a monkey trick.But when Milly the mandrill (山魈,西非洲產(chǎn)的大狒狒) covers her face with her hand she is actually sending a serious message to her fellows:"Leave me alone!"
Experts believe the 15-year-old mandrill invented the gesture to warn other monkeys at Colchester Zoo to give her some space.And,surprisingly,the signal has been picked by other members of the group,who use it when they too require solitude.
Biologist Mark Laidre believes the behavior is evidence of social culture among the mandrills.Importantly,the sign language is unlikely to have been influenced by human activities because mandrills do not copy humans.Mr.Laidre expects further research will uncover other monkeys using cultural gestures-the ability to communicate with the hands in a meaningful way."By covering their eyes with their hands,possibly conveyed to others that they wanted to be left alone and this message may have been respected as a‘do not disturb'sign,"said Mr.Laidre.
While the hand is in place,other monkeys are not likely to approach or touch the monkey.Those who rank lower in the social order also use the technique to avoid attacks from more powerful group members.As the discovery appears to be unique to Colchester Zoo,it suggests it is a local phenomenon that arose naturally in the community of 25mandrills.
Curator (園長) Sarah Forsyth said:"We believe Milly made up the signal and over the past five years some of the younger mandrills have picked it up.We're not sure why she started doing it but it could be as simple as‘I can't see them,so they can't see me'.It really does show you how intelligent mandrills are."
71.What's the text mainly about?B
A.How humans influenced monkeys.
B.A monkey invented a gesture.
C.A new social culture was discovered.
D.How experts made the new discovery.
72.What does the underlined word"solitude"in the second paragraph mean?A
A.Aloneness.
B.Comfort.
C.Protection.
D.Respect.
73.According to Mark Laidre,C.
A.human activities affect mandrills'sign language
B.a(chǎn)nimals are slow in picking up information
C.mandrills'social culture has nothing to do with humans
D.mandrills are the largest species of monkey in the world
74.The monkeys can also use the"do not disturb"sign toA.
A.protect themselves from being harmed
B.struggle against more powerful group members
C.show humans how intelligent they are
D.communicate with other species of animals
75.What can be known from the text?D
A.Milly invented the gesture when she was 15.
B.Mandrills are best known for their social ability.
C.Why Milly first used the sign language is known to experts.
D.Only the mandrills in Colchester Zoo use the gesture.
分析 本文主要介紹了科爾切斯特動物園十五歲的山魈發(fā)明了一個手勢--用手遮住她的臉,向她的伙伴傳遞一個信息:別打擾我!
解答 71.B 主旨大意題.縱觀全文內(nèi)容可知,本文主要介紹了十五歲的山魈發(fā)明了一個手勢--用手遮住她的臉,向她的伙伴傳遞一個信息:別打擾我!所以文章主要講猴子發(fā)明了一種手勢.故選B.
72.A 詞義猜測題.根據(jù)第一段的she is actually sending a serious message to herfellows:"Leave me alone!"可知,她實際上向她的同伴們發(fā)出了一個嚴(yán)肅的信息:"別打擾我!".所以這個手勢是他們在需要獨處時使用的.故選A.
73.C 細(xì)節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)第三段第二句Importantly,the sign language is unlikely to have beeninfluenced by human activities because mandrills do not copy humans.可知,最重要的是,手語不太可能受到人類活動的影響因為它們不是模仿的人類.所以山魈的社會文化與人類無關(guān),故選C.
74.A細(xì)節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)倒數(shù)第二段的While the hand is in place,othermonkeys are not likely to approach or touch the monkey可知,當(dāng)做這個手勢時,其他猴子不可能接近或觸摸這個猴子.所以它們利用這個手勢保護自己免受傷害,故選A.
75.D推理判斷題.根據(jù)倒數(shù)第二段中的As the discovery appears to be unique to ColchesterZoo,可知,這一發(fā)現(xiàn)在科爾切斯特動物園看來是獨一無二的.故選D.
點評 本文是科教類閱讀,主要考查細(xì)節(jié)理解題和推理判斷題.在做細(xì)節(jié)理解題時,首先根據(jù)題目要求迅速在文章里找出相應(yīng)的段落、句子或短語.認(rèn)真比較選項和文中細(xì)節(jié)的區(qū)別,在做推理判斷題時不要以個人的主觀想象代替文章的事實,要根據(jù)文章事實進行合乎邏輯的推理判斷.