Question

【題目】Grandparents are respected in many human societies.But telling stories about old times and overfeeding grandchildren seem like distinctly human traits (特征).Are these classic grandparent behaviors really limited to human beings? Do any animals know their grandparents the way people do? For most species (物種) on Earth,the answer is NO! “Usually, there just aren't grandparents living anymore when an animal is born,” said Mirkka Lahdenper, a biologist at the University of Turku in Finland. Even if an animal's grandparents are still alive, most species spread out to avoid competing for resources, so the chances of running into a grandparent are small.

But there are a few exceptions, primarily among mammals (哺乳動物) that live in close social groups. Canadian zoologist Anne Innis Dagg described groups of langur monkeys in India in which older females lived with their daughters and grandchildren. The grandmother langurs have a particular job: they protect the group's babies against hurt from humans, dogs and other monkeys. Some female langurs even give their own grandchildren special treatment, cleaning their fur and stepping in when they play too roughly with other young.

Many whale species, too, travel with their families,including both grandmothers and grandcalves. In groups of sperm whales, according to Dagg, old females help babysit the group's young while their mothers dive (潛水) for food. Orca grandmothers often lead their family members and can live for many years after they stop reproducing. In 2015, scientists suggested that these elder orcas help their grandcalves through hard times, because they remember all the best places to find food.

Female elephants rule the whole family. Calves (幼崽) are typically born into groups led by their grandmothers, who can live to around 80 years old. The female elephants form close relationships, said Lahdenper, and raise their young together. Lahdenper found that the calves of young mothers were eight times more likely to survive if their grandmothers lived near them than if they didn't. When the calves' mothers were older and more experienced at raising babies, this beneficial “grandmother effect” disappeared even if the actual grandmothers were still around.

It isn't very clear how elephant grandmothers help their inexperienced daughters, said Lahdenper. It is believed that they may help nurse their grandcalves. But Lahdenper thinks that the more likely advantage is the wisdom a grandmother elephant has got during her long lifetime.

And what about grandfathers? Studies of humans in recent years have shown that a living grandfather can improve a person's mental health and wellbeing, said Lahdenper.

But there are signs of that in the animal kingdom, she said. Male animals seldom socialize with their own children, let alone grandchildren. “Males are usually focusing on producing their own children and aren't providing so much care,” Lahdenper said.

【1】From Paragraph 3, we know that orca grandmothers _______.

A. die after reproducingB. teach the young to dive for food

C. have rich experienceD. enjoy travelling with grandfathers

【2】The examples of monkeys, whales and elephants show that _______.

A. the “grandmother effect” lasts long in the animal world

B. grandmothers shoulder great responsibilities in their families

C. animal grandfathers can improve grandcalves' mental health

D. most species treat their grandparents like human beings do

【3】Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Animal grandparents are like human grandparents

B. Animal grandmas are born group leaders

C. Are animal grandmas given enough respect?

D. Do any animals know their grandparents?

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】B

【3】D

【解析】

本文介紹了有沒有動物像人們一樣認(rèn)識他們的祖父母？對于地球上的大多數(shù)物種來說，答案是否定的！但也有一些例外，主要是生活在密切社會群體中的哺乳動物。本文就通過猴子、鯨魚和大象的例子，來說明祖母在家族中地位，表明了祖母在家庭中承擔(dān)著巨大的責(zé)任。至于祖父，在動物王國里，雄性動物很少與自己的孩子交往，更不用說孫子了。雄性動物通常專注于生自己的孩子，并沒有提供太多的照顧。

【1】段落大意題。根據(jù)Orca grandmothers often lead their family members and can live for many years after they stop reproducing. In 2015, scientists suggested that these elder orcas help their grand calves through hard times, because they remember all the best places to find food. 奧卡的祖母們經(jīng)常領(lǐng)導(dǎo)他們的家庭成員，在他們停止生育后可以活很多年。2015年，科學(xué)家建議這些年長的虎鯨幫助它們的孫子度過難關(guān)，因為它們記得所有尋找食物的最佳地點�？芍�，奧卡的祖母有豐富的經(jīng)驗。故選C。

【2】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)The grandmother langurs have a particular job: they protect the group's babies against hurt from humans, dogs and other monkeys. Some female langurs even give their own grandchildren special treatment, cleaning their fur and stepping in when they play too roughly with other young. 和句子 Orca grandmothers often lead their family members and can live for many years after they stop reproducing. 以及Calves (幼崽) are typically born into groups led by their grandmothers, who can live to around 80 years old. 幼崽通常出生在由其祖母領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的群體中，他們可以活到80歲左右。這些都表明了祖母在家庭中承擔(dān)著巨大的責(zé)任。故選B。

【3】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)短文的第一段可知，Do any animals know their grandparents the way people do? For most species (物種) on Earth, the answer is NO! “Usually, there just aren't grandparents living anymore when an animal is born,”said Mirkka Lahdenper, a biologist at the University of Turku in Finland. Even if an animal's grandparents are still alive, most species spread out to avoid competing for resources, so the chances of running into a grandparent are small. 可知，有沒有動物像人們一樣認(rèn)識他們的祖父母？對于地球上的大多數(shù)物種來說，答案是否定的！芬蘭圖爾庫大學(xué)的生物學(xué)家米爾卡·拉德恩伯說：“通常，當(dāng)一只動物出生后，祖父母就不再生活了。”即使動物的祖父母還活著，大多數(shù)物種也會分散開來以避免爭奪資源，因此遇到祖父母的機會很小。句子Do any animals know their grandparents the way people do?是本文的主旨句。因此本文最好的題目應(yīng)該是動物認(rèn)識他們的祖父母嗎？故選D。