A little old couple walked slowly into McDonald's one cold winter evening. They were so old that they looked out of place amid the young families and young couples eating there that night. Some of the customers looked admiringly at them. You could tell what the admirers were thinking. "Look, there is a couple who has been through a lot together, probably for 60 years or more!" The little old man walked right up to the cash register, placed his order with no hesitation and then paid for their meal. The couple took a table near the back wall and started taking food off the tray. There was one hamburger, one order of French fries and one drink. The little old man unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half. He placed one half in front of his wife. Then he carefully counted out the French fries, divided them in two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip of the drink, his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them. As the man began to eat his few bites of hamburger the crowd began to get restless. Again you could tell what they were thinking, "That poor old couple. All they can afford is one meal for the two of them." As the man began to eat his French fries one young man stood and came over to the old couple's table. He politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple to eat. The old man replied that they were just fine. They were used to sharing everything. Then the crowd noticed that the little old lady hadn't eaten a bite. She just sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink. Again the young man came over and begged them to let him buy them something to eat. This time the lady explained that, no, they were used to sharing everything together. As the little old man finished eating and was wiping his face neatly with a napkin the young man could stand it no longer. Again he came over to their table and offered to buy some food. After being politely refused again, he finally asked a question of the little... Why didn't the old lady eat her portion of meal? A) Her artificial teeth didn't fit her well. B) She forgot to bring her teeth with her. C) Her husband had not finished using the teeth. D) She was waiting for someone to get her teeth for her.
C
(Question)
Members of an elephant family may be out of sight but they are always in the minds of the herd's matriarchs , researchers have found. Tests have found that female elephants are able to remember the whereabouts of at least 17 family members simultaneously and perhaps as many as 30. They watch which of their relations are ahead of them when the herd searches for food, which of them are lagging behind and which are traveling in separate groups. Professor Richard Byrne, of the prefix = st1 /UniversityofSt Andrews, said that the elephants performed a good memory by being able to recall where each of their s was in a changing environment. "It's hard enough for us to watch two or three children in a busy shopping centre. Imagine trying to do it with 30 or so," he said. Researchers tested the ability of African elephants to remember where each family member had got to. Elephants have poor eyesight but an excellent sense of smell and are able to identify one another from traces of urine on the ground. To test the memories of the elephants, samples of urine-soaked earth were collected by researchers and placed in positions where a herd was about to pass. Observations showed that the animals exhibited surprise when they could detect the odor of a family member they knew was behind them. Interest was shown when the urine was that of a close traveling in the same group or in a separate herd, but samples left by unknown individuals were ignored. The researchers, who reported their findings in the journal Biology Letters, concluded: " It seems that female elephants have a general interest in monitoring family members with whom they are traveling. Elephants' order of traveling often changes and overtaking is common, suggesting that elephants must frequently update their expectation of where others are in relation to themselves." According to the passage, female elephants_. A) are usually stronger than male elephants B) usually stay at home while male elephants search for food C) can remember where their family members are while traveling D) can recognize the odor of human beings
(Answer)
C
Question: I must first thank the writers and editors of Scienlljic American and Scientific American Mind for the excellent articles on which so much of this book is based; they arc acknowledged in detail in the Sources. I am most grateful to he famous netunscicutists ( ) and experts who kindly gave their time to help re c son out what might be in the quite near future, and who have contributed much toneuroscience, especially R. Douglas Fields, Joseph l.cl)oux, Richard Davidson, Philip Kennedy, and Hank Greely, an expert on the legal, ethical, and social problems surrounding this brave new world of neuroscience. The captivating concept for this book came from the creative and hard working team at Jossey-Bass. who arc much appreciated. For the second time, I want to give heartfelt thanks to my editor Alan Rinzler and senior editorial assistant Nana Twumasi. who have contributed so much to the shaping and creation of this book; Carol Hartland, production talent; l3ev Miller, much more than a copyeditor;first-rate writer researcher l3rianna Smith; Paula Goldstein. who designed the book's inside; and all the marketing people who put my book in your hands: Jennifer Wenzel. Erin 13carn. P. J. Campbell, Karen Warner. At Scie,rifre American, Diane McGarvey and Lisa Pallatroni were responsible fur finding archived material of so many years. Thank you. My family, good friends, and fellow writers have once again listened to me struggle endlessly and talk wildly about the difficulties of writing about brain. Many thanks to you all, in particular to first readers Kelly A. Dakin (who corrected many of my errors and added valuable content). Ann Crew, Ferris Buck Kelley, Frank Urbanowski, and Andrea llurst (for sending this book my way) and the wonderfully productive and generous writing community of Sacramento. What is the author's main purpose of writing the passage? A) To show that he had expert friends in various fields. B) To express his excitement for having published his book. C) To express his thanks to those who have helped him with the hook. D) To show that so many well-known people have helped him recently.
Answer:
C