People may use the expression"birdbrain"in English to talk about someone who is stupid,but crows prove that this is unfair.Now it has been discovered that crows may understand analogies . It was once thought that only humans could understand analogies,which help us to solve problems creatively,put things into categories,and make scientific discoveries. To test this ability in animals,scientists do"relational matching-to-sample"(RMTS) tests,according to the IFL Science website.If a pair was AA,for example,then picking BB to match it would be correct.If the pair was CD,however,then EF would be correct. Apes and monkeys have learned RMTS,but scientists wanted to know if crows could do it,too.An international team led by Edward Wasserman from the University of Iowa in the US first trained two hooded crows to match things by color1,shape,and number in what is called"identity matching-to-sample(IMTS)",then moved onto RMTS. For the IMTS test,the birds were put in a cage with a plastic tray that had three cards and two cups in it.The card in the middle was the sample card.The cups on either side were covered with the other two cards:One was the same as the sample (in the color1,shape,or number of shapes pictured),while the other wasn't.The cup with the card that matched the sample card contained two wormsto eat. In the second part of the experiment,the birds were tested with relational matching pairs.A card with two same-sized circles,for example,meant they should pick the test card with two same-sized squares and not two different-sized circles.The birds did well in the more difficult test and picked the correct card more than three quarters of the time,Science News reports. Wasserman was surprised that crows were able to solve the problem without any training in RMTS."What the crows have done is extraordinary,"he said in a news release."Honestly,if it was only by force that the crows showed this learning,then it would have been an impressive result.But this was spontaneous." So perhaps it's time to stop... In the RMTS test,if the birds were given the sample card with two same-sized triangles,they had to pick the test card with . A) two same-sized circles B) one circle and one triangle C) two different-sized circles D) two different-sized triangles
A
(Question)
Now let's look ourselves as a species in relation to ecosystem balance.Modern scientists believe that humankind, like other animals, evolved through millions of years of changes and adaptations to the environment and that our most direct evolutionary ancestor was probably an earlier species of the primate(monkey, ape) group. Despite this similarity with other creatures, however, the evolution of humankind differs from that of other species in one important and unique way. In other species, evolution has led to specialization, both in the species abilities and in its place within the environmental structure. For example, the giraffe is much adapted to feeding on treetops, but it is also specialized and thus limited to feeding on trees and shrubs. Only with great difficulty can it bend down to graze on the ground. Similarly, the anteater is extremely well adapted to eating ants but is unable to catch or eat other animals. The same is true for countless other species. For humankind it is opposite. Our evolution had led to a very generalized ability. Our highly developed intelligence and ability to make and handle tools mean that we can do almost anything. Humans evolved in such a way that we are able to move into every environment on Earth and even into space. No natural competitor offers great resistance, and other natural enemies such as disease have been controlled. Said another way, we see in humankind a great imbalance between biological potential and environmental resistance. The result is the rapidly increasing world population, frequently referred to as the population explosion. Further, to support our growing population, natural ecosystems are being increasingly displaced by human habitations, agriculture, and other human supporting activities. According to the passage, primate includes such animals as _ . A) monkeys and anteaters B) tigers and apes C) apes and monkeys D) monkeys and giraffes
(Answer)
C
Ques: Starting next month, people in prefix = st1 /Washingtonwill be able to rent a bicycle day and night with a membership card. A new company called SmartBike will make 120 bicycles available at 10 spots in the city. "There's a lot of stress on our transit systems," said Jim Sebastian, who manages bicycle and pedestrian programs forWashington's Transportation Department. Offering another choice, Mr Sebastian said, "It will help us reduce traffic jam and pollution, as well as parking problems." In the deal, the company will have the advertising rights in the city's bus shelters and it has reached a similar deal with San Erancisco. Chicago andPortland,Ore., are also considering the program. For a $40 annual membership fee, SmartBike users can check out three-speed bicycles for three hours at a time. The program will not provide helmets but does encourage their use. Similar programs have proved successful in Europe. The Ve1ib program in Paris and Bicing in Barcelona, Spain, both started around a year ago and already offer thousands of bicycles. Mr Sebastian, who started trying to bring bike-sharing to Washington even before its success in Paris and Barcelona, said he believed that the program could grow within a year and hoped that it would eventually offer 1 000 bicycles. "But studies showed that many bikes would get stolen in a day, or within a few weeks," said Paul DeMaio, a Washington-area bike-sharing consultant. Improved technology allows programs to better protect bicycles. In Washington, SmartBike users who keep bicycles longer than the three-hour maximum will receive demerits and could eventually lose renting privileges. Bicycles gone for more than 48 hours will be considered lost, with the last user charged a $200 replacement fee. The low cost could be one of the program's major selling points. At GeorgeWashingtonUniversityin Foggy Bottom, one of the program's 10 locations, students were unsure how often they would use SmartBike, but said its price made it worth a try. What will attract the customers most in the program? A) Low price. B) Great convenience. C) New idea. D) High quality.
Ans:
A