Question

Dogs wag(搖擺) their tails in different directions depending on whether they are excited and wanting to move forward or threatened and thinking of moving back,a study has found.

Researchers in Italy examined the tail wagging behaviour of 30 dogs,catching their responses to a range of stimuli(刺激物) with video cameras.To conduct the study they chose 15 male dogs and 15 female ones aged between one and six years.The dogs were all family pets whose owners had allowed them to take part in the experiment at Ban University.The dogs were placed in a large wooden box with an opening at the front to allow for them to view various stimuli.They were tested one at a time.

The researchers led by Professor Giorgio Vallortigara of the University of Trieste found that when the dogs were shown their owners—a positive experience—their tails wagged energetically to the right side.When they were shown an unfamiliar human they wagged to the right,but with somewhat less enthusiasm.The appearance of a cat again caused a right-hand side wag,although with less intensity again.The appearance of a large unfamiliar dog,similar to a German shepherd,changed the direction of tail wagging to the left.Reseachers supposed the dog was thinking of moving back.When the dogs were not shown any stimuli they tended to wag their tails to the left,suggesting they preferred company.While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video,it was thought that the findings could help people judge the mood(心情) of dogs.Computer and video systems,for example,could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood of dogs that they were required to approach.

The video cameras were used to catch the dogs’ responses because _______.

A.it was easier to catch the dogs’ response changes in the tail wagging

B.the dogs were put in the wooden boxes and tested one at a time

C.they enabled the dogs’ owners to know about their dogs’ habit

D.the dogs wagged their tails in different directions when they were in different moods

The underlined word “intensity” in the passage means _______.

A.surprise                                                        B.worry

C.excitement                                                    D.interest

When there are no stimuli,a dog will _______.

A.wag to the left                                              B.wag to the right

C.not wag at all                                                D.wag to the left and then to the right

The underlined word “they” refers to _______.

A.the dogs                                                       B.the trainers

C.the systems                                                   D.the researchers

The purpose of doing the experiment is _______.

A.to train dogs for their owners

B.to help people judge the mood of dogs

C.to help dogs find company

D.to help people choose their pet dogs

Answer 1

【小題1】A

【小題2】C

【小題3】A

【小題4】B

【小題5】B

解析:

【小題1】這是一道細節判斷題。根據最后一段“While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video,it was thought that the findings could help people judge the mood of dogs.”可以推斷出如果沒有攝像機的幫助，人們很難發現狗尾巴搖動的變化，所以攝像機是使得觀察更加容易。

【小題2】這是一道詞義猜測題。第三段是幾個排比的句子，畫線詞和前面的“energetically”和“enthusiasm”都是同義詞。

【小題3】這是一道細節判斷題。根據第三段“When the dogs were not shown any stimuli they tended to wag their tails to the left...”可知沒有刺激的時候，狗的尾巴是搖向左邊的。

【小題4】這是一道指代題。根據“Computer and video systems,for example,could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood of dogs that they were required to approach.”approach 是“接近”的意思，由于是馴狗師被要求接近狗而不能是狗被要求接近馴狗師，所以they指代的是dog trainers。

【小題5】這是一道歸納題。根據最后一段“While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video,it was thought that the findings could help people judge the mood of dogs.”可以推斷出這個研究可以幫助人們判斷狗的情緒。