Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
Animals have an intuitive awareness of quantities. They know without analysis the difference between a number of objects and a smaller number. In his book “The Natural History of Selboure” (1786), the naturalist Gilbert White tells how he surreptitiously removed one egg a day from a plover’s nest, and how the mother laid another egg each day to make up for the missing one. He noted that other species of birds ignore the absence of a single egg but abandon their nests if more than one egg has been removed. It has also been noted by naturalists that a certain type of wasp always provides five - never four, never six -caterpillars for each of their eggs so that their young have something to eat when the eggs hatch. Research has also shown that both mice and pigeons can be taught to distinguish between odd and even numbers of food pieces.
These and similar accounts have led some people to infer that creatures other than humans can actually count. They also point to dogs that have been taught to respond to numerical questions with the correct number of barks, or to horses that seem to solve arithmetic problems by stomping their hooves the proper number of times.
Animals respond to quantities only when they are connected to survival as a species - as in the case of the eggs - or survival as individuals - as in the case of food. There is no transfer to other situations or from concrete reality to the abstract notion of numbers. Animals can “count” only when the objects are present and only when the numbers involved are small - not more than seven or eight. In lab experiments, animals trained to “count” one kind of object were unable to count any other type. The objects, not the numbers, are what interest them. Animals’ admittedly remarkable achievements simply do not amount to evidence of counting, nor do they reveal more than innate instincts, refined by the genes of successive generations, or the results of clever, careful conditioning by trainers.
What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Of all animals, dogs and horses can count best
B. Careful training is required to teach animals to perform tricks involving numbers
C. Although animals may be aware of quantities, they cannot actually count
D. Animals cannot “count” more than one kind of object
Đáp án C.
Key words: main idea, passage.
Clue: Animals respond to quantities only when they are connected to survival as a species – as in the case of the eggs – or survival as individuals – as in the case of food […] Animals can “Count” only when the objects are present and only when the numbers involved are small – not more than seven or eight: Động vật có phản xạ với số lượng chỉ khi chúng được gắn với sự sống như một loài – như trong trường hợp quả trứng – hoặc với sự sống như những cá thể - như trong trường hợp thức ăn […] Động vật có thể “đếm” chỉ khi những vật thể hiện diện và chỉ với những con số nhỏ - không lớn hơn 7 hoặc 8.
Vậy đáp án chính xác là đáp án C. Although animals may be aware of quantities, they cannot actually count: Mặc dù động vật có thể nhận thức được số lượng nhưng chúng không thể đếm thực sự
Các đáp án còn lại không đúng:
A. Of all animals, dogs and horses can count best: Trong các loài động vật, chó và ngựa có thể đếm tốt nhất
B. Careful training is required to teach animals to perform tricks involving numbers: Việc dạy động vật thể hiện những trò mẹo liên quan đến số đòi hòi sự huấn luyện cẩn thận
D. Animals cannot “count” more than one kind of object: Động vật không thể đếm nhiều hơn một loại vật thể.