Question

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.

Why does the author refer to Gilbert White’s book in line 2?

A. To contradict the idea that animals can count

B. To provide evidence that some birds are aware of quantities

C. To show how attitudes have changed since 1786

D. To indicate that more research is needed in this field

Answer 1

Đáp án B.

Key words: Gilbert White’s book.

Clue: 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: Trong cuốn sách “Lịch sử Tự nhiên của Selboure” (1786), nhà tự nhiên học Gilbert White kể rằng ông đã lén lấy đi một quả trứng trong tổ chim choi choi và mỗi ngày chim mẹ đều đặt một quả trứng khác vào để bù cho quả trứng đã mất.

A. To contradict the idea that animals can count: để phản bác lại ý kiến rằng động vật có thể đếm

B. To provide evidence that some birds are aware of quantities: để cung cấp bằng chứng rằng một số loài chim nhận thức được số lượng

C. To show how attitudes have changed since 1786: để chỉ ra thái độ đã thay đổi như thế nào kể từ năm 1786.

D. To indicate that more research is needed in this field: để chỉ ra rằng lĩnh vực này cần nhiều nghiên cứu hơn.

Dễ thấy đáp án chính xác là đáp án B.