In the past few decades, remarkable findings have been made in ethology, the study of animal social behavior. Earlier scientists had (21) that nonhuman social life was almost totally instinctive or fixed by genetics. Much more careful observation has shown that (22) variation occurs among the social ties of most species, showing that learning is a part of social life. That is, the (23) are not solely fixed by the genes (24) , the learn ing that occurs is often at an early age in a process that is called imprinting. Imprinting is clearly (25) instinctive, but it is not quite like the learning of humans; it is something in between the two. An illustration best (26) the nature of imprinting. Once, biologists thought that ducklings followed the mother duck because of instincts. Now we know that, shortly (27) they hatch, ducklings fix (28) any object about the size of a duck and will henceforth follow it. So ducklings may follow a basketball or a briefcase if these are (29) for the mother duck at the time when imprinting occurs. Thus, social ties can be considera bly (30) , even ones that have a considerable base (31) by genetics.Even among the social insects something like imprinting (32) influence social behav ior. For example, biologists once thought bees communicated with others purely (33) in stinct. But, in examining a "dance" that bees do to indicate the distance and direction of a pollen source, observers found that bees raised in isolation could not communicate effec tively. At a higher level, the genetic base seems to be much more for an all-purpose learn ing rather than the more specific responses of imprinting. Chimpanzees, for instance, gen erally (34) very good mother but Jane Goodali reports that some chimps carry the infant upside down or (35) fail to nurture the young. 27()
A. by
B. out of
C. from
D. through
The idea()we invited him yesterday is quite good.
A. that
B. what
C. which
D. when
W: Why didn’t you make an appointment to see the doctor last week when you first twisted your ankleM: The injury didn’t seem serious then. I decided to go today, because my foot still hurt when I put my weigh on it. Why didn’t the man see the doctor earlier()
A. His injury kept him at home.
B. He didn’t think it necessary.
C. He was too weak to see the doctor.
D. He failed to make an appointment.
W: Now let’s take a look at your presentation about the American writer John Steinbeck.M: John Steinbeck is one of America’s greatest writers. Many of his novels and short stories are about people with troubles and problems. "Travels with Charley" is different; it’s a book about traveling around the United States. John Steinbeck and Charley traveled together from New York to Maine and then to the Midwest. From the Midwest, they went west to California. On their way back east, they visited Texas. Finally, John and Charley traveled through the South, and back up north to New York.John Steinbeck’s journey took three months to complete. When he got home, he wrote about what he saw and heard when he crossed the country. He decided that Americans were wonderful people, and that the United States was full of peaceful towns, great cities, huge mountains, and beautiful parks. Charley seemed to enjoy the trip, although he didn’t say or write anything. You might wonder why Charley had no ideas about America. The reason is: he was John Steinbeck’s dog, a big black dog.W: Well, thank you for the presentation and the humour too. What does the conversation tell us about Steinbeck()
A. He spent three months writing "Travels with Charley".
B. He enjoyed his travels around the United States.
C. He was fond of writing about his travels.
D. He didn’t enjoy the trip as much as Charley.