What is the smartest animal on the planet? Many people think of elephants and their incrediblememories or dolphins with their large, complex brains. One of the most surprisingly clever animals is a black bird seen almost everywhere in the world—the crow. These birds’ sophisticated brains are capable of performing amazing feats of memory and problem-solving.
For one thing, crows can tell us apartand even remember their interactionswith us. In one experiment, a scientist wore a caveman mask before trapping some crows to put bands on their legs. The crows were not pleased with being trapped, and after being released, they made loud, harshsounds at the person in the mask. Over several years, anyone in a caveman mask triggered hostile responses from crows, whether they were previously captured or not. This showed that crows not only have excellent memory and facial recognition, but they can also pass on information to other members of their group.
The ways crows solve problems have also fascinated researchers. In Japan and California, crows have been observedreading traffic signals and dropping nuts on the road during red lights. After the light turns green and cars run the nuts over, the crows collect the cracked nuts during the following red light. New Caledonian crows also make and use hooks to get insects out of small holes. Another study reveals this speciesof crow possesses the ability to construct complex tools by combining smaller components. This capacity is primarily seen in apes and humans, making the crow’s behavior particularly exceptional.
Next time you see a flock of crows, consider their amazing brains. It may even be in your interest tomake friends with these clever black birds.
1. What was the purpose of the caveman mask in the first experiment?
(A) To help researchers hide from crows.
(B) To make the crows in the experiment feel scared.
(C) To see if crows could remember a certain face.
(D) To find out whether crows liked modern people more.
2. According to the passage, what do crows make use of traffic lights for?
(A) Collecting nuts.
(B) Finding hidden nuts.
(C) Breaking shells of nuts.
(D) Picking out high-quality nuts.
3. Whose statement best matches the description of New Caledonian crows in the passage?
(A)
Ethan
The crows make tools to crack nuts open.
(B)
Taylor
The crows use sticks to build their nests.
(C)
Luna
The crows drop objects in holes to kill insects.
(D)
Maya
The crows bend a piece of wire into a curve to grab bugs.
4. What does the author mean by “This capacity” in the third paragraph?
(A) The tool-making skill.
(B) The skill of gathering nuts.
(C) The facial-recognition ability.
(D) The ability to read traffic signals.
單字片語整理
Words in Use
●
apart
[əˋpɑrt]
adv. 分開
Kathy and her husband decided to live apart for a while.
凱西和她老公決定分居一段時間。
John occasionally goes hiking. Apart from that, he hardly has any hobbies.
約翰偶爾會健行。除此之外，他幾乎沒有什麼嗜好。
It is quite hard to tell these ducklings apart.
要分辨出這些小鴨間的差異相當不容易。
