首页
登录
职称英语
Man, even in the lower stages of development, possesses a faculty which, for
Man, even in the lower stages of development, possesses a faculty which, for
游客
2023-09-11
82
管理
问题
Man, even in the lower stages of development, possesses a faculty which, for want of a better name, I shall call Number Sense. This faculty permits him to recognize that something has changed in a small collection when, without his direct knowledge, an object has been removed from or added to the collection.
Number sense should not be confused with counting, which involves a rather intricate mental process. Counting, so far as we know, is an attribute exclusively human, whereas some animal species seem to possess an elementary number sense similar to our own. At least, such is the opinion of competent observers of animal behavior, and the theory is supported by a weighty nass of evidence.
Many birds, for instance, possess such a number sense, If a nest contains four eggs, one can safely be taken; but when two are removed, the bird generally deserts. In some unaccountable way the bird can distinguish two from three. But this faculty is by no means confined to birds, most striking instance we know is that of the insect called the "solitary wasp." The mother wasp lays her eggs in individual cells and provides each egg with a number of live caterpillares (毛虫) on which the young feed when hatched. Now, the number of victims is remarkably constant for a given species of wasp. Some species provide 5, others, 12, others again as high as 24 caterpillars per cell. But most remarkable is the case of the Genus Eumenus, a variety in which the male is much smaller than the female. In some mysterious way the mother knows whether the egg will produce a male or a femalc and divide the quantity of food accordingly; she does not change the species or size of the prey, but if the egg is male, she supplies it with five victims; if female, with teem.
The regularity in the action of the wasp makes this last case less convincing than the one which follows. Here the action of the bird seems to border on the conscious.
A landowner was determined to shoot a crew which made its nest in the watchtower of his estate. Repeatedly he tried to surprise the bird. But in vain: at the approach of man the crow would leave its nest. From a distant tree it would watchfully wait until the man had left the tower and then return to its nest. One day the landowner hit upon an idea: two men entered the tower, one remained within, the other came out and went on. But the bird was not deceived: it kept away until the man within came out. The experiment was repeated on the succeeding days with two, three, then four men, yet without success. Finally, five men were sent: as before, all entered the tower, and one remained while the other four came out and went away. Here the crow lost count. Unable to distinguish between four and five, it promptly returned to its nest. [br] According to the passage, number sense in animals appears to be ______.
选项
A、restricted to about one dozen species or less
B、present chiefly in winged creatures
C、similar to a faculty possessed ty men in all stages of development
D、as intricate as counting
答案
C
解析
题干信息位于第二段第2句中对动物与人的Number Sense能力关系的分析中,“然而有些动物拥有基本的Number Sense,与人类非常相似”。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3003497.html
相关试题推荐
Aftermorethan40yearsofparalleldevelopment,theinformationandlife
Aftermorethan40yearsofparalleldevelopment,theinformationandlife
Aftermorethan40yearsofparalleldevelopment,theinformationandlife
Aftermorethan40yearsofparalleldevelopment,theinformationandlife
Aftermorethan40yearsofparalleldevelopment,theinformationandlife
Withtherapiddevelopmentofeconomy,oursocietyis,ingeneral,becoming
Withtherapiddevelopmentofeconomy,oursocietyis,ingeneral,becoming
Withtherapiddevelopmentofeconomy,oursocietyis,ingeneral,becoming
Theroleofmanagerisanothercriticalcomponentinthedevelopmentofano
Theroleofmanagerisanothercriticalcomponentinthedevelopmentofano
随机试题
Completetheformbelow.WriteNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSAND/ORANUMBERforeach
Hisdominant______wastotakeallthingsintoearnestconsideration.A、traitB、
Idon’teverwanttotalkaboutbeingawomanscientistagain.Therewasat
甲公司拟收购丙公司100%的股权。丙公司为一家装备制造企业,以自主研发为基础,在
下列有关RSI的描述,正确的有( )。 Ⅰ其参数为天数,一般有5日、9日、1
A.抗-HBe B.HBeAg C.抗-HBs D.HBsAg E.抗-
广州甲公司与澳门乙商户订立了食品供货合同,甲乙公司因付款问题产生争议,并诉诸内地
上皮异常增生的病理变化不包括A.基底细胞呈栅栏状排列 B.基底细胞极性紊乱
(2020年真题)某企业为增值税一般纳税人,本期购入一批商品100千克,进货
肾上腺素能神经元的轴突末梢分支上有大量曲张体,是递质释放部位。神经冲动抵达曲张体
最新回复
(
0
)