Certain animals have an intuitive awareness of quantities.They know without analysis the difference between a number of objects ands a smaller number.In his book The Natural History of Selbourne(1786),the naturalist Gilbert White tells how he surreptitiously removed one egg a day to make up 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 nest if more than one egg has been removed.It has also been noted by naturalist 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 human 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 problem by stomping their hooves number of times.
　　Animals respond to quantities only when they are connected to survive as a species-as in the case of the eggs-or survive as individuals-as in the case of food.There is on 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-no 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.Animal's admittedly remarkable achievements simply do not amount to evidence of counting,nor do they reveal more than innate instinct,refined by the genes of successive generations,or the results of clever,careful conditioning by trainers.
　　1、According to the information in the passage,which of the following is LEAST likely to occur as a result of animal's intuitive awareness of quantities?
　　A.A pigeon is more attracted by a box containing two pieces of food than by a box containing one piece.
　　B.When asked by its trainer how old it is,a monkey holds up five fingers.
　　C.When one of its four kittens crawls away,a mother cat misses it and searches for the missing kitten.
　　D.A lion follows one antelope instead of a herd of antelopes because it is easier to hunt a single prey.
　　参考答案：B
　　参考解析：When asked by its trainer how old it is,a monkey holds up five fingers.无论猴子的反应是什么样子，都只是一种反复训练之后的一种本能的反映。而不是真正的说出他的年龄。
　　2、What is the main idea of the passage?
　　A.Careful training is required to teach animals to perform tricks involving numbers
　　B.Animas cannot count more than one kind of object
　　C.of all animals,dogs and horses can count best
　　D.Although some animals may be aware of quantities,they cannot actually count
　　参考答案：D
　　参考解析：文章中介绍了某些动物很惊人的数字能力。但是无论怎样，他们对数字的感觉也只是一种本能。
　　3、The author mentions that all of the following are aware of quantities in some way EXCEpT___.
　　A.plovers
　　B.mice
　　C.caterpillars
　　D.wasps
　　参考答案：C
　　参考解析：It has also been noted by naturalist that a certain type of wasp always provides five-never four,never six-caterpillars for each of their eggs.
　　4、The word"surreptitiously"in line 4 is closest in meaning to ___.
　　A.quickly
　　B.secretly
　　C.occasionally
　　D.stubbornly
　　参考答案：B
　　参考解析：根据上下文以及我们的常识，观察动物的习性是需要很长时间，而且应该是隐蔽的。
　　5、The author refers to Gilbert's book in paragraph 1 in order to___.
　　A.show how attitudes have changed since 1786
　　B.Contradict the idea that animals can count.
　　C.provide evidence that some birds are aware of quantities.
　　D.Indicate that more research is needed in this field.
　　参考答案：C
　　参考解析：作者举这个例子是为了证明他所提出的某些动物能够认知某些东西的数量。
　　参考译文：
　　某些动物对数量有直观的认识。他们不经分析就知道许多物体和较小的物体之间的区别。自然学家吉尔伯特·怀特（Gilbert White）在他的《塞尔伯恩自然史》（1786）一书中，讲述了他是如何秘密地每天取出一个鸡蛋来填补普罗佛的巢穴，以及母亲是如何每天再下一个鸡蛋来弥补丢失的鸡蛋。他指出，其他种类的鸟忽略了一个蛋的缺失，但如果一个以上的蛋被移除，它们就会弃巢而去。自然学家也注意到，某种类型的黄蜂总是为每个卵提供五个而不是四个，而不是六个毛虫，这样它们的幼崽在卵孵化时就有吃的东西。研究还表明，无论是老鼠还是鸽子，都可以学会区分食物碎片的奇数和偶数。
　　这些和类似的说法导致一些人推断，人类以外的生物实际上可以计数。他们还指出，狗被教导以正确的吠叫次数回答数字问题，或马似乎解决算术问题的跺脚次数。
　　只有当动物与作为一个物种的卵细胞或作为个体的卵细胞或作为食物的个体生存时，它们才会对数量作出反应。数字的抽象概念正在向其他情况或从具体的现实转移。动物只有在有物体存在的情况下才能“计数”，而且只有当涉及的数字不超过7或8时才可以“计数”。在实验室实验中，经过训练数数一种物体的动物不能数数任何其他类型的物体。对象，而不是数字，是他们感兴趣的东西。诚然，动物的显著成就并不等于计数的证据，也不仅仅是天生的本能，由后代的基因提炼而成，或是训练者聪明、细心的训练的结果。