It is easy for us to tell our friends from our enemies. But can other animals do

It is easy for us to tell our friends from ourenemies. But can other animals do the same? Elephants can! They can use theirsense of vision and smell to tell the difference between people who pose athreat and those who do not.

In Kenya, researchers have found that elephants reactdifferently to clothing worn by men of the Maasai and Kamba ethnic groups.Young Maasai men spear animals and thus pose a threat to elephants; Kamba menare mainly farmers and are not a danger to elephants.

In an experiment conducted by animal scientists,elephants were first presented with clean clothing or clothing that had beenworn for five days by either a Maasai or a Kamba man. When the elephantsdetected the smell of clothing worn by a Maasai man, they moved away from thesmell faster and took longer to relax than when they detected the smells ofeither clothing worn by Kamba men or clothing that had not been worn at all.

Garment color also plays a role, though in a differentway. In the same study, when the elephants saw red clothing not worn before,they reacted angrily, as red is typically worn by Maasai men. Rather thanrunning away as they did with the smell, the elephants acted aggressivelytoward the red clothing.

The researchers believe that the elephants’ emotionalreactions are due to their different interpretations of the smells and thesights. Smelling a potential danger means that a threat is nearby and the bestthing to do is run away and hide. Seeing a potential threat without its smellmeans that risk is low. Therefore, instead of showing fear and running away,the elephants express their anger and become aggressive.

1.According to the passage, which of the followingstatements is true?

A. Maasai people are a threat to elephants.

B. Kamba people raise elephants for farming.

C. Both Kamba and Maasai people are elephant hunters.

D. Both Kamba and Maasai people traditionally wear redclothing.

2.How did the elephants react to smell in the study?

A. They attacked a man with the smell of new clothing.

B. They needed time to relax when smelling somethingunfamiliar.

C. They became anxious when they smelled Kamba-scentedclothing.

D. They were frightened and ran away when they smelledtheir enemies.

3.What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Elephants attack people who wear red clothing.

B. Elephants use sight and smell to detect danger.

C. Scientists are now able to control elephants’emotions. 

D. Some Kenyan tribes understand elephants’ emotionsvery well.

4.What can be inferred about the elephant’s behaviorfrom this passage?

A. Elephants learn from their experiences.

B. Elephants have sharper sense of smell than sight.

C. Elephants are more intelligent than other animals.

D. Elephants tend to attack rather than escape when indanger.

试题答案

【答案】

1.A

2.D

3.B

4.A

【解析】

试题