Dogs wag their tails in different directions depending on whether they are excit

Dogs wag(摇摆) their tails in different directionsdepending on whether they are excited and wanting to move forward or threatenedand thinking of moving back,a study has found.

Researchers in Italy examined the tailwagging behaviour of 30 dogs,catching their responses to a range of stimuli(刺激物) with video cameras.Toconduct the study they chose 15 male dogs and 15 female ones aged between oneand six years.The dogs were all family pets whose owners had allowed them totake part in the experiment at Ban University.The dogs were placed in a largewooden box with an opening at the front to allow for them to view variousstimuli.They were tested one at a time.

The researchers led by Professor GiorgioVallortigara of the University of Trieste found that when the dogs were showntheir owners—a positive experience—their tails wagged energetically to theright side.When they were shown an unfamiliar human they wagged to theright,but with somewhat less enthusiasm.The appearance of a cat again caused aright-hand side wag,although with less intensity again.The appearance ofa large unfamiliar dog,similar to a German shepherd,changed the direction oftail wagging to the left.Reseachers supposed the dog was thinking of movingback.When the dogs were not shown any stimuli they tended to wag their tails tothe left,suggesting they preferred company.While the changes in the tailwagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video,it was thought thatthe findings could help people judge the mood(心情) of dogs.Computer and video systems,forexample,could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood ofdogs that they were required to approach.

1.The video cameras were used to catch thedogs’ responses because _______.

A.it was easier to catch the dogs’ responsechanges in the tail wagging

B.the dogs were put in the wooden boxes andtested one at a time

C.they enabled the dogs’ owners to knowabout their dogs’ habit

D.the dogs wagged their tails in differentdirections when they were in different moods

2.The underlined word “intensity” in thepassage means _______.

A.surprise                              B.worry

C.excitement                                D.interest

3.When there are no stimuli,a dog will_______.

A.wag to the left                           B.wagto the right

C.not wag at all                            D.wagto the left and then to the right

4.The underlined word “they” refers to_______.

A.the dogs                              B.thetrainers

C.the systems                               D.theresearchers

5.The purpose of doing the experiment is_______.

A.to train dogs for their owners

B.to help people judge the mood of dogs

C.to help dogs find company

D.to help people choose their pet dogs

试题答案

【答案】

1.A

解析：这是一道细节判断题。根据最后一段“While the changes in the tailwagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video,it was thought thatthe findings could help people judge the mood of dogs.”可以推断出如果没有摄像机的帮助，人们很难发现狗尾巴摇动的变化，所以摄像机是使得观察更加容易。

2.C

解析：这是一道词义猜测题。第三段是几个排比的句子，画线词和前面的“energetically”和“enthusiasm”都是同义词。

3.A

解析：这是一道细节判断题。根据第三段“When the dogs were not shownany stimuli they tended to wag their tails to the left...”可知没有刺激的时候，狗的尾巴是摇向左边的。

4.B

解析：这是一道指代题。根据“Computer and video systems,forexample,could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood ofdogs that they were required to approach.”approach 是“接近”的意思，由于是驯狗师被要求接近狗而不能是狗被要求接近驯狗师，所以they指代的是dog trainers。

5.B

解析：这是一道归纳题。根据最后一段“While the changes in the tailwagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video,it was thought thatthe findings could help people judge the mood of dogs.”可以推断出这个研究可以帮助人们判断狗的情绪。