Dogs wag(摇摆) their tails in different directions depending on whether they are excited and wanting to move forward or threatened and thinking of moving back,a study has found.
Researchers in Italy examined the tail wagging behaviour of 30 dogs,catching their responses to a range of stimuli(刺激物) with video cameras.To conduct the study they chose 15 male dogs and 15 female ones aged between one and six years.The dogs were all family pets whose owners had allowed them to take part in the experiment at Ban University.The dogs were placed in a large wooden box with an opening at the front to allow for them to view various stimuli.They were tested one at a time.
The researchers led by Professor Giorgio Vallortigara of the University of Trieste found that when the dogs were shown their owners—a positive experience—their tails wagged energetically to the right side.When they were shown an unfamiliar human they wagged to the right,but with somewhat less enthusiasm.The appearance of a cat again caused a right-hand side wag,although with less intensity again.The appearance of a large unfamiliar dog,similar to a German shepherd,changed the direction of tail wagging to the left.Reseachers supposed the dog was thinking of moving back.When the dogs were not shown any stimuli they tended to wag their tails to the left,suggesting they preferred pany.While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video,it was thought that the findings could help people judge the mood(心情) of dogs.Computer and video systems,for example,could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood of dogs that they were required to approach.
【小题1】The video cameras were used to catch the dogs’ responses because .A．it was easier to catch the dogs’ response changes in the tail waggingB．the dogs were put in the wooden boxes and tested one at a timeC．they enabled the dogs’ owners to know about their dogs’ habitD．the dogs wagged their tails in different directions when they were in different moods【小题2】The underlined word “intensity” in the passage means .A．surpriseB．worryC．excitementD．interest【小题3】When there are no stimuli,a dog will .A．wag to the leftB．wag to the rightC．not wag at allD．wag to the left and then to the right【小题4】The underlined word “they” refers to .A．the dogsB．the trainersC．the systemsD．the researchers【小题5】The purpose of doing the experiment is .A．to train dogs for their ownersB．to help people judge the mood of dogsC．to help dogs find panyD．to help people choose their pet dogsA
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(答案→)A
解析：
【小题1】这是一道细节判断题。根据最后一段“While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video,it was thought that the 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。
【小题2】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。
【小题3】这是一道细节判断题。根据第三段“When the dogs were not shown any 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。
【小题4】这是一道指代题。根据“Computer and video systems,for example,could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood of dogs 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。
【小题5】这是一道归纳题。根据最后一段“While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video,it was thought that the 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。