Why do we call the sounds of birds, whales and insects s Wap版

试题详情及答案解析

Why do we call the sounds of birds, whales and insects songs? Because something about what we hear seems to have beauty, and some mellifluous (动听的) structure that touches us more than any possible message. Though for many years science has cautioned against hearing too much of what we humans would like to hear when we are trying to understand animal sounds, the musicality in some sounds is now starting to have an effect on the science of animal communication itself.
Many specific animal sounds express aggression(进攻), warning, or food, but such practical explanations are tough to apply to the long songs. Some whale songs can go on for up to 24 hours. The usual explanation for birdsong is that the birds are singing to attract mates or to announce the limits of their area. But the audience is not always evident for these long love songs, which have many of the elements related to human music: rhythm, melody (旋律), themes, repeating patterns, organization, variety, interest — all adding up to something humans have found beautiful for thousands of years. “Birds taught man,” wrote Roman poet and philosopher (哲学家) Lucretius, “and taught them songs before their art began.”
What is the scientific value of such sounds? The advantage of hearing music in nature and trying to reach out to nature through music is that though we don’t fully understand it, it is so accessible.
Music refuses explanation, but it clearly expresses something deep and important, which humans can’t live without. Finding music in the sound of birds, whales and other animals makes the farther frontiers(边缘) of nature see much closer to us.
【小题1】The underlined phrase “cautioned against” in Paragraph 1 probably means “_______”.

A．warned against

B．fought against

C．been filled with

D．been satisfied with

【小题2】According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A．We call the songs of birds’ sounds because there is beauty that sounds pleasant to the ears.

B．It is believed that birds are singing to attract mates or to warn the limits of their areas.

C．The songs of a bird really carry an emotional message such as “aggression and caring”.

D．It is not very long for people to know that birdsong does have something beautiful.

【小题3】By saying “Birds taught man”, what did Lucretius mean?

A．People teach rhythm, melody, themes, repeating patterns to birds.

B．Birds can teach people how to go on singing a song up to 24 hours.

C．Human music has, in fact, come from the sounds of birds in nature.

D．Humans learned something beautiful from the sounds of many animals.

【小题4】From the passage we know that music in nature ________.

A．can’t be explained at all

B．is very easy to pick up and listen to

C．can’t be understood at all

D．is of no scientific value

答案：【小题1】A
【小题2】D
【小题3】D
【小题4】B

试题分析: 我们可以从自然界中听到许多鸟声或其它动物的声音，虽然我们不能够完全的理解，但我们是可以接触到，可以利用的。
【小题1】A 词意猜测。根据第一段提到Though for many years science has cautioned against hearing too much of what we humans would like to hear when we are trying to understand animal sounds, the musicality in some sounds is now starting to have an effect on the science of animal communication itself尽管许多年来当我们试着理解动物的声音时科学家警告我们已经听太多动物的声音，这些声音的音乐性正在开始影响动物的交流，故选A，警告，反对。
【小题2】D 推断题。根据第二段提到But the audience is not always evident for these long love songs, which have many of the elements related to human music可知观众还不了解鸟的叫声与人类的音乐之间有许多共同的元素，故选D项。
【小题3】D 句意猜测。根据第二段提到and taught them songs before their art began是人类从鸟声中学到一些内容，故选D项。
【小题4】B 推断题。根据最后一段提到Finding music in the sound of birds, whales and other animals makes the farther frontiers(边缘) of nature see much closer to us可知发现鸟声，鲸鱼和其它动物声音中的音乐性在我们周围，到处可见，故选B项。
考点：科普类阅读。

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