10.2 考研英语阅读题源外刊模拟试题【难度5.5&6.2】

Section II Reading Comprehension 

Part A 

Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. 

Text 2

Zoos are beginning to give their residents technology to play with. One has offered an arctic fox a programmable puzzle box that releases kibble when its wheel is turned, and two black bears a motion-sensing machine that blows scented bubbles. Another has built a robotic arm for its polar bears that extends a peanut-butter-smeared leaf, imitating prey poking its head from the ice.

The fox makes the case for such experiments. He lives alone in an enclosure with little of the excitement of the wild; he was usually found dozing, and ordinary toys rarely held his attention for more than a few minutes. Given the puzzle box, he trotted over, sniffed it and spun its wheel again and again until food fell out. His keepers, one of whom had feared animals glued to tablets, watched with obvious pride.

The reasoning is that captivity, however good the care, shrinks an animal's world. Technology may seem to make that world more artificial, but it may actually encourage more wild-like behaviour. Decades ago a scientist built machines that taught monkeys to operate a food dispenser, but colleagues intent on reproducing natural habitats found them too artificial. Researchers now think that how well surroundings serve an animal matters more than how natural they look. Unlike a simple chew toy, a programmable device can change its schedule or grow harder as the animal masters it, giving a creature in a monotonous world a little more control and unpredictability.

Yet no one can ask an animal whether it is enjoying itself. Specialists avoid words such as enjoyment and boredom, which they regard as human concepts, but still try to measure something similar, treating the animals' actions as a kind of code. They look for behaviours that captivity tends to suppress, such as foraging or walking, note whether an animal's ears lift or its eyes fix on a device, and watch for subtle signs of stress. One simple test is whether it returns to the device or runs away.

Even so, engagement is not the same as fulfilment. An animal that stares at a screen for long periods may simply be attracted by its lights, and virtual prey that can never be caught may frustrate predatory instincts, much as a laser dot can infuriate a cat. Devices may also absorb so much attention that an animal does little else, or provoke competition within a group; some zoos have banned smartphones near great-ape enclosures for fear of excessive screen time.

Some researchers worry about addiction or a distorted sense of reality. But projecting people's troubled relationship with technology onto animals may needlessly restrict research, since animals could gain the same benefits without suffering the same harms. Researchers feared the fox might become obsessed with his puzzle box; instead it seemed to raise his enthusiasm for activity in general, perhaps reminding him that fun was still possible in his artificial world.

26. The keepers' pride in Paragraph 2 suggests that the fox's behaviourA. made them regret keeping him on his ownB. helped ease a worry about the effects of technologyC. convinced them that all captive animals would react alikeD. surprised them by how quickly he lost interest

27. According to Paragraph 3, what sets a programmable device apart from a simple chew toy?A. Its closer imitation of the animal's natural prey.B. Its record of success in earlier experiments.C. Its greater convenience for keepers to maintain.D. Its ability to adapt to the animal's needs and progress.

28. The phrase "a kind of code" in Paragraph 4 suggests that researchersA. rely on signals that animals deliberately send to keepersB. believe that animal behaviour follows fixed and predictable rulesC. have to interpret what animals do to infer how they feelD. are unable to draw reliable conclusions from animal behaviour

29. It can be inferred from Paragraph 5 that an animal's long attention to a deviceA. does not necessarily show that the animal is fulfilledB. proves that the device matches its natural instinctsC. suggests that the animal is under serious stressD. will permanently reduce its interest in natural activities

30. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?A. Puzzle Boxes and Bubble Machines: Toys for Zoo AnimalsB. Enriching Captivity with Technology: Promise and CautionC. Screens in the Zoo: Why Animals Should Stay OfflineD. Reading Animal Minds: How Scientists Measure Enjoyment

附注：根据历年考研英语真题阅读题源外刊等，摘选最新文章，模拟仿真出题。

参考答案见以下。

Quick look: BDCAB

26.【正确答案】B【解析】题型：推理判断题定位：第二段末句 "His keepers, one of whom had feared animals glued to tablets, watched with obvious pride."分析：饲养员中有人原先担心技术会让动物沉迷屏幕、变得被动。但狐狸主动小跑过去、嗅闻，并反复转动转轮直到食物掉出，这与担忧的画面相反，所以饲养员的自豪说明这一担忧得到了缓解。B项概括了这层推断。干扰项：[A]"后悔让它独自生活"无中生有，原文只交代狐狸独居的事实，没有涉及饲养员的悔意；[C]"确信所有圈养动物反应相同"以偏概全，由一只狐狸的表现推不出对所有动物的结论；[D]"惊讶于它很快失去兴趣"与原文相反，狐狸是一遍遍地转动转轮直到食物掉出。

27.【正确答案】D【解析】题型：细节理解题定位：第三段末句 "Unlike a simple chew toy, a programmable device can change its schedule or grow harder as the animal masters it..."分析：原文用 "Unlike a simple chew toy" 直接点明对比：可编程装置能调整投放时间表，也能随动物熟练程度提高难度，也就是能适应动物的需要与进展，这正是它让动物获得"更多控制与不可预测性"的原因。D项是对该句的抽象概括。干扰项：[A]"更接近自然猎物"张冠李戴，模仿猎物出现在首段北极熊的例子里，不是本段用来区分两者的依据，何况本段还强调环境"看起来是否自然"并不重要；[B]"在早期实验中被证明有效"无中生有，早期科学家的装置只是让猴子学会操作取食机，并被同行以"太人工化"为由否定，原文没有说它们"被证明有效"；[C]"更便于饲养员维护"无中生有，全文未涉及维护与清洁。

28.【正确答案】C【解析】题型：语句含义推理题定位：第四段首两句 "Yet no one can ask an animal whether it is enjoying itself. ... treating the animals' actions as a kind of code."分析：首句交代前提：无法直接询问动物的感受。"code"（密码）的比喻因此是说，研究者只能把动物的行为当作需要"破译"的信号，通过解读行为推断其内在感受。C项准确。干扰项：[A]"依靠动物有意发出的信号"偷换概念，"code"是研究者单方面的解读，并非动物有意向饲养员传递信息；[B]"动物行为遵循固定可预测的规律"望文生义，把"code"误解为规则；[D]"无法得出可靠结论"程度夸大，原文说研究者仍在设法衡量，并给出了具体观察指标（觅食、行走、耳朵与视线反应、是否回到装置前），没有说结论不可靠。

29.【正确答案】A【解析】题型：推理判断题定位：第五段首两句 "Even so, engagement is not the same as fulfilment. An animal that stares at a screen for long periods may simply be attracted by its lights..."分析：作者先明确"投入不等于满足"，再举例说明：动物长时间盯着屏幕，可能只是被灯光吸引。所以"长时间关注"并不必然说明动物得到了满足。A项准确。干扰项：[B]"证明装置契合其本能"与原文相反，原文指出追不到的虚拟猎物反而可能无法满足捕猎本能；[C]"说明动物承受严重压力"无中生有，原文没有把长时间关注与压力挂钩；[D]"将永久削弱对自然活动的兴趣"程度夸大，原文只说装置可能吸走大量注意力，以致动物"没做太多别的事"，并无"永久"之说。

30.【正确答案】B【解析】题型：主旨大意题（标题）定位：全文结构：第一至三段展示尝试与理由，第四、五段讨论衡量困难与风险，末段在担忧与收益之间取平衡分析：全文先列举技术丰容的实例，说明它如何缓解圈养生活的贫乏，再指出难以衡量、参与不等于满足等风险，最后以谨慎乐观收束。B项的 "Promise and Caution" 同时覆盖这两条线索。干扰项：[A]只概括首段的装置举例，以偏概全；[C]"动物应远离屏幕"与全文态度不符，原文的谨慎只针对屏幕类装置的部分风险，末段还提醒不要把人类对科技的忧虑投射到动物身上；[D]只对应第四段的评估方法，且原文强调研究者只能靠行为推断，并不是"读懂动物心思"。

【参考译文】

动物园正开始为园内动物提供可供玩耍的科技装置。某动物园为一只北极狐提供了一个可编程的益智盒——转动轮盘即可掉出食物颗粒；还为两只黑熊提供了一台能吹出带香味气泡的感应装置。另一家动物园则为北极熊制造了一只机械臂，能伸出一片涂有花生酱的叶子，模拟猎物从冰层中探出头来的情景。

那只北极狐的表现有力地证明了此类实验的价值。它独自生活在围栏内，缺乏野外生活那种刺激感；过去它常被发现昏昏欲睡，普通的玩具也很难长时间吸引它的注意力。而当有了益智盒后，它会小跑过去，先嗅一嗅，然后反复转动轮盘，直到食物掉落。饲养员们——其中一人曾担心动物会沉迷于平板电脑——看着这一幕，脸上流露出明显的自豪。

其背后的逻辑在于：无论照料多么精心，圈养环境终究会缩小动物的世界。科技手段看似让这个世界变得更加人工化，实则可能激发动物表现出更多类似野外的行为。几十年前，曾有科学家制造机器教猴子操作食物分配器，但那些致力于复刻自然栖息地的同行却认为这些机器过于人工化。如今，研究人员认为，环境对动物的实际效用远比其外观是否自然重要。与简单的啃咬玩具不同，可编程设备可以改变运作模式或增加难度（随着动物熟练掌握操作），从而让身处单调环境中的动物获得更多的掌控感和不可预测的体验。

然而，没人能直接询问动物是否乐在其中。专家们避免使用“享受”或“无聊”这类词汇，因为他们视其为人类特有的概念；但他们仍试图通过将动物的行为视为某种“密码”来衡量类似的状态。他们关注那些通常会被圈养环境抑制的行为（如觅食或走动），观察动物是否竖起耳朵或注视设备，并留意细微的压力迹象。一个简单的测试标准是：动物是会回到设备旁，还是会逃离。

即便如此，产生互动并不等同于获得满足感。长时间盯着屏幕的动物可能仅仅是被屏幕的光线所吸引；而那些永远无法捕捉到的“虚拟猎物”可能会挫伤动物的捕食本能——就像激光笔的光点会让猫感到烦躁一样。此外，这些设备可能会过度占据动物的注意力，导致它们无暇顾及其他活动，甚至引发群体内部的争抢；出于对动物过度沉迷屏幕的担忧，一些动物园已禁止在类人猿展区附近使用智能手机。

一些研究人员担心这会导致成瘾或扭曲现实感。然而，将人类与科技之间那种充满矛盾的关系投射到动物身上，可能会不必要地限制研究，因为动物完全可能在获得益处的同时，却不遭受同样的负面影响。研究人员曾担心那只狐狸会沉迷于它的益智盒，但结果显示，这反而激发了它对各类活动的兴趣——或许这让它意识到，即便身处人工环境，生活依然充满乐趣。

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