Working with a group of baboons (狒狒) in the Namibian desert, Dr. Alecia Carter of the Department of Zoology, CambridgeUniversityset baboons learning tasks involving a novel food and a familiar food hidden in a box. Some baboons were given the chance to watch another baboon who already knew how to solve the task, while others had to learn for themselves. To work out how brave or anxious the baboons were, Dr Carter presented them either with a novel food or a threat in the form of a model of a poisonous snake.

She found that personality had a major impact on learning. The braver baboons learnt, but the shy ones did not learn the task although they watched the baboon perform the task of finding the novel food just as long as the brave ones did. In effect, despite being made aware of what to do, they were still too shy to do what the experienced baboon did.

The same held true for anxious baboons compared with calm ones. The anxious individuals learnt the task by observing others while those who were relaxed did not, even though they spent more time watching.

This mismatch between collecting social information and using it shows that personality plays a key role in social learning in animals, something that has previously been ignored in studies on how animals learn to do things. The findings are significant because they suggest that animals may perform poorly in cognitive (认知的) tasks not because they aren’t clever enough to solve them, but because they are too shy or nervous to use the social information.

The findings may impact how we understand the formation of culture in societies through social learning. If some individuals are unable to get information from others because they don’t associate with the knowledgeable individuals, or they are too shy to use the information once they have it, information may not travel between all group members, preventing the formation of a culture based on social learning.

1.59. What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A The design of Dr Carter’s research.

B The results of Dr Carter’s research.

C The purpose of Dr Carter’s research.

D The significance of Dr Carter’s research.

解析：选A。【解析】段落大意题。根据第一段前两句Dr Alecia Carter of the Department of Zoology, Cambridge University set baboons learning tasks involving a novel food and a familiar food hidden in a box. Some baboons were given the chance to watch another baboon who already knew how to solve the task, while others had to learn for themselves.可知本段讲述Dr Alecia Carter所进行的研究的设计方案。故选A项。

2.60. According to the research, which baboons are more likely to complete a new learning task?

A Those that have more experience.

B Those that can avoid potential risks.

C Those that like to work independently.

D Those that feel anxious about learning.

解析：选D。【解析】细节理解题。根据第三段第二句The anxious individuals learnt the task by observing others while those who were relaxed did not, even though they spent more time watching.可知那些很焦虑的一组狒狒更急切想学习，所以学得更好，而更可会完成任务。故选D项。

3.61. Which best illustrates the “mismatch” mentioned in Paragraph 4?

A Some baboons are intelligent but slow in learning.

B Some baboons are shy but active in social activities.

C Some baboons observe others but don’t follow them.

D Some baboons perform new tasks but don’t concentrate.

解析：选C。【解析】猜测词义题。根据第三段最后一句The anxious individuals learnt the task by observing others while those who were relaxed did not, even though they spent more time watching.可知一些狒狒虽然用了很长时间来观察，但是并没有学习到或是模仿他们。所以第四段的this mismatch应该指代上文第三段的内容。故选C项。

4.62. Dr. Carter’s findings indicate that our culture might be formed through ______.

A storing information

B learning from each other

C understanding different people

D travelling between social groups

解析：选B。【解析】推理判断题。根据文章最后一段第一句The findings may impact how we understand the formation of culture in societies through social learning和最后一句可知，人们正是通过交换信息等社会学习活动而形成相关文化的。故选B项。