高考真题2024年天津市阅读C-“狗眼看人”
Getting the “side-eye” look from your dog can make it seem like they are making a judgement about you, and some new studies suggest they really could be.
The ability to judge others’ intentions is an indicator of possessing “theory of mind” which was once thought to be unique to humans. However, new studies have shown that dogs can read human behaviour and have a preference to people who are more friendly or generous with food.
One such study published in 2023 aimed to see if dogs can tell the difference between humans who are “unwilling” or “unable” to give them a treat. 96 dogs were involved in both “unwilling” and “unable” scenarios (情境) designed for the study. Both scenarios involved a dog being placed on one side of a glass screen with small holes in it at nose-height, and an experimenter standing on the other. In the ‘unwilling’ scenario, the experimenter would hang a piece of sausage in front of the screen in a ‘teasing’ (戏耍的) manner, and approach one of the holes. But instead of passing it through the hole to the dog, they would then pull it out of its reach. For the “unable” scenario, the experimenter would again move the treat towards the hole while the dog watched, but “accidentally” drop it before they could pass it through.
The researchers observed that the dogs were much more patient, making more eye contact and staying closer to the screen after the “unable” scenario played out. In the “unwilling” scenario, however, the dogs looked at the experimenter less often, sat, lay down and wandered around more frequently.
Another study from 2021 tested for “theory of mind” in dogs in a similar way, but the dogs were able to walk round the screen to obtain the treat after witnessing the experimenter’s “unwilling” or “unable” behaviour. The main finding was that the dogs approached the experimenter significantly sooner in the unable scenario than in the unwilling scenario.
However, the researchers of the 2023 study challenged that the food dropped on the floor in the clumsy (笨拙的) manner might have motivated the dogs to approach the experimenter considering that they probably often obtain food dropped on the floor in their daily lives.
Now, more evidence has been provided that dogs distinguish between similar actions associated with different intentions. But how exactly they acquire such intention-reading abilities will be an exciting topic for future research.
1.1.What is one of the new research findings according to Paragraph 2?
A Dogs also have “theory of mind”.
B Dogs prefer food from generous people.
C Human behaviours are mostly intentional.
D Friendly animals can get food more easily.
解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据第二段可知，判断他人意图的能力是拥有“心智理论”的一个指标，而新的研究表明，狗可以读懂人类的行为，由此可知，新研究发现狗应该也有“心智理论”。故选A。
2.2.What did the experimenter do in the “unwilling” scenario in the 2023 study?
A They acted awkwardly while feeding the dog.
B They pretended to walk slowly away from the dog.
C They teased the dog by fixing the treat to the screen.
D They pulled the sausage beyond the dog’s reach.
解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第三段中的“In the ‘unwilling’ scenario, the experimenter would hang a piece of sausage in front of the screen in a ‘teasing’ (戏耍的) manner, and approach one of the holes. But instead of passing it through the hole to the dog, they would then pull it out of its reach.(在“不情愿”的场景中，实验人员会以“戏弄”的方式在屏幕前挂一块香肠，并接近其中一个洞。但他们不是把食物从洞里递给狗，而是把食物拉到狗够不着的地方。)”可知，在不情愿场景中，实验人员不是把实物给狗吃，而是把食物拉到一个狗够不着的地方。故选D。
3.3.How did the dogs of the 2023 study respond to the “unable” behaviour?
A By moving closer to the experimenter.
B By keeping wandering around.
C By ignoring the experimenter.
D By lying still on the floor.
解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据第四段中的“The researchers observed that the dogs were much more patient, making more eye contact and staying closer to the screen after the “unable” scenario played out.(研究人员观察到，在“无能为力”的场景结束后，狗狗们更有耐心了，他们会进行更多的眼神交流，并离屏幕更近。)”可知，在“无能为力”的场景结束后，狗会和实验人员进行眼神交流，并且离屏幕更近，由此可知，狗对“无能为力”的行为回应是更愿意接近实验者。故选A。
4.4.How does the experiment design of the 2021 study differ from that of 2023?
A The dogs can watch the experimenter.
B The dogs can go to the other side of the screen.
C The dogs’ responses are under close observation.
D The dogs’ habitual behaviours are under analysis.
解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据倒数第三段中的“Another study from 2021 tested for “theory of mind” in dogs in a similar way, but the dogs were able to walk round the screen to obtain the treat after witnessing the experimenter’s “unwilling” or “unable” behaviour.(2021年的另一项研究以类似的方式测试了狗的“心智理论”，但狗在目睹了实验者的“不愿意”或“无能为力”行为后，能够绕着屏幕走，以获得奖励。)”可知，2021年的研究中，在狗目睹了实验者的“不愿意”或者“无能为力”后，能绕着屏幕走以获取奖励，由此可知，2021年的研究中狗的习惯行为在分析中。故选D。
5.5.What do the dogs’ different responses in “unwilling” and “unable” scenarios suggest?
A Dogs can tell “being friendly” from “being mean”.
B Dogs’ intelligence is gradually evolving.
C Dogs’ intentions can be easily identified.
D Dogs are a lot more emotional than other animals.
解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据第二段中的“However, new studies have shown that dogs can read human behaviour and have a preference to people who are more friendly or generous with food.(然而，新的研究表明，狗可以读懂人类的行为，并且更喜欢那些更友好或对食物更慷慨的人。)”可知，新研究表明，狗能够读懂人类的行为，且喜欢那些更友好或者对食物更慷慨的人，进而在下文中的对该项研究过程进行阐述，由此可知，狗在“不愿意”和“无能为力”情况下的不同反应说明了狗能分辨“友善”和“刻薄”。故选A。