澳大利亚研究员给喜鹊装追踪器 喜鹊互相帮忙将其取下

Science experiments don’t always go as planned, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from them. Recently, Australian scientists learned something unexpected about magpies(喜鹊) when they tried to attach trackers(跟踪器) to them to learn more about their habits.

The birds the scientists hoped to study were Australian magpies. They’re medium-sized black and white birds from the same bird “family” as crows and bluejays. They are known to be quite clever. They live in groups of up to 12 birds and work together to defend the area they live in.

The researchers were eager to try a new tracker on the magpies. They hoped to learn more about how far the birds flew and what they did during a normal day. The scientists are concerned that magpies may have a hard time adjusting as the world warms up because of climate change. 

It’s hard to find trackers that work well with small and medium-sized birds. Either the trackers are too heavy, or don’t last long enough. The new trackers were light and could be recharged without wires while they were still on the birds. To keep the trackers on the birds without causing flying problems, the researchers developed a special harness(保护带). It was tough, so it wouldn’t come off by accident. But it had a special release controlled by magnets(磁铁). This was meant to allow the scientists to free the birds from the harnesses at a special magnetic bird feeder, without having to catch the birds again.

There was just one problem—  ▲  . The researchers placed trackers on five magpies using their special harnesses. But just ten minutes after setting up the last magpie, they noticed something unusual: an adult female magpie was helping another magpie get free from its harness. In a few hours, most of the other magpies had also been freed from their harnesses. By the third day, none of the birds had trackers anymore. “The birds outsmarted us,” said Dominique Potvin, one of the scientists.

1.What’s the function of trackers on magpies?

A They can test how clever the magpies are.

B They can help magpies find their nests easily.

C They can know how climate change affects birds.

D They can help scientists learn about magpies’ habits.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第一段的 “to learn more about their habits”可知，澳大利亚科学家试图在喜鹊身上安装追踪器以了解更多关于喜鹊的习性。故选D。

2.What can we know about Magpies according to the passage?

A Magpies are not social animals.

B Magpies are good at playing tricks.

C Magpies and crows are close relatives.

D Magpies make scientists’ research in trouble.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据第二段的 “They’re medium-sized black and white birds from the same bird “family” as crows and bluejays.”可知，喜鹊是与乌鸦和蓝鸦属于同一鸟类“家族”的中型黑白相间的鸟，即喜鹊和乌鸦是近亲。故选C。

3.What did the researchers do to improve the trackers?

A They added the charging line.

B They reduced the size and weight.

C They designed a kind of magnetic device.

D They strengthened the firmness of the harness.

解析：选C。C推理判断题。根据第四段的 “But it had a special release controlled by magnets.” 可知，它有一个由磁铁控制的特殊释放装置，即研究者设计了一个磁性装置。故选C。

4.Which of the following sentences can be put in “ ▲ ”?

A the birds didn’t like the trackers

B the birds learned how to escape

C the birds had special thinking gifts

D the birds were born with super abilities

解析：选A。 A 推理判断题。根据最后一段可知，在研究者安置最后一只喜鹊仅仅十分钟后，他们注意到了一件不同寻常的事情：一只成年雌喜鹊正在帮助另一只喜鹊摆脱束缚。几小时后，其他大多数喜鹊也从保护带中解脱出来。到第三天，所有的鸟身上都没有追踪器了。由此推断喜鹊不喜欢这个追踪器。故选A。