Dogs may not seem terribly bright when they’re chasing their own tails, but in many ways they are clever creatures. In particular, they are very socially aware, both of humans and of each other. Many studies have reported that they can sense human emotions. Recent research has found that they can tell the difference between happy and angry faces, and even show jealousy.

It now seems that they can sense when a person is untrustworthy. Once a dog has decided a person is unreliable, it stops following the cues they give. It’s been known for years that dogs understand what it means when a human points at something. If a dog’s owner points to the location of a ball, stick or food, the dog will run and explore the location the person is pointing to.

A study published in the journal Animal Cognition presented 34 dogs with three rounds of pointing. In the first round, the experimenters accurately pointed to where food was hidden in a container. But in the second round, they pointed to an empty container. In the third round, the same experimenter again pointed to the container with food. But now the dog did not respond to the experimenter’s cue. That suggests that the dogs could use their experience of the experimenter to assess whether they were a reliable guide.

After these rounds a new experimenter replicated the first round. Once again, the dogs followed this new person with interest. Researchers say they were amazed that the dogs “devalued the reliability of a human” so quickly. “Dogs have more sophisticated social intelligence than we thought. This social intelligence evolved selectively in their long life history with humans.” The next step, they say, will be to test closely related species such as wolves. This would then reveal the “profound effects of domestication(驯养)” on the social intelligence of dogs.

And researchers say if dogs consistently don’t know what’s going to happen next they can get stressed, aggressive or fearful. Dogs whose owners are inconsistent to them often have behavioral disorders.

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1.Why does the author believe dogs are socially aware of humans?

A They can understand humans’ feelings.

B They are more clever than we thought.

C They like chasing their own tails.

D They can get aware of each other well.

解析：选A。A 根据第一段的最后两句可知，狗可以察觉到人类 的情绪，并且它们可以区分高兴和生气的表情， 甚至表现出嫉妒，这些即是它们有很强的社会意 识的表现。故选 A。

2.A dog might run to a location a person points to _________.

A to follow the order

B to trust the person

C to show it is clever

D for food or toys

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句可知，如果 狗主人指向球、棍子或者食物的位置，狗就会跑 过去探索。故选 D。

3.To earn dogs’ trust, we should _________.

A give them orders

B play tricks on them

C avoid cheating them

D point to an empty container

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据第三段的实验可知，狗狗一旦发现实验者所指的地方与第一次效果不一样， 那么它下一次就不会理睬他的指令了。由此可知， 要取得狗狗的信任，还是不要欺骗它。故选 C。

4.What made the researchers surprised?

A Dogs assessed quickly if a person was reliable.

B Dogs were interested in new owners.

C Dogs are closely related to wolves.

D Dogs lost trust in a person quickly.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第四段 “Researchers say they were amazed that the dogs ‘devalued the reliability of a human’ so quickly.”可知，研究者们对于狗狗 很快对实验者失去信任感到很惊讶。故选 D。

5.What can be the best title of the passage?

A Dogs know if you are untrustworthy

B Dogs are bright animals

C Dogs can tell your emotions

D Be honest to your dog next time

解析：选A。A 主旨大意题。通读全文可知，本文的主要内容是：狗狗能够判断人们是否可靠。人们通过实验对狗狗的社会认知能力进行了研究。