题目

阅读理解 To call someone bird-brained in English means you think that person is silly or stupid. But will this description soon disappear from use in the recent research? It seems English may have been unfair in association bird's brains with stupidity. In an attempt to find out how different creatures see the world，psychologists at Brown University in the USA have been comparing the behaviour of birds and humans. One experiment has involved teaching pigeons to recognize letters of the English alphabet. The birds study in "classrooms", which are boxes equipped with a computer. After about four days of studying a particular letter, the pigeon has to pick out that letter from several displayed on the computer screen. Three male pigeons have learned to distinguish all twenty-six letters of the alphabet in this way. A computer record of the birds7 four-month study period has shown surprising similarities between the pigeons' and human performance. Pigeons and people find the same letters easy, or hard, to tell apart. For example, 92 percent of the time the pigeons could tell the letter D from the letter Z. But when faced with U and V (often confused by English children), the pigeons were right only 34 percent of the time. The results of the experiments so far have led psychologists (心理学家) to conclude that pigeons and humans observe things in similar ways. This suggests that there is something basic about the recognition process. If scientists could only discover just what this recognition process is, it could be very useful for computer designers. The disadvantage of a present computer is that it can only do what a human being has programmed it to do and the programmer must give the computer precise, logical instructions. Maybe in the future, though, computers will be able to think like human beings. （1） Why does the writer suggest the expression "bird-brained" might be out of use? A . It is silly. B . It is impolite. C . It is unnecessary. D . It is inappropriate. （2） According to the experiment, who could be confused by U and V? A . 92 percent of pigeons. B . Many English children. C . Most people learning English. D . 34 percent of English children. （3） Which can best explain the similarities in observing things by pigeons and humans? A . Pigeons and humans find letters equally fast. B . Pig eons have brains more developed than other birds. C . Their basic ways to know the world are the same. D . Pigeons and humans have similar brains. （4） Who can benefit from the research? A . Computer designers. B . Computer salesmen. C . Psychologists. D . Teachers. 答案： D B C A

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