Question

The male lion’s splendid mane(鬃毛)sets him apart from other cats-and it’s great attraction for the ladies-so why would he do without it? That question has puzzled scientists since 1833, when the first reports of“maneless”lions streamed in from around the world．Now．a(chǎn) research team reports that lions from the Tsavo region of Kenya deliberately delay mane growth to fit in with the region’s harsh temperatures． 　　John Patterson．a(chǎn) hunter and a British Colone1．Was one of the first to document manelessness in Tsavo’s famous man-eaters．Ever since．naturalists have developed more evolutionary descriptions．Some researchers suggested that lions lost their manes because they were caught too many times in Tsavo’s thorn bushes everywhere．Others argued that Tsavo’s aggressive lions have unusually high testosterone(雄激素)levels, known to cause male pattern baldness(禿頂)in humans Still others supposed that Tsavo’s lions were a distinct group of were related to a lion pictured in prehistoric caves，which no longer existed． 　　But expert Thomas Gnoske at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois, considered something these researchers didn’t：lion shipped to zoos in cooler climates grow longer manes．This made him wonder whether hot temperatures account for Tsavo’s thinning lions．To find out．Gnoske and his colleagues studied museum records and conducted 10 year of fieldwork in Tsavo and in the Serengeti．which is about l0 degrees cooler．In an article published online this month in the Jourmal of Zoology．the team reports that lions in the Serengeti grow a full mane in 5 years-by the time they’re ready to be parents-but that Tsavo’lions don’t have much of mane until age 8．well past their reproductive period． 　　Gnoske thinks smaller manes improve a young, energetic lion’s ability to keep cool．Bushy manes probably evolved to attract females in cooler climates where heat stress was not an issue, Gnoske says, and lions can’t just turn off that program, though they’re in a place like Tsavo．“They’re hard-wired to grow a mane；period, and they’ll develop as large of a mame as they possibly can．” 　　Scientist Roland Kays of the New York State Museum in Albany says he is surprised by the delay in mane development．However, he expresses concern about the accuracy of using field observations to judge the age of Tsavo’lions．Gnoske says his team is now focusing its research On Tsavo lions with known birth dates, but it will be a challenge to keep track of the wide-ranging animals, especially since radio collars are prohibited in Tsavo’s national parks． (1) What does the passage mainly talk about? [　　] A． Studies on different kinds of lions in Tsavo． B． Researches on why the lion lost his mane． C． Comparisons of lions in Tsavo and Serengeti． D． Different ways of studying manelessness of male lions． (2) Gnoske did fieldwork in Serengeti mainly to find out ________． [　　] A． whether it has a much lower temperature B． whether lions in Serengeti grow longer manes C． how male lions in Serengeti attract females D． at what age lions in Serengeti are ready to be parents (3) Which of the following statements is true according to the text? [　　] A． Gnoske was the first to report maneless lions in Tsavo． B． Gnoske found that Tsavo’s lions developed a full mane when they were ready to be parents． C． Some scientists believed that thorn bushes caused the manelessness of the lions in Tsavo． D． Roland thinks it accurate to judge the age of lions by using field observations． (4) It can be inferred from the passage that ________． [　　] A． John Patterson was the first to study lions in Tsavo and Serengeti B． most scientists agree that high testosterone levels account for the manelessness of Tsavo’s lions C． Gnoske thinks that Tsavo’s male lions won’t grow long manes even at an old age． D． still much more research work remains to be done to test Gnoske’s idea． (5) Which part of a magazine do you suppose this passage is taken from? [　　] A． Travel B． Science C． Entertainment D． History (6) The underlined words“that program”(paragraph 4) most probably refer to ________． [　　] A． being observed in field B． growing up and having babies C． being caught in thorn bushes D． growing manes to attract females

Answer 1

答案：1．B;2．B;3．C;4．D;5．B;6．D;