Vervet monkeys2.docx

Vervet monkeys2.docx

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Vervetmonkeys2

Questions24-35arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Thisdiscussionofvervetmonkeysisfroma1984bookaboutanimalcommunication.

Vervetmonkeyshaveatleastthreedifferentcategoriesofalarmcalls.Whenaleopardorotherlargecarnivorousmammalapproaches,themonkeysgiveonetypeofalarmcall;quiteadifferentcallisusedatthesightofamartial

5eagle,oneofthefewflyingpredatorsthatcapturesvervetmonkeys.Athirdtypeofalarmcallisgivenwhenalargesnakeapproachesthegroup.Thisdegreeofdifferentiationofalarmcallsisnotunique,althoughithasbeendescribedinonlyafewkindsofanimals.Whenethologists,who

10studyanimalbehavior,interpretdataofthiskind,theyrequireproofthatvariationsinanimalcommunicationsignalsconveyanythingmorethaninformationaboutthecommunicator'sinternalstate.

Thefirstandrelativelysimplequestioniswhetherthe

15vervetmonkey'sthreetypesofalarmcallsconveytoothermonkeysinformationaboutthetypeofpredator.Suchinformationisimportant,becausetheanimal'sdefensivetacticsaredifferentinthethreecases.Whenaleopardapproaches,themonkeysclimbintotrees.Butleopardsare

20goodclimbers,sothemonkeyscanescapethemonlybyclimbingoutontothesmallestbranches,whicharetooweaktosupportaleopard.Whenthemonkeysseeamartialeagle,theymoveintothickvegetationclosetoatreetrunkoratgroundlevel.Thusthetacticsthathelpescapefroma

25leopardmakethemhighlyVulnerabletoamartialeagle,andviceversa.Inresponsetothethreatofalargesnake,theystandontheirhindlegsandlookaroundtolocatethesnake,thensimplymoveawayfromit,eitheralongthegroundorbyclimbingintoatree.

30Knowingthatthemonkeysgivedifferentalarmcallswhentheyseedifferentpredatorsdoesnotestablishbeyondadoubtthatthecallsactuallydescribethetypeofpredator.Whenthemonkeys,whichareusuallyclosetoeachother,hearanalarmcall,eachonequicklylooksaroundatthe

35caller.Likemanyotheranimals,theyareadeptatjudgingthedirectioninwhichanotheranimalislooking,sotheycaneasilyseewhatthecallerislookingat.Thisservesmuchthesamefunctionaspointing.Whenmonkeysotherthanthecallertaketheappropriateactiontoavoidthe

40danger,itisdifficulttobesurewhethertheyareactingsolelyonthebasisofthecallorwhetherthecallsimplyledthemtolookatthesourceofthedanger.

Toclarifythissituation,researchersconductedsomecarefullycontrolledplaybackexperimentsundernatural

45conditions.Thebasicideawastoplayfromaconcealed

loudspeakertaperecordingsofvervetalarmcallswhenvervetshadjustseenaleopard,amartialeagle,oralargepython,andtoinquirewhethertheseplaybacks,intheabsenceofapredator,wouldelicitthenormalresponse.

50Theexperimentsrequiredmanyprecautionsandrefinements.Forinstance,vervetmonkeyscometoknoweachotherasindividuals,notonlybyvisualappearancebutbyminordifferencesintheirvocalizations.Theymightnotrespondeventoanalarmcallrecordedfromoneoftheir

55owncompanionsifthatindividualwasinplainsightsomedistancefromthevegetationconcealingthespeaker.Inalexperiments,theloudspeakerreproducedcallsofamemberofthegroup,andthespeakerwashiddeninaplacewhenthemonkeyswouldexpectthatindividualtobe.Theexpeimentshadtobepreparedwithtaperecordingsofaknowmemberofawell-studiedgroupofvervetmonkeysandahiddenspeakerlocatedwherethisindividualfrequentlyspendstime.

Whenalltheseconditionsweresatisfied,theplayback

65ofalarmcallsdidindeedelicittheappropriateresponses.Themonkeysrespondedtotheleopardalarmcallbyclimbingintothenearesttree;themartialeaglealarmcausedthemtodiveintothickvegetation;andthepythonalarmproducedthetypicalbehaviorofstandingonthehi

70legsandlookingallaroundforthenonexistentsnake.

Notallethologistshaveacceptedthestraightforwardinterpretationthatthealarmcallsconveyinformationaboutthetypeofpredator.Onealternativeinterpretationisthatthealarmcallsareinjunctionstobehaveincertainways.

75Thustheleopardalarmmightmean"Goclimbintoatree.Buteventhisinterpretationnecessarilyascribesthreespecifictypesofinjunctiontothevocabularyofvervetmonkeys.Evensuchpostulatedinjunctionswouldbemorethanasimplereflectionoftheinternalstateofthe

80communicator.

24.Thepassageindicatesthatthecallsdescribedinlines1-7aresignificantprimarilybecausethey

（A）showthatanimalsarecapableofexpressingemotion

（B）provethatsomeanimalsaremoreintelligentthanothers

（C）noticeablyimprovethemonkeys'rateofreproduction

（D）representadeparturefromthemonkeys'predictablepatternsofcommunication

（E）promptquestionsaboutthepotentialextentofanimalcommunication

25.Inlines9-13（"When...state"）,theauthor'sobservationaboutethologistsimpliesthatthey

（A）aredismissiveofissuesthatconcernotherbiologists

（B）limitthemselvesbytheirrelianceontraditionalexplanationsofanimalbehavior

（C）failtoaccountfordiscrepanciesbetweenfieldandlaboratoryobservations

（D）trytoavoidunjustifiedconclusionsaboutthemeaningofaphenomenon

（E）useanapproachthatsometimesarousesresentment

26.What;istherelationshipbetweenthefirstparagraph（lines1-13）andthe"simplequestion"mentionedinlines14-16?

（A）Thefirstparagraphcontainsevidencethatwillanswerthequestion.

（B）Thequestionarisesfrominformationinthefirstparagraph.

（C）Thequestionmakeslightoftheviewpresentedinthefirstparagraph.

（D）Thefirstparagraphoutlinesthewaythequestionwillbeansweredintherestofthepassage.

（E）Thequestiondefinesanunorthodoxviewthatwasdiscountedinthefirstparagraph.

27.Inlines18-24（"Whenaleopard...level"）,theauthorjuxtaposestwokindsofbehaviorinorderto

（A）showhowthepresenceofmorethanoneobserverinthefieldyieldsconflictinginformation

（B）provideevidencethatchallengesanacceptedtheoryaboutmonkeycommunication

（C）compareauniqueformofdefensetoamorecommonformofdefense

（D）explainhowthemonkeysimitatebehaviorofotheranimals

（E）emphasizetheusefulnessofdifferentresponsesindifferentsituations

28.Thethirdparagraph（lines30-42）contributestothedevelopmentofthepassageprimarilyby

（A）indicatinganinterpretationthatiseventuallyruledout

（B）showingthenecessityofmultipleexplanations

（C）describinganalternatemethodofobservation

（D）supportingahypothesiswithobservationsfromthefield

（E）drawingananalogybetweenanimalandhumanbehavior

29.Whendesigningtheexperimentsdescribedinlines43-63,researchershadtoconsiderallofthefollowingEXCEPT

（A）thelocationofcertainmonkeysinthegroup

（B）themonkeys'familiaritywithoneanother

（C）thelocationoftheequipment

（D）thevocalizationofpredators

（E）individualdifferencesamongthemonkeys'calls

30.Accordingtolines43-63,whichactionwouldlikelykeepthemonkeysfromrespondingtotherecordedcalls?

（A）Locatingtheloudspeakerfarfromwheretheindividualwhosevoiceitbroadcastscanbeseen

（B）Playingthecallsduringfeedingorgroomingperiods

（C）Playingthecallssooftenthatthemonkeysbecomeaccustomedtothemandfailtoreact

（D）Allowingthemonkeystodetectthepresenceofthehumanobservers

（E）Interferingwiththehuntingroutinesoftheusualpredators

31.Inline64,"satisfied"mostnearlymeans

（A）convinced

（B）dispelled

（C）fulfilled

（D）appeased

（E）compensated

32.Theexperimentsdescribedinthepassageprovideevidencethatmostdirectlysupportstheconclusionthatvervetmonkeys

（A）arehighlyadaptabletochangingenvironmentalconditions

（B）respondtothepresenceofpredatorswithcallsparticulartoeachdanger

（C）tolerateindividualswhodonotposeanimmediatethreat

（D）protectthemselvesbymimickingthecallsofcertainpredators

（E）illustratetheabilityofmostmammalstocommunicateinformation

33.Theauthor'sreactiontoan"alternativeinterpretation"（line73）isbestcharacterizedas

（A）offended,becauseitdisregardstheauthor'sownobservations

（B）skeptical,becauseitperpetratesthefalsehoodthatmonkeyspossesshumantraits

（C）supportive,becauseitprovidesproofforahypothesis

（D）receptive,becauseitisconsistentwiththedata

（E）respectful,becauseitissharedbymanyexperiencedfieldresearchers

34.Thefinalparagraphprimarilyservesto

（A）showhowanobjectiontoahypothesisactuallyconfirmsoneofitscentralelements

（B）introduceapersonalinterpretationofthefindings

（C）suggestthatresponsestoalarmcallsaregeneticallydetermined

（D）castdoubtontheimportanceofafieldofinquiry

（E）indicatethekindsofquestionsthatarenotsusceptibletofurtherstudy

35.Theauthorusesvervetmonkeystoconveywhichpoiaboutanimalcommunication?

（A）Animalvocalizationsaremodeledafterhumansounds.

（B）Someanimalscanimpartvocallyspecificinformationabouttheirobservations.

（C）Mostanimalsresponddifferentlytodifferentalarmcalls.

（D）Animalsvocalizeprimarilytocommunicateaninternalstate.

（E）Mostanimalsexhibitanacutesenseofhearingwhensensingpredators.