Elephants who paint aren"t new. Paintings by Ruby, an Asian elephant who lived at the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona, sold for up to $5,000 in the late 1980s, said Dick George, a consultant with the zoo. "Ruby was about seven months old when she first came to the zoo", said George. "She lived with a goat and some chickens, but she didn"t have an elephant companion for a number of years. She spent a lot of time drawing in the dirt with a stick to make her days more stimulating. Her keeper bought her some art supplies". George said, ", Ruby was excited about painting right from the beginning". The elephants at the art academies in the Southeast Asia are taught to hold a paintbrush with the tip of their trunks. Initially, the keeper guides the elephant"s trunk over the canvas(画布) and offers rewards for good performance. "It only takes a few hours to a day to teach them", said Mia Fineman, an art historian whose book When Elephants Paint is an illustrated history of the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project.

单选题 Ruby was an Asian elephant ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：每一道阅读理解题在文章中都有其所依据的句子，做阅读题的关键是首先就要找到每一道题的依据句，然后才能判断这道题的正确选项。本题的依据句是文章的第二句话。应该注意，本句的主语是Paintings by Ruby，而不是an Asian elephant。所以A项选择不正确。B和D项选择都包含了在文章中没有出现的信息，所以也不正确。而C项选择的意思与依据句完全一致。

单选题 Why did Ruby start painting according to Dick George?

A、 Because she was seven years old.
B、 Because she was the first to come to the zoo.
C、 Because she learned a lot from the goat and the chickens.
D、 Because she had no elephant partners to play with.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：本题的依据句是第二段中的两个句子She lived with a goat and some chickens，but she didn"t have an elephant companion for a number of years．She spent a lot of time drawing in the dirt with a stick to make her days more stimulating．其他选择项的内容要么是无关信息，要么和所提问题不属于因果关系。

单选题 How did Ruby paint at the very beginning?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：注意第二段中两个依据句，She spent a lot of time drawing in the dirt with a stick to make her days more stimulating和Her keeper bought her some art supplies前后之间的关系。由于所提的问题是"大象最开始是如何作画的?"其直接的回答就是A项选项：She used a stick to draw in the dirt．

单选题 To encourage the elephants to paint well, the keeper

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：本题的依据句是倒数第二段中的句子Initially，the keeper guides the elephant"s trunk over the canvas(画布)and offers rewards for good performance．本题的选择也可以利用生活阅历和一般常识进行判断，教动物做动作一般的鼓励方式都是给它喂吃的东西。此题的其他选择项中都包含了一些无关的信息，和所提问的问题没有必然联系。

单选题 When Elephants Paint is a book ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：本题的依据句是文章的最后一句话中与这本书有关的内容When Elephants Paint is an illustrated history of the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project．与这句话相比较，A选项内容的覆盖面过大，应该在arts一词前加上Asian elephants才对；C选项内容只是一个细节，没有覆盖书中的主要内容；D选项中的theorizing一词的概念在文章中没有出现，属于无关信息。而B选项的意思是最符合依据句的意思。