A Dolphin and an Astronomer One day in 1963, a dolphin named Elvar and a famous astronomer, Carl Sagan, were playing a little game. The astronomer was visiting an institute which was looking into the way dolphins communicate with each other. Sagan was standing on the edge of one of the tanks where several of these friendly, highly intelligent creatures were kept. Elvar had just swum up alongside him and had turned on his back. The dolphin wanted Sagan to scratch his stomach again, as the astronomer had done twice before. Elvar looked up at Sagan, waiting. Then, after a minute or so, the dolphin leapt up through the water and made a sound just like the word "more". The astonished astronomer went to the director of the institute and told him about the incident. "Oh, yes. That's one of the words he knows," the director said, showing no surprise at all. Dolphins have bigger brain in proportion to their body size than humans have, and it has been known for a long time that they can make a number of sounds. What is more, these sounds seem to have different functions, such as warning each other of danger. Sound travels much faster and much further in water than it does in air. That is why the parts of the brain that deal with sound are much better developed in dolphin than in humans. But can it be said that dolphins have a "language", in the real sense of the word? Scientists don't agree on this. A language is not just a collection of sounds, or even words. A language has a structure and what we call a grammar. The structure and grammar of a language help to give it meaning. For example, the two questions "Who loves Mary?" and "Who does Mary love?" mean very different things. If you stop to think about it, you will see that this difference doesn't come from the words in the question but from the difference in structure. That is why the question "Can dolphins speak?" can't be answered until we find out if dolphins not only make sounds but also arrange them in a grammatical order which affects their meaning.(2003年)
单选题
The astronomer was not interested in the way dolphins communicate with each other.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：题干大意：天文学家对海豚交流的方式不感兴趣。文章第一段提到：The astronomer was visiting an institute which was looking into the way dolphins commu—nicate with each other．Sagan was standing on the edge of one of the tanks where severalof these friendly，highly intelligent creatures were kept．天文学家拜访了一个研究海豚交流方式的协会。Sagan站在其中一个贮水池边缘，在那儿养着几只海豚，这些海豚非常友好，也是高智商的动物。也就是说如果他不感兴趣就不会去看，去拜访了，所以题干所述与文章信息相左，故答案选B。
单选题
The dolphin leapt up into the air because Sagan was too near the water.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：题干大意：海豚跃向空中是因为Sagan离水太近。文章第二段提到：Then，after a minute or so，the dolphin leapt up through the water and made a sound justlike the word“more”．大约一分钟后，海豚跃起跳向空中，发出还要再挠一次肚皮的这种声音。所以海豚跃向空中并不是Sagan离水太近，而是要他再挠一次肚皮。故答案选B。
单选题
Parts of the dolphin's brain are particularly well developed to handle different kinds of sound.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：题干大意：海豚的部分大脑特别发达以处理各种不同的声音。文章第三段提到：Dolphins have bigger brain in proportion to their body size than humanshave，and it has been known for a long time that they can make a number of sounds．在比例上海豚比人的大脑要大。而且据了解能发出很多种声音。题干所述与文章信息一致，故答案选A。
单选题
Dolphins are the most useful animals to humans.
单选题
Some scientists believe that dolphins have a language of their own.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：题干大意：一些科学家认为海豚有它们自己的语言。文章最后一句提到：That is why the question“Can dolphins speak?”can’t be answered until we find outif dolphins not only make sounds but also arrange them in a grammatical order which affects their meaning．科学家需要弄清海豚不仅仅发声，而且能把它们按照语法的顺序组织起来，来反映它们的意思，才能回答海豚是否能说话这个问题。故答案选A。
单选题
Sounds can be called a language only when they have a structure and a grammar.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：题干大意：只有当声音有结构和语法时才可以被称为语言。文章最后一句提到：That is why the question“Can dolphins speak?”can’t be answered until wefind out if dolphins not only make sounds but also arrange them in a grammatical orderwhich affects their meaning．海豚如果不仅仅发声，而且能把它们按照语法的顺序组织起来，来反映它们的意思，那么，它们就“能说话”。由此可以看出声音具有结构和语法时才能传达意思，那么能够传达意思的就是语言，故答案选A。