单选题 Dogs are constantly learning from the reaction of human owners, picking up facial cues and anticipating their owner's behavior, a new research suggests. The findings, published online in the journal Learning and Behavior, show that dogs essentially are always in training, and help explain how many owners unknowingly teach and reward their dog's bad behavior.
Research conducted at the University of Florida focused on the role of eye contact and facial cues in influencing canine behavior. Earlier studies have suggested that dogs seem to know when they are being watched and even wait to perform forbidden behavior like digging in the garden when they know their owners aren't looking. In this study, researchers studied how human cues triggered begging behavior among 35 pet dogs, 18 shelter dogs and 8 wolves raised in captivity. First the animals were taught that the human strangers helping with the experiment were reliable sources of tasty treats. The testers stood close together and called to the animal, and both offered rewards of Spam cubes or Beggin' Strips treats.
After four rewards, the experiment began. Two testers stood against a fence or wall, about 20 feet apart and with food in their pockets. The dog was held about 20 feet away, equidistant from both testers. In one condition, one tester faced the dog while the other turned her back. In another, a tester held a book near her face, while the other tester held the book in front of her face, as if she were reading. In a third condition, one tester held a bucket near the shoulder, while the other put the bucket over her head, blocking her eyes.
Then, both testers called out to the dogs. All the animals—pet dogs, shelter dogs and wolves—ignored the person whose back was turned and sought food from the person who was looking at them. "The question was, are dogs and wolves responsive to a human's attentional state?" said Monique Udell, an assistant professor of psychology at Flagler College, Fla. But when the testers held books, it was only the domestic dogs who avoided the person who appeared to be reading the book. "In a house where they're used to people reading books, they are sensitive to those types of cues," said Dr. Udell. Interestingly, in the bucket experiment, the animals, for the most part, were equally likely to seek food from the person with the bucket over her head as the person holding the bucket.
The experiment shows that dogs are tuned into whether humans are paying attention. "Dogs don't have to read our minds. Dogs read our behavior," said Dr. Udell. Pet owners often get frustrated with bad dog behavior without realizing that they themselves have reinforced it, either by giving the dog a treat when they beg, skipping a bath when they protest or letting them sleep on the bed or couch.

单选题 The new study found that
[A] dogs never behave badly if their owners give them no cues.
[B] forbidden behavior is harder to train in canine animals.
[C] dogs' behavior can never be shaped by conscious training.
[D] cues from humans help shape the behavior of canine animals.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】第一段概括地介绍了一项新的研究所得出的结论:狗通过观察其主人的反应——包括眼神和面部表情等——来学会一些行为,因此主人经常在不经意间教会狗很多东西,包括强化一些坏的行为。
单选题 The experiment shows that domestic animals
[A] are more responsive to human attentional state.
[B] feel more intimate to their human masters.
[C] are not easily fooled by human behavior.
[D] demonstrate greater interest in facial cues.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】三种实验都是为了测试动物对人是否注意它们而做出的反应。实验证明,当人背对动物(不注意它们)时,动物不去找人要食物。当人做出看书的架势时,只有家养狗才不去找人要食物,因为它们以为人在看书,没有在注意它们。另一方面,因为三种类型的动物都不熟悉携带桶的含义(它们很少见过人将桶举过肩或头的情景),因此它们都同样可能去找人要食物。可见,由于家养狗长期与主人生活在一起,它们更善于读懂并预测主人的行为。
单选题 The possible reason why most animals turned to the person with the bucket is that
[A] they thought the bucket contained food.
[B] they could not read that cue.
[C] the person did not turn his back on them.
[D] the person only half hid his face.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】狗都去找携带桶的人要食物,是因为它们从前很少见过将桶举过肩部或头部这个动作,因此读不懂这一动作的含义。见上一题题解。
单选题 The expression "are tuned into" probably means
[A] be ignorant of.
[B] be insensitive to.
[C] be responsive to.
[D] be oblivious to.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】最后一段第一句实际上是本文的主题句,回答了上一段提出的那个问题:The question was,are dogs and wolves responsive to a human's attentional state?从这句话的意思来看,对这个问题的回答是肯定的,即动物的确对人类的注意力状态做出反应:当动物认为其主人注意自己时,它们就会转向主人寻求食物等,相反它们则不转向主人。可见,这个词组在本句的意思接近于be responsive to。
单选题 The best title for the text is
[A] Your Dog Is Watching You.
[B] Dogs Are More Intelligent Than You Think.
[C] Dogs Are the Greatest Cheaters of the World.
[D] Dogs Are Often Taught to Perform Forbidden Behavior.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】本文介绍了一个实验,这项实验的基本结论是:狗不断从主人对它们的反应中学习,主人在不自觉的情况下实际上经常对狗的行为起着强化作用;另一方面,狗也对主人察言观色,当主人注意它们的时候它们表现出一种行为,而当主人不注意它们时它们会表现出另外一种行为。全文的第一段和最后一段都概括性地陈述了以上结论。