单选题 Research on animal intelligence always makes me wonder just how smart humans are. (51) the fruit-fly experiments described in Carl Zimmer's piece in the Science Times on Tuesday. Fruit flies who were taught to be smarter than the average fruit fly (52) to live shorter lives. This suggests that (53) bulbs burn longer, that there is an advantage in not being too terrifically bright.
Intelligence, it (54) , is a high-priced option. It takes more upkeep, burns more fuel and is slow off the starting line because it depends on learning—a (55) process—instead of instinct. Plenty of other species are able to learn, and one of the things they've apparently learned is when to (56) .
Is there an adaptive value to (57) intelligence? That's the question behind this new research. I like it. Instead of casting a wistful glance (58) at all the species we've left in the dust I.Q.-wise, it implicitly asks what the real (59) of our own intelligence might be. This is on the mind of every animal I've ever met.
Research on animal intelligence also makes me wonder what experiments animals would (60) on humans if they had the chance.

单选题 A. Suppose B. Consider C. Observe D. Imagine
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] suppose意为“假设,猜想”;consider意为“考虑”;observe意为“观察”; imagine意为“想象”,根据空格处的句意“关于这个问题我们可以参考果蝇实验”可知,正确选项是B。
单选题 A. tended B. feared C. happened D. threatened
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 本句空格处意为“那些受过训练的果蝇比普通果蝇更聪明,但寿命往往更短。” tend to是固定搭配,意为“有某种倾向;有……的趋势”,其他三项均不符合题意。因此正确选项是A。
单选题 A. thinner B. stabler C. lighter D. dimmer
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] A选项意为“更瘦的;更稀薄的”,B选项意为“更稳定的”;C选项意为“更 明亮的”,D选项意为“更暗淡的”。根据空格处的句意“比较暗的灯泡会亮的更久一些”可以判断,正确选项是D。
单选题 A. insists on B. sums up C. turns out D. puts forward
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 根据前文所述,越聪明的生物寿命越短,我们可以得出这样的结论“智能是一种昂贵的选择(需要付出代价)。”it turns out意为“结果就是……”,符合题意。insist on意为“坚持”;sum up意为“总结,概括”;put forward意为“拿出,提出”。这三项均不符合题意,因此正确选项是C。
单选题 55 A. incredible B. spontaneous C. inevitable D. gradual
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] A选项意为“难以置信的”;B选项意为“自发的,自然产生的”;C选项意为 “必然的”;D选项意为“逐步的,渐进的”。根据常识可知,学习是一个循序渐进的过程,所以正确选项是D。
单选题 A. fight B. doubt C. stop D. think
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] A选项意为“打架,战斗,斗志”;B选项意为“怀疑,疑惑”;C选项意为“停止”;D选项意为“想,思索,认为”。根据空格处的句意“很显然它们学会的其中的一件事就是什么时候该停下来”可以判断,正确选项是C。
单选题 A. invisible B. limited C. indefinite D. different
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] A选项意为“无形的”;B选项意为“有限的”;C选项意为“模糊的,不确定的”;D选项意为“不同的”。根据后文判断,这句话意思是“有限的智能有一个适应值吗?”因此正确选项是B。
单选题 A. upward B. forward C. afterward D. backward
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] A选项意为“向上”;B选项意为“向前”;C选项意为“后来”;D选项意为“向后”。根据后文“我们留下的”可知,此句应该意为“留恋地回首瞥一眼”,因此正确选项是D。
单选题 A. features B. influences C. results D. costs
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] the real costs of our own intelligence意为“我们智力的真正成本。”其他三项均不符合题意。因此正确的选项是D。
单选题 A. deliver B. carry C. perform D. apply
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] perform on somebody意为“在某人身上执行”,符合文意。因此正确选项是C。