Directions (1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them, while answering some of the questions.
Our understanding of, and feelings for and against different species seem to be linked to ourcultural and personal prejudices. We have compassion for those closely related to us. Mammals are viewed smarter than birds and reptiles, while we think of less related species, like insects, as non-thinking machines.
The reality is intelligence is a complex concept, difficult to define and hard not to base around our own abilities.Measuring intelligence is even more difficult. With humans we can converse or give them a written test. But the lack of language and opposable thumbs makes it extra tricky to measure intelligence in animals.
An upsurge of new research suggests that animals have a much higher level of brainpower than previously though. If animals do have intelligence, how do scientists measure it? Before defining animals’ intelligence, scientists defined what not intelligence is. Instinct is not intelligence. It is a skill programmed into an animal’s brain by its genetic heritage. Rote conditioning is also not intelligence. Tricks can be learned by repetition, but no real thinking is involved. Cuing in which animals learn to do or not to do certain things by following outside signals does not demonstrate intelligence. Scientists believe that insight, the ability to use tools, and communication suing human language are all effective measures of the mental ability of animals.
When judging animal intelligence, scientists look for insight, which they define as a flash of sudden understanding. When a young gorilla could not reach fruit from a tree, she noticed crates scattered about the lawn near the tree. She piled the crates into a pyramid, and then climbed on them to reach her reward. The gorilla’s insight allowed her to solve a new problem without trial and error.
The ability to use tools is also an important sign of intelligence. Crows use sticks to pry peanuts out of cracks. The crow exhibits intelligence by showing it has learned what a stick can do. Likewise otters use rocks to crack open crab shells in order to get at the meat. In a series of complex moves, chimpanzees have been known to use sticks and stalks in order to get at favourite snack- termites. To make and use a termite tool, a chimp first selects just the right stalk or twig. He trims and shapes the stick, then finds the entrance to a termite mound. While inserting the stick carefully into the entrance, the chimpanzee turns it skillfully to fit the inner tunnels. The chimp attracts the insects by shaking the twig. Then it pull the tool out without scraping off nay termites. Finally, he uses his lips to skim the termites into his mouth.
Many animals have learned to communicate using human language. Some primates have learned hundreds of words in sign language. One chimp can recognize and correctly use more than 250 abstract symbols on a keyboard. These symbols represent human words. An amazing parrot can distinguish five objects of two different types. He can understand the difference between the number, colour, and kind of object. The ability to classify is a basic thinking skill. He seems to sue language to express his needs and emotions. When ill and taken to the animal hospital for his first overnight stay, this parrot turned to go. “Come here”! He cried to a scientist who works with him. “I love you. I’m sorry. Wanna go back?”
The researches on animal intelligence raise important questions. If animals are smarter than one thought. Would that change the way humans interact with them? Would humans stop hunting them for sport or survival? Would animals still be used for food? Clothing or medical experimentation? Finding the answer to these tough questions makes a difficult puzzle even for a large- brained, problem – solving species like our own.
Q1. Crows use sticks to pry peanuts out of cracks. Which of the following is the kind of intelligence or conditioning the situation describes?
(a) Rote learning
(b) Tools
(c) Communication
(d) Instinct
(e) None of these
Q2. The word upsurge, as it is used in the second paragraph of the passage, most nearly means.
(a) An increasingly large amount
(b) A decreasing amount
(c) A well-known amount
(d) An immeasurable amount.
(e) None of these
Q3. The concluding paragraph of this passage infers which of the following?
(a) There is no definitive line between those animals with intelligence and those without
(b) Animals are being given opportunities to display their intelligence
(c) Research showing higher animal intelligence may fuel debate on ethics and cruelty
(d) Animals are capable of untrained though well beyond mere instinct
(e) None of these
Q4. According to the passage, which of the following is true about animals communicating with the help of human language?
(a) Parrots can imitate or repeat a sound
(b) Dolphins click and whistle
(c) Crows screech warnings to other crows
(d) Chimpanzees and gorilla have been trained to use sign language or geometric shapes that stand for words.
(e) None of these
Q5. In paragraph 4, what conclusion can be reached about the chimpanzee’s ability to use a tool?
(a) It illustrates high intelligence because he is able to get food and eat it
(b) It illustrates instinct because he faced difficult task and accomplished it
(c) It illustrates high intelligence because he stored knowledge away and called it up at the right time
(d) It illustrates high intelligence because termites are protein- packed
(e) None of these
Q6. Which of the following is NOT a sign of animal intelligence?
(a) Shows insight
(b) Cues
(c) Uses tools
(d) Makes a plan
(e) None of these
Directions (7 – 8): Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning to the word given in bold as used in the passage.
Q7. Prejudices
(a) impartiality
(b) detachment
(c) neutrality
(d) aggravate
(e) preconception
Q8.Demonstrate
(a) evince
(b) conceal
(c) cache
(d) stash
(e) camouflage
Directions (9 – 10): Choose the word which is opposite in meaning to the word given in bold as used in the passage.
Q9.Pyramid
(a) edifice
(b) shrine
(c) monolith
(d) oblong
(e) cenotaph
Q10.Scraping
(a) rake
(b) sweep
(c) grate
(d) bounty
(e) scour
Solutions
Ans.1. (b)
The crow is using the stick as a tool to assist it in getting food.
Ans.2. (a)
In the second paragraph, upsurge (a swelling of the ocean) is used as an analogy to illustrate the large and increasing amount of research in animal intelligence.
Ans. 3.(c)
The questions in this paragraph ask the reader to consider the use of animals in our world and questions whether knowing that they have more intelligence than previously thought might make a difference in human treatment of them.
Ans.4. (a)
This choice is the only one that shows animals using human language.
Ans.5. (c)
Although each conclusion is an example of some intelligence, the most accurate conclusion the reader should make is that this action shows high intelligence. The complexity of what the chimpanzee is doing to get his food and the many thinking activities he must accomplish in order to realize his goal of getting the termites – learning a new skill, selecting and shaping a tool, remembering stored knowledge, using the correct knowledge in order to take proper action for the situation- shows intelligence.
Ans.6. (b)
Cuing does not demonstrate animal intelligence because the animal learns to do or not to do certain things by following outside signals.
Ans. 7.(e)
Prejudices – preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. Preconception – a preconceived idea or prejudice.
Ans. 8.(a)
Demonstrate – give a practical exhibition and explanation of (how a machine, skill, or craft works or is performed). Evince – reveal the presence of (a quality or feeling); indicate.
Ans.9. (d)
Pyramid – a structure of more or less pyramidal form, especially in the brain or the renal medulla. Oblong – a rectangular object or flat figure with unequal adjacent sides.
Ans. 10.(d)
Scraping – drag or pull a hard or sharp implement across (a surface or object) so as to remove dirt or other matter.Bounty – a sum paid for killing or capturing a person or animal.
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