TPO 17-2 Animal Signals in the Rain Forest（自然科学--动物）

字数：730

建议做题时间20分钟

The daytime quality of light in forests varies with the density of the vegetation, the angle of the Sun, and the amount of cloud in the sky. Both animals and plants have different appearances in these various lighting conditions. A color or pattern that is relatively indistinct in one kind of light may be quite conspicuous in another.

In the varied and constantly changing light environment of the forest, an animal must be able to send visual signals to members of its own species and at the same time avoid being detected by predators. An animal can hide from predators by choosing the light environment in which its pattern is least visible. This may require moving to different parts of the forest at different times of the day or under different weather conditions, or it may be achieved by changing color according to the changing light conditions. Many species of amphibians (frogs and toads) and reptiles (lizards and snakes) are able to change their color patterns to camouflage themselves. Some also signal by changing color. The chameleon lizard has the most striking ability to do this. Some chameleon species can change from a rather dull appearance to a full riot of carnival colors in seconds. By this means, they signal their level of aggression or readiness to mate.

Other species take into account the changing conditions of light by performing their visual displays only when the light is favorable. A male bird of paradise may put himself in the limelight by displaying his spectacular plumage in the best stage setting to attract a female. Certain butterflies move into spots of sunlight that have penetrated to the forest floor and display by opening and closing their beautifully patterned wings in the bright spotlights. They also compete with each other for the best spot of sunlight.

Very little light filters through the canopy of leaves and branches in a rain forest to reach ground level—or close to the ground—and at those levels the yellow-to-green wavelengths predominate. A signal might be most easily seen if it is maximally bright. In the green-to-yellow lighting conditions of the lowest levels of the forest, yellow and green would be the brightest colors, but when an animal is signaling, these colors would not be very visible if the animal was sitting in an area with a yellowish or greenish background. The best signal depends not only on its brightness but also on how well it contrasts with the background against which it must be seen. In this part of the rain forest, therefore, red and orange are the best colors for signaling, and they are the colors used in signals by the ground-walking Australian brush turkey. This species, which lives in the rain forests and scrublands of the east coast of Australia, has a brown-to-black plumage with bare, bright-red skin on the head and neck and a neck collar of orange-yellow loosely hanging skin. During courtship and aggressive displays, the turkey enlarges its colored neck collar by inflating sacs in the neck region and then flings about a pendulous part of the colored signaling apparatus as it utters calls designed to attract or repel. This impressive display is clearly visible in the light spectrum illuminating the forest floor.

Less colorful birds and animals that inhabit the rain forest tend to rely on other forms of signaling other than the visual, particularly over long distances. The piercing cries of the rhinoceros hornbill characterize the Southeast Asian rain forest, as do the unmistakable calls of the gibbons. In densely wooded environments, sound is the best means of communication over distance because in comparison with light, it travels with little impediment from trees and other vegetation. In forests, visual signals can be seen only at short distances, where they are not obstructed by trees. The male riflebird exploits12 both of these modes of signaling simultaneously in his courtship display. The sounds made as each wing is opened carry extremely well over distance and advertise his presence widely. The ritualized visual display communicates in close quarters when a female has approached.

题目

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答案解析

1. 词汇题

解析：这句在对比说在一种light中是indistinct（模糊的、不清楚的），在另一种是conspicuous，说明与indistinct意思相反，选B. conspicuous显著的、显而易见的

2. 事实信息题

解析：根据sending visual signals定位到第1句，说动物要能够在给同类发信号时避免被捕食者发现，选A。BCD都没说

3. 词汇题

解析：signal信号，作动词则是发信号，相当于是通过信号来交流，选C

4. 事实信息否定题

解析：A没说，选A。B对应倒数第3句，C对应第1句，D对应倒数第4句。

5. 事实信息题

解析：根据butterfly move into定位到第3句，说蝴蝶飞到太阳光点处，张开、闭合它们的翅膀，还竞争阳光，所以它们飞到光点是为了得到最佳阳光，选C

6. 事实信息题

解析：根据reach ground level定位到第1句，说到达地面的光以黄到绿波长为主，D为同义表达，选D。ABD都没说

7. 句子简化题

解析：原句结构为黄绿应该是最亮，但当动物在同样颜色的背景中时，黄绿就不那么看得见了，D对。A中原文没说brightly lit. B与原文反。C中only极端，且原文没说most areas

8. 词汇题

解析：inflate膨胀，选B

9. 推断题

解析：根据red and orange定位到第5句（In this part of the rain forest...), 红黄是最好的信号色，而前文说黄绿是最亮的颜色，但如果背景是黄绿，这种信号就不明显，而这里提出所以红黄是最好的，那么可以推断黄绿更常是背景色，所以选C。

10. 推断题

解析：根据less colorful定位到第1句，说这些鸟类和动物更依赖于其他形式的信号而不是视觉信号，选D。A原文说更依赖其他形式，说明也还是会依赖视觉信号，A错。BC没说。

11. 词汇题（句意：对比）

解析：原句说与光相比，声音没有来自树木、植被的impediment，可以猜测impediment是阻碍的意思，选A

12. 词汇题（动名搭配）

解析：原句说某种鸟同时exploit这两种信号模式，可以猜测是使用的意思，选B

13. 句子插入题

解析：插入句提到也有什么样的声音，说明前文提到过一种声音信号，B前提到了几种动物的声音，插入句的内容与B前形成并列，选B

14. 段落小结题

解析：A没说，不选

B对应第4段第2句，正确

C是第4段的一个细节，不选

D对应第2段1-2句，正确

E对应第2段最后一句，但原文没有动物必须要有这样的信号，不选

F对应第5段第1句，正确

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