Caught in the Act | 精彩直击大公开

by Marcus Maurice

Some animals are known for doing odd things.

有些动物因为牠们奇特的行径而声名大噪。

Recently, a clip on YouTube was making its way around the Internet via blogs and personal emails. At the beginning of the video, a black bear in a zoo was looking at, playing with, and sniffing a big stick, which all seemed quite normal. Soon, the same bear sat down and started twirling the stick around as if it was a kung fu expert. Towards the end of the video, the bear even appeared to be showing off because it was still flicking the stick around while it simultaneously put one foot into its mouth. Some people claimed the video was edited to make the bear appear more dexterous than it really was or that the bear had been trained to attract customers to the zoo. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that animals can sometimes act very bizarre.

It is known that octopi are so smart that they know how to use tools to crack open shells underwater. However, have you ever heard about beavers in Canada building a dam so big that it can be seen with satellite imaging systems in space? In Northern Alberta's Wood Buffalo National Park, generations of beavers have built a dam so huge that it is nearly 3,000 feet in length. These busy beavers have made a habitat that is double the size of the Hoover Dam, one of the world's largest man-made dams.

Deep in the jungles of Africa, many outlandish things can happen, including hippo calves being kidnapped by lions or a rhino needing to be saved from drowning. This month, National Geographic Channel airs Caught in the Act, a series that captures a variety of bizarre and rare behavior from animals in Africa.

1.  Why would people think the video of the black bear in the first paragraph is a fake?

(A) They knew it was trained.

(B) It takes a very long time for bears to learn kung fu.

(C) The bear was too good at rotating a stick.

(D) A bear would never eat its own foot.

2.  What conclusion can be drawn from the second paragraph?

(A) Beavers are excellent construction workers.

(B) It has taken beavers many years to build the massive dam.

(C) Beavers have built a habitat that can be seen from outer space.

(D) All of the above.

3.  Which of the following statements is NOT supported by this article?

(A) There's a bear that actually appears to be practicing martial arts.

(B) Only animals in Africa are able to perform unusual things.

(C) Octopi are intelligent enough to make use of tools.

(D) The Hoover Dam is only half as big as the one the beavers in Canada built.

最近，YouTube 上的一段影片透过部落格和私人电子邮件在网络上流传。影片一开头是动物园里的一只黑熊看着一根大木棍，接着去把玩和嗅着这根木棍，这一切看似相当平常。没多久，这只黑熊坐了下来，开始旋转这根木棍，宛如功夫高手似的。在影片的最后，黑熊甚至好像在炫耀，因为牠在舞动木棍的同时，还把一只脚放到嘴里。有人宣称这段影片是经过剪辑，好让这只黑熊看起来手脚比实际更灵活，或者牠是经过训练，好吸引游客到动物园。尽管如此，动物有时行径很怪异是无庸置疑的。

我们都知道章鱼很聪明，牠能使用工具把海里面的贝壳打开。不过，你有听过加拿大的水獭筑起一座大水坝，大到从太空的卫星影像系统都可以看得到吗？在北埃布尔达省的伍德布法罗国家公园，好几个世代的水獭筑起了一座大水坝，长达将近 3 千呎。这些忙碌的水獭建造了一个有胡佛水坝两倍大的栖息地，而胡佛水坝乃是世界最大的人造水坝之一。

在非洲的丛林深处，有许多稀奇古怪的事情发生，包括狮子绑架河马的幼儿，或犀牛溺水急需救援。本月份国家地理频道将播出《精彩直击大公开》一系列节目，捕捉非洲动物各式各样罕见的怪异行径。

答案：1. (C)2. (D)3. (B)

For Your Information

使用工具是评断动物智力的关键因素之一，过去科学家曾发现，章鱼会用触手去开瓶子，现在又发现章鱼会收集椰子壳自卫，证明章鱼的智慧可能比人类想象中还要高出许多。

澳洲科学家在印度尼西亚的海域发现，章鱼其实会收集椰子壳，把身体藏在里面用来躲避猎物的攻击，而这也是第一次发现无脊椎动物会使用工具的证据。他们发现印度尼西亚当地的纹理章鱼不但会带着椰子壳跑，还会把身体藏在合起来的椰子壳中，用来躲避攻击。（数据源：东森新闻）