Dogs can recognize heat with “infrared sensor”

陕西汉中中学 冯永强

听力扫障

1.infrared /'ɪnfrə'red/ adj.红外线的

2.thermal /'θзːml/ adj.热的；热量的

3.radiation /'reɪdi'eɪʃn/ n.辐射

4.magnetic /mæɡ'netɪk/ adj.磁性的

5.resonance /'rezənəns/ n.共振

6.consent /kən'sent/ n.准许；同意

7.retriever /rɪ'triːvə(r)/ n.寻回犬

8.collie /'kɒli/ n.科利牧羊犬

9.predator /'predətə(r)/ n.捕食性动物

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Ⅰ.判断正误

听下段录音并阅读3个简短的陈述， 根据录音内容判断这些陈述是否符合所听内容。考查重点是学生对意义的理解能力和信息获取能力。

In this section, you will hear a passage.After you hear the passage, decide whether each of the statements is correct (A), incorrect (B) or not mentioned (C).

Ⅱ.听力理解

听下面的文章，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。

1.Where is the dog's infrared sensor?

A.In the front of the nose.

B.In the middle of the nose.

C.On the end of the nose.

2.What can scientists know from the discovery?

A.How some animals recognize their prey.

B.How some animals live in the hot weather.

C.How some animals communicate with others.

3.How many experiments does the study include?

A.Two. B.Three. C.Four.

4.How many dogs were involved in the second experiment?

A.Three.

B.Thirteen.

C.Thirty.

文本解说

研究发现狗的鼻子末端有很多神经末梢，其中一个类似“红外传感器”的神经末梢能够帮助狗识别温度的变化及热量的改变，这能帮助狗猎食。

题材篇幅 难度狗识别热量 说明文体裁 建议用时358词 ★★6分钟

Dogs have a kind of sensor on the end of their nose that helps them recognize small changes in temperature, such as when other animals are nearby.

That information comes from scientists at Lund University in Sweden and Hungary's Eötvös Loránd University.The scientists say the discovery can help researchers better understand how some animals identify their prey.The findings appeared in Scientific Reports, a publication produced by Nature Research.

The scientists reported that the wet skin surface at the end of a dog's nose is full of nerve endings.“It works like a kind ofinfraredsensor,” they said.“Dogs are able to sense the thermal radiation coming from warm bodies or weakthermal radiationand they can also direct their behavior according to this signal,” said Anna Balint.She was the lead author of the published report.

“We tested whether we can find an area in the brain that shows higher activity if they are exposed to a warmer object,” she added.Brain imaging tests showed increased brain activity when dogs were shown objects that were warmer than their surroundings.

The study involved two sets of experiments.In one, Lund University researchers used weak thermal radiation to train three dogs.The other, at the Eötvös Loránd University, involved 13 dogs.They were given functionalmagnetic resonanceimaging tests to see how the brain reacted if they recognized weak thermal radiation.Researchers were careful to note that all the animals were privately owned.Owners gave “informedconsentfor their dogs to be used in the study”.Among the dogs involved in the experiments were goldenretrieversand bordercollies.

Ronald Kröger is a scientist at Lund University.He noted “it is possible that other carnivorans possess a similar infrared sense and that adds a new chapter to the story of prey-predatorrelationships”.The researchers wrote that in the grey wolf, the closest wild relative of domestic dogs, “The ability to detect the radiation from warm bodies would be advantageous for such predators.” Kröger added, “Predator hunting strategies have to be re-evaluated and the biology of prey animals has to be revisited with body heat sensing predators in mind.”