A whistle is a high-pitched sound made by blowing air through a hole.
If you signal to someone, you make an action or a sound to tell them something.
[A] Many people say dolphins are intelligent. They seem to be able to think, understand, and learn things quickly. But are they as smart as humans, or are they more like cats and dogs? Dolphins use their brains quite differently from the way people do. But scientists say dolphins and humans are alike in some ways. How?
Communication
[B] Like humans, every dolphin has its own “name.” The name is a special whistle. Each dolphin chooses a whistle for itself, usually by its first birthday. Dolphins are like people in other ways, too. They “talk” to each other about a lot of things—such as their age, their feelings, and possible danger. They also use a system of sounds and body language to communicate. Understanding dolphin conversation is not easy for humans. No one “speaks dolphin” yet, but some scientists are trying to learn.
Play
[C] Dolphins live in groups called pods, and they often join other dolphins from different pods to play games and have fun—just like people. Sometimes they chase other dolphins carrying objects (e.g., seaweed) and throw these objects back and forth. Scientists believe playing together is something only intelligent animals do.
Teamwork
[D] Dolphins and humans are similar in another way: They both make plans for getting things they want. In the seas of southern Brazil, for example, dolphins use an intelligent method to get food. When there are fish near a boat, dolphins signal to the fishermen to put their nets in the water. With the dolphins’ help, the men can catch a lot of fish. Why do dolphins assist the men? There is an advantage for the dolphins: They get to eat some of the fish that escape from the net.
Choose the best answer for each question.
Q1. What does the reading NOT mention?
a) How dolphins communicate with each other
b) How dolphins move quickly through the water
c) How dolphins play games and have fun
Q2. The author mentions cats and dogs in paragraph A to show that .
a) Cats and dogs are very intelligent
b) There are different levels of intelligence
c) Scientists have studied the brains of cats and dogs
Q3. Where does a dolphin get its “name”?
a) It gets it from its mother.
b) It gets it from scientists.
c) It chooses it for itself.
Q4. Which sentence about dolphin language is true?
a) Dolphins “talk” to each other about many things.
b) Dolphin conversation is easy for humans to understand.
c) Dolphins can’t understand dolphins from other pods.
Q5. Why do dolphins sometimes help fishermen?
a) Dolphins are kind animals.
b) The dolphins can get food that way.
c) The fishermen ask the dolphins for help.
Read the paragraph below and match each word in bold with its definition (1–5).
There are a few ways to test how smart animals are. One method is to test memory. Scientists in Japan showed a group of college students and a group of five-year-old chimps the numbers 1 to 9 in different places on a computer screen. The test was to see if the groups could remember the position of the numbers in the correct order. Each time, the chimps were faster than the students. Why? Were the chimps special in some way? Did someone assist them? No, but the chimps probably had an important advantage: They were young. As both humans and animals get older, their memory gets worse.
1. _____: a way of doing something
2. _____: to help
3. _____: clever
4. _____: better or more important than others
5. _____: something that helps you succeed
Complete the information with these words.
Orangutans and humans are ______ in some ways. Both are very ______ animals. For example, to stay dry when it rains, orangutans take leaves from trees and use them like umbrellas. These apes don’t have a complex language ______ like humans do. But today, some orangutans are learning basic sign language to express their thoughts and ______. New research also suggests that orangutans can ______ about the past, just like humans.
Post Listening 1
Post Listening 2
Post Listening 3