TPO11 Begging by Nestlings - 英檢

※ 引述《chingting (有回憶的人最幸福)》之銘言：
: As these experiments show, begging apparently provides a signal of need that
: parents use to make judgments about which offspring can benefit most from a
: feeding. But the question arises, why don't nestlings beg loudly when they
: aren't all that hungry? By doing so, they could possibly secure more food,
: which should result in more rapid growth or larger size, either of which is
: advantageous. The answer lies apparently not in the increased energy costs of
: exaggerated begging—such energy costs are small relative to the potential
: gain in calories— but rather in the damage that any successful cheater would
: do to its siblings, which share genes with one another. An individual's
: success in propagating his or her genes can be affected by more than just
: his or her own personal reproductive success.
: 11. In paragraph 6, the author compares the energy costs of vigorous begging
: with the potential gain in calories from such begging in order to
: A) explain why begging for food vigorously can lead to faster growth and
: increased size
: B) By begging loudly for food it does not need, a nestling would
: unnecessarily expose itself to danger from predators.
: C) point out a weakness in a possible explanation for why nestlings do not
: always beg vigorously
: D) argue that the benefits of vigorous begging outweigh any possible
: disadvantages
: 我自己選D 答案是C 可以問一下為什麼D錯嗎?謝謝!!

這種題目叫做'修辭目的題'
問你為什麼作者要說出某些話或例子的用意是在於要達成什麼目的

好 先了解題目在問什麼之後
進到題目裡面看: 作者比較1)騙人大叫花更多力氣所須付出的能量engery costs
和2)由於這樣大叫可能獲得的食物所能攝取的熱量calories
作這樣的比較 作者的用意何在??
答案是C
很清楚 作者做出這樣的比較是要告訴讀者 大叫付出的engert costs不是
這一段的一開始提出的問題(為何小鳥(不論餓不餓)並沒有全部都大聲叫吵糖吃)的解答
因為可能騙到手的食物能帶來更多熱量
所以這樣比較的目的 是在指出這個可能原因/解釋所不能成立的緣故 也就是C

選項D是說 做這樣比較的目的是在聲明 大聲叫的好處遠超過其可能的壞處
顯然跟文意違背 如果大聲乞叫好 所有的幼鳥就都會大聲乞討
那就不會有本段一開始說的QUESTION ARISES

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