2016年11月13日托福阅读真题+题目+答案：Small Mammals

2016年11月13日托福阅读真题+题目+答案：Small Mammals

For mammals, one obvious advantage of smallness in the natural environment pertains to easy concealment from predators: by hiding rather than fleeing, a small mammal can cut back on energy expended for locomotion – a crucial economy for hot-bodied small mammals. Most species of small mammals are either active mainly at night or at dawn and dusk, and therefore are faced with predation pressure more from flying predators than those on land. However, foraging below the leaf litter, under the snow (subnivean), or in the subterranean environment certainly reduces vulnerability to capture from above. For small mammals such as insectivores, rodents, and small marsupials, concealing coat coloration adds additional advantage to small size in avoiding detection from aerial predators. Also, small size affords a wider range of available food types. ▋Small mammals focus their foraging on the availability of resources to meet their energy needs. ▋Some small mammals, such as mice, consume almost everything they come in contact with, including invertebrates, plant material such as rhizomes, fruits, seeds, leaves, flowers, ferns, and fungi.▋

1.The word “expended” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A.saved

B.produced

C.needed

D.used

2.According to paragraph 1, all of the following help small mammals avoid detection by predators EXCEPT

A.going to a place they cannot be seen

B.searching for food under the ground surface

C.having coat colors that make it difficult to be noticed

D.focusing on a small number of food types

3.Based on paragraph 1, which of the following can be inferred about the predators of small mammals?

A.Land predators catch small mammals more effectively during the day than at night.

B.Flying predators can easily spot small mammals moving below the leaf litter.

C.Land predators are the main source of pressure on the small mammal population.

D.Flying predators are especially well suited to catching small mammals beneath the snow.

Small size also enables small mammals to utilize microhabitats that are well insulated from fluctuating temperatures in the ambient environment. ▋Small bodies can lose heat rapidly due to their high surface-area-to-volume ratios; they must conserve energy by reducing conductive heat loss. By living in subterranean tunnels under forest floors, below the grass cover of prairies, or, better yet, in subnivean runways below a blanket of snow, small mammals are able to reduce heat loss in spite of fluctuating ambient temperatures. Small size enables these mammals to utilize microhabitats characterized by improved microclimatic temperatures and humidities. Another advantage of being a small mammal is the high fertility rate seen in many species. Most small mammals have short life spans, short generation times, and high turnover rates; as a consequence, changes in the genetic composition of a population may occur in a short time. Such mechanisms provide populations of small mammals with resiliency and the possibility of adapting to and coping with habitat changes.

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