Ⅲ. 阅读理解(每小题2分,满分20分)

(2025·厦门二模) Most people use one hand more than the other, like being right-handed or left-handed. Surprisingly, elephants also have a preferred side for using their trunks! German scientists studied this by watching Asian and African elephants in zoos and wildlife parks. They spent months recording how elephants used their trunks to pick up food, drink water, and play with objects.
How did they discover an elephant's "favourite side"? The answer lies in the wrinkles(皱纹) on their trunks. The team discovered that the wrinkles on an elephant's trunk are not the same on both sides. For example, some elephants are left-trunkers. These elephants pick up objects towards the left side of their bodies. So, their trunks have more wrinkles on the left side.
Interestingly, Asian and African elephants showed differences. Asian elephants' trunks have more wrinkles than African elephants'. More wrinkles make trunks more flexible, similar to how folds in an accordion(手风琴) work. This might explain why Asian elephants' trunks bend(弯曲) more easily. Another key difference is the end of the trunk. African elephants have two finger-like parts at the trunk's end, allowing them to scoop objects like humans using two fingers. Asian elephants, however, have only one "finger", so they depend on their highly wrinkled trunks to lift up things.
Why do these differences matter? Scientists believe Asian elephants need more wrinkles to help them collect food in the forests where they live, while African elephants' double "fingers" work better for getting objects on the open grasslands. This study shows how animals' bodies get used to their environments. Next time you see an elephant, look closely—its trunk wrinkles might tell you whether it's a "left-trunker" or a "right-trunker"!
1. 新考法 写作手法 How does the writer start the text?
A. By telling a fact.
B. By explaining words.
C. By listing numbers.
D. By describing a scene.
2. 语言能力 归纳能力 What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
A. A discovery of elephant habits.
B. A problem in elephant's living.
C. An example of elephant protection.
D. A method for elephant watching.
3. What does the underlined word "flexible" mean in Paragraph 3?
A. Valuable.
B. Touchable.
C. Bendable.
D. Acceptable.
4. What can be found on the trunk of an African elephant?
①more wrinkles
②fewer wrinkles
③one finger-like part
④two finger-like parts
A. ①③
B. ①④
C. ②③
D. ②④
5. 语言能力 推断能力 What is the main purpose of this text?
A. To tell what elephant trunks can be used to do.
B. To discuss how people influence where elephants live.
C. To find out why elephants prefer a certain kind of food.
D. To show how elephants fit physically in their environments.