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As I wash dishes at the kitchen sink, my husband, Scott, paces behind me, annoyed. “Have you seen my keys?” he asks. In the past I would have turned off the tap and joined the hunt while trying to comfort my husband. But that only made him angrier. Now, I focus on the wet dish in my hands. I don’t turn around. I don’t say a word. I’m using a technique I learned from a dolphin trainer.

For a book I was writing about animal trainers’ school, I started spending my days watching professional trainers do the seemingly impossible: teaching dogs to dance on command and chimps to skateboard. Eventually it hit me that the same techniques might work on that stubborn but lovable species, the American husband. The central lesson I learned is that I should reward behaviour I like and ignore behaviour I don’t. After all, you don’t get a sea lion to balance a ball on the end of its nose by talking. The same goes for the American husband.

I began thanking Scott if he threw one dirty shirt into the laundry basket. If he threw in two, I’d kiss him. I was using what trainers call “approximations”, rewarding the small steps toward learning a whole new behaviour. With Scott the husband, I began to praise every small act every time: if he drove just a mile an hour slower, or was on time for anything.

I followed the students to Sea World San Diego, where a dolphin trainer introduced me to Least Reinforcing Scenario (L. R. S.). When a dolphin does something wrong, the trainer doesn’t respond in any way. The idea is that any response, positive or negative, fuels a behaviour. If a behaviour causes no response, it typically dies away. It was only a matter of time before he was again searching for his keys, at which point I said nothing and kept at what I was doing. It took a lot of discipline to maintain my calm, but results were immediate. I felt as if I should throw him a small fish.

1.What can we infer about the writer?

A. She treats her husband like animals.

B. She often quarrels with her husband.

C. She behaves differently to her husband.

D. She’s determined to learn from the dolphin.

2.How did the writer get the idea of treating her husband?

A. By rewarding her husband.

B. By writing a book on animals.

C. By watching professional training.

D. By focusing on washing the dishes.

3.What will happen if the trainer doesn’t respond to the dolphin’s mistake?

A. It will feel embarrassed.

B. It will forget the mistake.

C. It will remember its mistake.

D. It will repeat the wrong action.

4.What is the tone of the text?

A. Humorous.   B. Serious.   C. Aggressive.   D. Doubtful.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题

少年,再来一题如何?
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