Should “bird brain” be a compliment? New research examines how crows think fast

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the questions, then listen before opening the transcript. Notice names, numbers and any corrections the speaker makes.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What happens first in the sequence described for visual decision-making?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A response is selected before perception occurs
   2. Something is seen before it is assessed
   3. Information is compared with human experience
   4. A judgment is communicated verbally
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Something is seen before it is assessed

   The recording explicitly begins the sequence with seeing or detecting something.

   The finding concerns the speed with which information is converted into a response: something is seen, assessed, and used to guide a decision.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the comparison involve besides decision speed?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Their physical size relative to primates
   2. Their habitat preferences relative to humans
   3. Their information-processing patterns relative to humans
   4. Their ability to imitate human speech
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Their information-processing patterns relative to humans

   It also concerns how crows process information relative to humans.

   The study also indicates that crows process information in ways quite similar to humans.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why might the mental stages seem instantaneous?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Because they require no interpretation
   2. Because they occur without any sensory input
   3. Because their complexity is not visibly apparent
   4. Because crows experience time differently
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Because their complexity is not visibly apparent

   Their apparent immediacy conceals a demanding series of operations.

   These stages may appear instantaneous, but they represent a demanding sequence of mental operations.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What two points does the recording use to explain the findings’ significance?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Their small size and woodland habitat
   2. Their speed and human-like processing pattern
   3. Their memory and ability to use language
   4. Their evolutionary age and social structure
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Their speed and human-like processing pattern

   It highlights unusual speed and resemblance to human information processing.

   First, it presents crows as unusually fast at linking visual input with a decision.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What claim does the research explicitly avoid establishing?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. That crows respond to visual information
   2. That crows process information rapidly
   3. That crows are simply smarter overall
   4. That crows possess cognitive capacities
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   That crows are simply smarter overall

   The recording rejects a simple claim that crows are smarter overall.

   The research does not establish that crows are simply smarter than humans or primates.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the recording identify as only one dimension of cognition?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Speed
   2. Experience
   3. Understanding
   4. Similarity
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Speed

   It names speed as relevant but insufficient for assessing cognition comprehensively.

   Speed is only one dimension of cognition, and similarity in processing does not imply identical abilities, experiences, or forms of understanding.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What correction does the study offer readers?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A correction to exclusively human standards
   2. A correction to inaccurate bird migration records
   3. A correction to the definition of visual information
   4. A correction to the chronology of primate evolution
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   A correction to exclusively human standards

   It challenges the assumption that intelligence belongs exclusively to humans.

   For readers accustomed to treating intelligence as an exclusively human benchmark, the study offers a useful correction.

8. Question 8 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What possibility does the concluding sentence emphasize?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Crows will necessarily surpass humans
   2. Small brains cannot support complex behavior
   3. Unfamiliar expressions of intelligence may still be sophisticated
   4. Human intelligence is merely a form of visual processing
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Unfamiliar expressions of intelligence may still be sophisticated

   It suggests sophisticated intelligence may appear in unfamiliar forms.

   A small bird’s brain may support rapid, sophisticated responses—even if its intelligence is expressed in ways that are unfamiliar to us.

What to review next

Listen again to difficult sections, then open the transcript to check what you heard. Repeat a useful phrase aloud and try the recording once more without the text.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Listen for the final information, especially when a speaker corrects or changes an earlier statement.

Example transcript: “Let’s meet at five — actually, half past five would be better.” What is the final suggested time?

The final suggested time is 5:30. Actually signals a correction; the first time is replaced by the later suggestion.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.