9．
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空。
Elephants are the largest land animals
alive today. African elephants live in family groups(call) herds (群). All of the
elephants in the herd take careeach
other. The leader of the herd is an old mother elephant. She is the matriarch (女族长). A herd may have as(few)
as eight or as many as 100 elephants. The other(elephant) follow the matriarchshe knows how to keep them safe.
Elephants learn by(watch) and copying other elephants, and
also learn from life. Baby elephants stay with their mothers until they are(full) grown at about ten years old.
Elephants live to be 50 or 60 years old. Elephants are smart animals with
strong memories. In the dry season, a matriarch can rememberwater was found in the past. The herd
will follow her there. She can also remember the safest place for baby
elephants to cross a fast-moving river.
Elephants talk to each other with rumbling
sounds. Some rumbling sounds are so low and(deeply). Elephants hear sounds not only
with their ears, but also with their feet, and even trunks (long noses of the
elephants). They also greet each other by touching with their trunks and feet.
If(dangerous)
appears, mothers beat their ears to call their babies.
