Despite the fact that parrots are well known for their long lives and complex cognition (认知), it remains unknown whether the two traits (特征) have influenced each other.

“The problem has been sourcing good quality data,” said Simeon Smeele, a doctoral student at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB) and lead author of a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B that tried to solve this question.

Q: What did the study aim to find out about parrots?

The diversity in their life expectancies.

The factors that influence their intelligence.

The traits that help them survive in the wild.

The link between their cognition and life spans.

细节理解题。根据第一段中 “Despite the fact that parrots are well known for their long lives and complex cognition (认知), it remains unknown whether the two traits (特征) have influenced each other. (尽管鹦鹉以长寿和复杂的认知能力闻名，但这两个特征是否相互影响仍不得而知。)” 和第二段 “‘The problem has been sourcing good quality data,’ said Simeon Smeele, a doctoral student at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB) and lead author of a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B that tried to solve this question. (‘问题始终在于难以获取高质量数据，’ 马克斯·普朗克动物行为研究所 (MPI-AB) 博士生、发表于《皇家学会B辑》并试图解答该研究的第一作者西梅翁·斯米埃尔表示。)” 可知，尽管鹦鹉以长寿和复杂的认知能力而闻名，但这两种特征是否相互影响仍不清楚，因此该研究的目的是弄清楚鹦鹉的认知和寿命之间的联系。故选D。