大学英语阅读教程(二)
Warm-up 1. What kind of animal do you want to keep as a pet? 2. What kind of animal do you think is the cleverest? What Animals Really Think? 1 Over the years, I have written extensively about animal-intelligence experiments and the controversy that surrounds them. I have witnessed the problems scientists encounter when they try to examine phenomena as elusive as language and idea formation. Do animals really have thoughts, what we call consciousness? Wondering whether there might be better ways to explore animal intelligence than experiments designed to teach human signs, I realized what now seems obvious: if animals can think, they will probably do their best thinking when it serves their own purposes, not when scientists ask them to. 2 And so I started talking to vets, animal researchers, zoo keepers. Most do not study animal intelligence, but they encounter it, and the lack of it, every day. The stories they tell about their charges reveal what I'm convinced is a new window on animal intelligence: the kind of mental feats animals perform when dealing with captivity and the dominant species on the planet-humans. Let's Make a Deal 3 Consider the time Charlene Jendry, a primate conservationist at the Columbus Zoo, learned that a femalegorilla named Cob was clutching a suspicious object. Arriving on the scene, Jendry offered Cob some peanuts, only to be met with a blank stare. Realizing they were negotiating, Jendry offered a piece of pineapple. At this point, while maintaining eye contact, Cob opened her hand and revealed a key chain. 4 Relieved it was not anything dangerous or valuable, Jendry gave Cob the pineapple. Astute bargainer that she was, Cob then broke the key chain and gave Jendry a link, perhaps figuring, Why give her the whole thing if I can get a bit of pineapple for each piece? 5 If an animal can show skill in the
barter business, why not in handling money? One ape, an orangutan
named Chantek, did just that while part of a sign-language study
undertaken by anthropologist Lyn Miles at the 6 Miles also tried to teach Chantek more good habits such as saving and sharing. Indeed, when I caught up with the orangutan at Zoo Atlanta, where he now lives, I saw an example of sharing that a robber baron might envy. When Miles gave Chantek some grapes and asked him to share them, Chantek promptly ate all the fruit. Then, seemingly remembering he'd been asked to share, he handed Miles the stem. Tale of a Whale 7 Why would an animal want to cooperate with a human? Behaviorists would say that animals cooperate when they learn it is in their interest to do so. This is true, but I don't think it goes far enough. 8 Gail Laule, a consultant on animal behavior with Active Environments Inc., a zoological consulting firm, speaks of an orca (killer whale) she knew. "Of all the animals I've worked with, Orky was the most intelligent," she says. "He would assess a situation and then do something based on the judgments he made." 9 Like the time he helped save a family member. When Orky's mate, Corky, gave birth, the baby did not thrive at first, and keepers took the little whale out of the tank by stretcher for emergency care. Things began to go awry when they returned the orca to the tank. As the stretcher halted a few feet above the water, the baby suddenly began throwing up through its mouth and blowhole. The keepers feared this could bring on pneumonia, but they could not reach the baby to help it. 10 Apparently sizing up the problem, Orky swam under the stretcher and allowed one of the men to stand on his head, something he'd never been trained to do. Then, using his tail flukes to keep steady, Orky let the keeper reach up and release the bridleso the 420-pound baby could slide into the water within reach of help. Primate Shell Game 11 Sometimes evidence
of intelligence can be seen as acts of devious behavior.
Zoo keeper Helen Shewman of 12 Towan, the colony's dominant male, watched this whole process, and the next day he, too, looked Shewman in the eye and pretended that he had not yet received an orange. 'Are you sure you don't have one?" Shewman asked. He continued to hold her gaze steadily and held out his hand. Pityingly, she gave him another one, then saw that he had been hiding his orange underneath his foot. Polly Wanna Wisecrack? 13 Can animals have a sense of humor? Sally Blanchard, editor of the Pet Bird Report, thinks that they can. That's one explanation for the time her African gray parrot, Bongo Marie, seemed to pretend distress at the possible death of an Amazon parrot named Paco. 14 It happened one day when Blanchard was making a hen for dinner. As she lifted her knife, the African gray said, "Oh, no! Paco!" Trying not to laugh, Blanchard said, "That's not Paco," and showed Bongo Marie that the Amazon was alive and well. Mimicking a disappointed tone, Bongo Marie said, "Oh, no," and launched into a wild laugh. 15 Was the parrot joking when it seemed to believe the other bird was a goner? Did it comprehend Blanchard's response? Studies show that African grays understand the meanings of words, for example, that red refers to a color, not just to a particular red object. Moreover, parrots appear to enjoy getting a reaction out of humans, so this event may have been satisfying from Bongo Marie's point of view. 16 What Is intelligence anyway? If life is about perpetuation of a species---and intelligence is meant to serve that perpetuation---then we can't hold a candle to a kind of sea turtles, which predated us and survived the disaster that wiped out the dinosaurs. Still, it is comforting to realize that other species besides our own can stand back and appraise the world around them, even if their horizons are more constrained than ours. (1,122 words) ( Eugene Linden Readers’ Digest Feb. 2000 ) Words and Expressions: elusive [i5ljU:siv] a. 难以理解的 gorilla [gE5rilE] n. 大猩猩 astute [E5stjU:t] a. 精明的 barter [5bB:tE(r)] n 物物交换 orangutan [R:7rANU:5tAn] n. 猩猩 counterfeit [5kaUntEfit] n. 假币 realm [relm] n. 王国 foil [fRil] n. 金属薄片 thrive [Wraiv] v. 茁壮成长 go awry （事） 出岔子 throw up （口） 呕吐 blowhole [5blEJhEJ] n. 呼吸孔 size up （口） 估计到 fluke [flU:k] n. 鲸的尾片 bridle [5braidl] n. 束缚 robber baron （十九世纪后期靠巧取豪夺及残酷剥削致富的）强盗资本家 devious [5di:viEs] a. 欺诈的 shuffle [5FQfl] v. 拖着脚走 wisecrack [5waizkrAk] n. （口）俏皮话 mimic [5mimik] v. 模仿 perpetuation [pE7petjU5eiFEn] n. 永恒 dinosaur [5dainEsR:(r)] n. 恐龙 appraise [E5preiz ] v. 评价 constrained [kEn5streind] a. 被约束的 COMPREHENSION I. Short answer questions: 1. Why did Cob break the key chain and give Jendry a link? 2. Why could we say Orky was clever? 3. Why did the writer say “Sometimes evidence of intelligence can be seen as acts of devious behavior”? 4. Why did Sally think animals could have a sense of humor? II. Translate 1. Most do not study animal intelligence, but they encounter it, and the lack of it, every day. 2. Chantek figured out that if he did chores like cleaning his room, he’d earn coins to spend on treats and rides in Miles’ car. 3. Then, seemingly remembering he'd been asked to share, he handed Miles the stem. 4. He continued to hold her gaze steadily and held out his hand 5. Studies show that African grays understand the meanings of words, for example, that red refers to a color, not just to a particular red object. Reference keys: I. 1. She wanted to get a piece of pineapple for each link, instead of getting only one piece for the whole thing. 2. He was aware of the problem and did something he’d never been trained to help the keeps to save the baby whale. 3. Because Helen, a zoo keeper, has found that 2 orangutans used their intelligence to cheat her in order to get more oranges. 4. As a matter of fact, her parrot played a joke on her. II. 1. 大多数人并不研究动物智能，但他们每天遇到这个问题，并感到缺乏这方面的知识。 2. Chantek 懂的了如果他完成诸如打扫自己房间这样的任务，他就能挣些钱买好吃的东西犒劳自己，或是坐Miles的车去兜风。 3. 而后，似乎是记起了Miles曾让他与之共享，就把葡萄梗递给他。 4. 他仍然紧盯着她的眼睛，伸着手。 5. 研究表明，非洲鹦鹉懂得词意。例如，他们懂得红色是制一种颜色。而不仅仅是指某一特定的物体。 |