unit6A课文WHAT ANIMALS REALLY THINK.docx

unit6A课文WHAT ANIMALS REALLY THINK.docx

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unit6A课文WHATANIMALSREALLYTHINK

WHATANIMALSREALLYTHINK

EuqeneLinden

Overtheyears,Ihavewrittenextensivelyaboutanimal-intelligenceexperimentsandthecontroversythatsurroundsthem.Doanimalsreallyhavethoughts,whatwecallconsciousness?

Wonderingwhethertheremightbebetterwaystoexploreanimalintelligencethanexperimentsdesignedtoteachhumansigns,Irealizedwhatnowseemsobvious:

ifanimalscanthink,theywillprobablydotheirbestthinkingwhenitservestheirownpurposes,notwhenscientistsaskthemto.

 AndsoIstartedtalkingtovets,animalresearchers,zookeepers.Mostdonotstudyanimalintelligence,buttheyencounterit,and

thelackofit,everyday.ThestoriestheytellusrevealwhatI'mconvincedisanewwindowonanimalintelligence:

thekindofmentalfeatsanimalsperformwhendealingwithcaptivityandthedominantspeciesontheplanet—humans.

Let'sMakeaDeal

 ConsiderthetimeCharleneJendry,aconservationistattheColumbusZoo,learnedthatafemalegorillanamedColowashandlingasuspiciousobject.Arrivingonthescene,JendryofferedColosomepeanuts,onlytobemetwithablankstare.Realizingtheywerenegotiating,Jendryraisedthestakesandofferedapieceofpineapple.Atthispoint,whilemaintainingeyecontact,Coloopenedherhandandrevealedakeychain.

 Relieveditwasnotanythingdangerousorvaluable,JendrygaveColothepineapple.Carefulbargainerthatshewas,ColothenbrokethekeychainandgaveJendryalink,perhapsfiguring,WhygiveherthewholethingifIcangetabitofpineappleforeachpiece?

 Ifananimalcanshowskillintradingonethingforanother,whynotinhandlingmoney?

OneorangutannamedChantekdidjustthatinasign-languagestudyundertakenbyanthropologistLynMilesattheUniversityofTennessee.Chantekfiguredoutthatifhedidtaskslikecleaninghisroom,he'dearncoinstospendontreatsandridesinMiles'scar.Buttheorangutan'sunderstandingofmoneyseemedtoextendfarbeyondsimpledealings.Milesfirstusedplasticchipsascoins,butChantekdecidedhecouldexpandthemoneysupplybybreakingchipsintwo.WhenMilesswitchedtometalchips,Chantekfoundpiecesoftinfoilandtriedtomakecopies.

 MilesalsotriedtoteachChantekmorevirtuoushabitssuchassavingandsharing.Indeed,whenIcaughtupwiththeorangutanatZooAtlanta,wherehenowlives,Isawanexampleofsharingthatanyonemightenvy.WhenMilesgaveChanteksomegrapesandaskedhimtosharethem,Chantekpromptlyateallthefruit.Then,asifhe'djustrememberedhe'dbeenaskedtoshare,hehandedMilesthestem.

TaleofaWhale

 Whywouldananimalwanttocooperatewithahuman?

Behavioristswouldsaythatanimalscooperatewhentheylearnitisintheirinteresttodoso.

Thisistrue,butIdon'tthinkitgoesfarenough.

GailLaule,aconsultantonanimalbehavior,speaksofOrky,akillerwhale,sheknew.“OfalltheanimalsI'veworkedwith,hewasthemostintelligent,”shesays.“Hewouldassessasituationandthendosomethingbasedonthejudgmentshemade.”

Likethetimehehelpedsaveafamilymember.WhenOrky'smate,Corky,gavebirth,thebabydidnotthriveatfirst,andkeeperstookthelittlewhaleoutofthetankbystretcherforemergencycare.Thingsbegantogowrongwhentheyreturnedthebabywhaletothetank.Astheworkershaltedthestretcherafewmetersabovethewater,thebabysuddenlybeganthrowingupthroughitsmouth.Thekeepersfeareditwouldchoke,buttheycouldnotreachthebabytohelpit.

 Apparentlysizinguptheproblem,Orkyswamunderthestretcherandallowedoneofthementostandonhishead,somethinghe'dneverbeentrainedtodo.Then,usinghistailtokeepsteady,Orkyletthekeeperreachupandreleasethe420-poundbabysothatitcouldslideintothewaterwithinreachofhelp.

PrimateShellGame

 Sometimesevidenceofintelligencecanbeseeninattemptstodeceive.ZookeeperHelenShewmanofSeattle'sWoodlandParkZoorecallsthatonedayshedroppedanorangethroughafeedingholeforMelati,anorangutan.Insteadofmovingawaytogetit,

MelatilookedShewmanintheeyeandheldoutherhand.Thinkingtheorangemusthaverolledoffsomewhereinaccessible,Shewmangaveheranotherone.ButwhenMelatimovedoff,Shewmannoticedtheoriginalorangewashiddeninherotherhand.

 Towan,thecolony'sdominantmale,watchedthiswholetrick,andthenextdayhe,too,lookedShewmanintheeyeandpretendedthathehadnotyetreceivedanorange.“Areyousureyoudon'thaveone?

”Shewmanasked.Hecontinuedtoholdhergazesteadilyandheldouthishand.Givingin,shegavehimanotherone,thensawthathehadbeenhidinghisorangeunderneathhisfoot.

 Whatisintelligenceanyway?

Iflifeisaboutsurvivalofaspecies—andintelligenceismeanttoservethatsurvival—thenwecan'tcomparewithpea-brainedseaturtles,whichwereherelongbeforeusandsurvivedthedisasterthatwipedoutthedinosaurs.Still,itiscomfortingtorealizethatotherspeciesbesidesourowncanstandbackandassesstheworldaroundthem,

eveniftheirhorizonsaremorelimitedthanours.

intelligence:

abilitytolearnandunderstand智力

Docomputershaveanyintelligence?

Don'tactlikesuchanidiot—useyourintelligence,

（intelligenta.

Withinafewyearsanintelligentcomputerwillcertainlybeanimportanttoolfordoctors.

Evenifyouareintelligent,youcan'tbeanexcellentstudentwithoutworkinghard.）

controversy:

alotofdiscussionandargumentaboutsth.,ofteninvolvingstrongfeelingsof

angerordisapproval（followedbyoverorabout）争论;争议

Anewcontroversyaroseregardingthepolitician'sfinances.

Thereisafierce/bitter/heatedcontroversyoverthepublishingofhisbook.

surround:

beorgoallaround（sth.orsb.）围绕;包围

Thevillagewassurroundedbydesert.Sothevillagershadtoabandonitandmovetootherareas.

Theshellsurroundingtheegghasmanyimportantfunctions.

Thebabywassittingonthefloorsurroundedbytoys.

explore:

1）examinethoroughly,learnabout探究,探索

Theengineershavealreadyexploredthepossibilityofbuildingabridgeovertheriver.

Therepairmanexploredmycarandsaidhewouldfixittomorrow.

2）travelover（aregion,area,etc.）forthepurposeofdiscovery探索

Bothadultsandchildrenfinditexcitingtoexplorespace.

ThemanwillexploretheSaharadesertonfoot.

obvious:

easytoseeandunderstand;clear明显的

Itmustbeobvioustoeveryonethathe'slying.

ItisobviousthattheChinesewomen'ssoccerteamwilldefeattheAmericanwomen'steam.

encounter:

（fml）meet,esp.unexpectedly遇到,遭遇

Sheencounteredanoldfriendonthestreet.

Beforetheyhadgoneveryfar,theyencounteredayoungmansellingoranges.

 reveal:

make（sth.）known展示,揭露

Thedetailsofthenewpolicyformedicalinsurancehavebeenrevealed.

Hisresearchincloning"Dolly"revealedsomeveryimportantfacts.

AsurveyoftheChinesediethasrevealedthatagrowingnumberofchildrenincitiesareoverweight.

convince:

make（sb.）feelsurebytheuseofargumentorevidence（usedinthepatterns:

convincesb.ofsth.,convincesb.that）使确信,使信服

Hisparentsmanagedtoconvincehimthatteachingwasthemostsuitableprofessionforhim.

Wefinallyconvincedthepoliceofourinnocence,

（beconvinced:

feelcertainthatsth.istrue确信的,信服的

Iwasconvincedthatweweredoingtherightthing.）

dominant:

ruling;stronger,morepowerful,ormorenoticeablethanotherpeopleorthings统治的;占优势的

CharlieChaplinwasadominantfigureintheAmericanfilmindustry.

Thedominantpowerstookcontroloftheconference.

makeadeal:

reachanagreementorarrangement,esp.inbusinessorpolitics达成交易

I'llmakeadealwithyou—youwashthecarandI'llletyouuseittonight.

ThecarcompanyhasmadeadealwithaJapanesefirm,whichwillsupplyenginesinexchangeforbrakes.

Onlyto（dosth.）

isoftenusedtoindicatethatsb.didsth.withadisappointingorsurprisingresult.Infinitivetofunctionsasresultadverbial.

Hehurriedtotherailwaystation,onlytofindthatthetrainhadleft.

Hehadoncetriedinvitingherout,onlytomeetwitharathercoolresponse.

negotiate:

discussinordertocometoanagreement（usedinthepatterns:

negotiateforsth.,

negotiatetodosth.,negotiatewithsb.）协商,谈判,商谈

Wewillnegotiateforapayincreaseof3.5%.

Thegovernmentrefusedtonegotiatewithterrorists.

Therewerereportsthatthreecompanieswerenegotiatingtosharethemarket.

maintain:

continuetodoorhave（sth.）保持;继续

Thehotelstaffshoweddeterminationtomaintainhigh-qualityservice.

OurdepartmentmaintainsclosecontactswiththeITindustry.

Microsoftintendstomaintainitspositionasmarketleader.

ThetaxidriverandhisfriendEdmaintainedtheirfriendshipforover30years.

relieve:

free（sb.）frompain,anxiety,etc.;ease（pain,anxiety,etc.）（usedinthepattern:

relieve

sb.ofsth.）使减轻痛苦或焦虑;减轻痛苦或焦虑等

Takingapart-timejobwouldrelieveyouofthefinancialburden.

Drugscanrelievemuchofthepain.

undertake:

carryout;takeupononeself（atask,etc.）从事;承担（任务等）

TheUnitedNationswassupposedtoundertaketheroleofglobalpeace-keeper.

Youshouldthinkverycarefullybeforeyouundertaketheresponsibilitiesofagen-eralmanagerofamulti-nationalcompany.

We'llhavetoemploymorestaffifwe'retoundertakemorework.

figureout:

understand;reasonout理解;推断出

Ican'tfigureoutwhyhequithiswell-paidjobtoundertakesuchtediouswork.

Ican'tfigureherout;oneminuteshe'shappy,thenext,sad.

Ittookme2hourstofigure