新编大学英语综合教程1unit5.docx

1、新编大学英语综合教程1unit5新编大学英语综合教程1-unit5 Unit 5 Animal World In-Class Reading Do Animals Have a Culture? 动物拥有文化吗？ 1 只有人类有文化呢，还是某些动物也同样有文化，这是社会科学家们最近才提出来的问题。说到文化，我们指的是某一类人群共有的生活方式。文化包涵了我们形成的信念和看法。正是人们的行为模式促使他们生活在一起，也正是人们的行为模式把不同的群体区分开来。人类失去了蛮力、爪子、长牙及其他自卫功能，然而文化为我们弥补了这些缺失。人类使用工具，相互合作，并借助语言进行交流沟通。但人类行为的这些方方面面

2、，或称之为“文化”的东西，在某些动物的生活中也同样存在。 3 我们过去一直认为会不会使用工具是人和其他动物的分界线。然而，最近我们发现情况并非如此。黑猩猩不但能够使用工具，事实上还能自己制造工具。与仅仅捡起身边的东西加以利用相比，这已经向前迈出了一大步。例如，有人看到黑猩猩把树叶扯掉，将树枝伸进白蚁巢穴。当白蚁啃咬树枝时，黑猩猩就把树枝抽回，然后把枝条底端的白蚁吃掉就像我们使用餐叉一样。 4 我们曾一度认为，尽管人类可以学习文化，但却不可能教会动物学文化。或者，即使动物能够学习，它们也不会像人类那样互相传授。然而，这一观点也同样是不正确的。日本京都大学猴子研究中心对一群日本猴进行过研究。科学家

3、们给猴子白薯，想把它们引到海岛的岸边。一天，为了去掉白薯上面的沙子，一只年轻的母猴开始用水来洗白薯。这一做法马上传遍了整个猴群。这是学来的行为，不是向人类学的，而是从其他猴子那里学到的。而凡是没有跟这一猴群接触过的其他所有的猴子几乎都不会用水洗去沙子。这样，动物间就存在了“文化差异”。 5 我们已经把使用和发明工具从区分动物和人类行为的方法中排除出去了, 同样也把学习和互相传授行为排除在外了。但我们仍抓住语言这最后一个特点不放。然而，即便是语言的使用也无法把人类文化和动物文化区分开来。教猿猴说话的尝试虽然失败了，但这是因为猿猴没有合适的发声器官。如果我们愿意采纳口语之外的其他语言形式的话，应该

4、说教猿猴学习语言一直是非常成功的。有两位心理学家曾训练一只名叫华秀的黑猩猩，教它使用美国标准手语。这种语言同样供聋人使用。用这种语言，“交谈”是通过手势来完成的，而不是把单词用一个个字母拼出来。当华秀长到五岁时，她掌握了130个手语词汇。而且，她还能用原先未教过的新方法来组合这些词汇。这表明她能创造性地使用语言，而不是单纯地模仿。她自己能遣词造句，表达真实的意思。这使双向交流得以实现，超越了单向的指令、反应模式。 6 当然，动物文化有其局限性。据我们所知，没有任何猿猴曾建立起任何诸如宗教或法律等社会制度。而且，尽管有些黑猩猩有可能学会手语，但这种语言形式在表达抽象思想时有局限性。而使用口头语言

5、使我们能把整个文化传递给任何一个会同种语言的人。也许最重要的一点是，人和动物的分界线并不像我们过去认为的那样清清楚楚 1 After-Class Reading 动物的玩耍 1 也许人人都看到过动物幼崽如小猫小狗玩耍。这些幼年的动物看起来肯定玩得很开心。它们相互追逐、打滚、摔跤、打转，还玩诸如球和木棒之类的物体。任何看过熊猫打滚和玩耍的人都明白，熊猫玩得痛快着呢。 2 所有动物都玩耍吗？它们玩耍的目的是什么？这些是科学家提出的问题。为了回答这些问题，我们首先必须就“玩耍”的定义取得一致意见。这可难了，因为即使动物科学家们对“玩耍”的定义都莫衷一是，更何况动词“玩耍”包含有许多不同的意思。（译者

6、注：英文中play 除“玩耍”外还有很多其他意思。） 3 在本文的讨论中，我们将依赖我们的常识来决定什么是玩耍。根据我们的经验，可以说玩耍是人与动物为了娱乐而做的事情。玩耍常常很像严肃且有目的的活动，但它并不实现什么严肃的目标。当然了，人们玩起来往往会非常认真。体育运动就是严肃认真而且精心设计的玩耍的例子。 4 动物为什么玩耍？最重要的理由很可能是为了学会生活中一些严肃而重要的活动。比如说，成年动物需要找寻食物、搏斗、寻觅伴侣，以及与同类中的其他动物相处。幼年动物可以通过玩耍来练习这些生活中的重要活动。通过玩耍，它们能够模仿猎获食物、打斗以及求偶。它们能学会怎样控制自己的行动、怎样协调适应它们

7、生活的环境以及怎样和自己群体中的其他动物相互交往。 5 并非所有的动物都玩耍。动物科学家们告诉我们，实际上，只有脊椎动物玩耍，其中，主要是高级脊椎动物。比如说, 昆虫、鱼和爬行动物不玩耍, 但是大多数哺乳动物都玩耍，尤其是在它们年幼时。总的来说，我们可以说高智商动物比低智商动物玩耍得多。换句话说，动物的智商越高，玩耍就会越复杂。 6 黑猩猩被公认为是与人类最接近的动物，是非人类哺乳动物中最聪明的。这种灵长类动物以一种精心策划而又复杂的方式玩耍。黑猩猩相互追逐、摔跤，还发明了种种游戏。在玩耍的方式上，只有人类比他们强。其他灵长类动物，比如猴子和大猩猩也喜欢玩耍，但不如黑猩猩玩耍得多。一些其他的脊

8、椎动物诸如海豚也很聪明，它们之间相互嬉戏，也与包括人类在内的其他动物嬉戏。对于这些聪明的动物来说，玩耍是一种取乐的方式，但也是一种培养创造性的方式，而且是一种采用新的方法使自己与所处环境相互协调的方式。也许人类在音乐、艺术和科学方面的创造性，就是以玩耍开始的。 2 课内阅读练习答案 Part One Preparation 1. A Guessing Game Sample (One student thinks of an animal. The other students ask him or her questions about the animal.) Q = Question A

9、 = Answer Q: Does it live in water? A: No, it doesnt. Q: Does it live in trees? A: No, it doesnt. Q: Does it have legs? A: Yes, it does. Q: Does it have four legs? A: Yes, it does. Q: Does it hunt other animals? A: No, it doesnt. Q: Does it run fast? A: Yes, it does. Q: Is it a mammal? A: Yes, it is

10、. Q: Does it have spots? A: No, it doesnt. Q: Is it trained to help humans? A: Yes, it is. Q: Is it a horse? A: Yes, it is. 2. How to Describe It? Sample As far as I know, elephants are the strongest among all the animals that exist in the world. Elephants are very big and heavy, even in their infan

11、cy. Its not unusual to find a baby elephant that weighs over a ton. Also, its skin is so thick that an elephant rarely gets hurt or injured either in their daily life or when attacked by others. Even with so many strong factors, elephants have never gained the glorious titles such as the king of the

12、 jungle. They are mild-tempered, but fierce animals like tigers, lions and wolves dare not disturb or attack them because an adult elephant can easily tread on and kill them while the smaller, aggressive animals can do nothing harmful to this giant. As for which animal is the most beau tiful, Id lik

13、e to vote for the tiger. To me, tigers are the symbol of power, dignity and nobility. The pattern on its body and head is rather fascinating. Tigers are known as “the king of all beasts”, a special honor people have given to them. Some wolves are also considered to be beautiful and they possess a ki

14、nd of spirit, which is appealing. As for the dragon, though they exist only in stories or legends, theyre the symbol of China. Almost every Chinese thinks the dragon is beautiful. The elephant is c ute. Its mild in nature and usually 3 meek. Of the animals we choose to rate, it is the strongest and

15、friendliest animal. I do not really believe that a shark is beautiful but compared with a snake or a crocodile, a shark may rank as the fifth beautiful animal in the list. 2.What Is It? Sample ? Its a very tall kind of bird, with long legs and neck, which appear too thin to support its body and head

16、. Its beak is long and pointed, and when it falls asleep it lifts up one leg to let the other support the whole body. (crane) ? It crawls on the ground, with a rope-shaped body and a triangular head. Deadly poison may be found in its fangs, which can cause death within minutes. In legends, it was th

17、e animal which seduced Adam and Eve. (snake) ? Its a swimming anim al with smooth brown fur and it eats fish. You may regard it as the laziest animal since it sleeps most of the day, but at night, it turns out to be the greatest builder, its masterpiecethe dam. (beaver) Part Two Reading-Centered Act

18、ivities In-Class Reading Post-Reading Reading Comprehension 1. Paras. 1-2C Para. 3A Para. 4D Para. 5E Para. 6B 2. 1 D 2 B 3 B 4 B 5 C 6 A 7 D 8 D 3. Sample ? I think animals have a culture. We can easily find facts to support this. For example, animals of the same species can communicate with each o

19、ther, with language unknown to us humans. We have read a lot of stories about wolves. When a wolf is in danger or hurt by a human, very soon it will get other wolves in its group to take revenge. Even insects like ants can work together very well. If they didnt share a language of their own, how cou

20、ld they move something much larger than themselves over a long distance to their nest? Besides, animals such as chimpanzees can use and make tools to get food, and monkeys are found to be able to learn and share behavior. Surely, animals dont have any religion or law. Obviously, this does not prove

21、that they dont have a culture but shows that their culture is different from ours or there are limits to their culture. ? I dont think animals have a culture. Culture is a very broad term. It covers many aspects such as politics, economics, literature, law, and religion. Animals do not have language

22、, at least they do not have a written language, nor do they have politics and economi cs. Its true that they can learn and share such behavior as washing sweet potatoes to get rid of sand, but I doubt whether they can learn more complicated behavior. Whats more, scientists only 4 observed this shari

23、ng of behavior among certain monkeys. It is known to all that there are many species of animals and that they differ greatly in their intelligence. So how can we reach the conclusion that animals have a culture only because some animals are able to use and invent tools, or share knowledge? Even if a

24、nimals have a so-called culture, there are limits to their culture. Vocabulary 1 1 handy 2 cultural 3 untrue 4 belief 5 scientist 6 successful 7 religious 8 defenses 9 strength 10 social 2 1 A limit B limit 2 A contact B contacted 3 A attempting B attempt 4 A commanded B command 5 A form B form 3 1

25、gesture 2 create 3 abstract 4 individual 5 invention 6 feature 7 make up for 8 remove 9 response 10 rule out 4 1 remove remove: take sth. away from a place move: change position or place 2 received, accept accept an invitation: say yes to it receive an invitation: get one 3 allow allow: let sb. do s

26、th.; permit sb. to do sth. agree: have the same opinion 4 lately lately: recently later: a time after the present time 5 shore shore: the land along the edge of a sea, lake or wide river beach: a nearly level area of sand or small stones beside the sea or other area of water 6 taught teach: provide

27、instruction in a particular subject train: give sb. the knowledge needed to do a job 7 object object: sth. that can be seen and touched subject: sth. that is discussed, examined or researched 8 attract attract: draw sb. towards oneself attack: try to hurt or defeat sb. or sth. using violence 5 Trans

28、lation 1 I used to go to the cinema a lot, but I never have the time now. 2 The two workers cooperated with each other to fix the broken pipe. 3 This is a cruel practice which should be stopped immediately. 4 What aspect of your job / work is (the) most difficult, and what aspect is (the) most rewar

29、ding? 5 He thought he had already solved the problem, but that was not the case. 6 Ill help as much as I can, but there is a limit to what I can do. Part Three Further Development 1.Grammar Review 1 I never like the way how doctors speak to you. (in which; or d elete “how”) 2 Id like another drink,

30、and so did John. (would) 3 One of the reasons for coming to England are to make money. (is) 4 In those days, the only means of lighting the house at night were oil lamps. (was) 5 It was so a cold night that we stayed at home. (such) 2.Vocabulary Review Section A 1 A agree with B agreed with C agree

31、on D agreed to If you “agree with” someone about something, you both have the same opinion about it. If you “agree with” an action or suggestion, you approve of it. If two o r more statements, ideas, sets of numbers, etc. “agree with” each other, they are the same or very similar (与。一致，相符合). If you

32、“agree to” do something or “agree to” something, you say that you will do it or you allow someone else to do it. If people “agree on” something, they reach a decision or agreement about it. 2 A activity B act C action D act Both “act” and “action” can be used as a countable noun to mean “sth. that sb. has done.” “Act” nearly always refers to a specific deed, for example, in Sentence B, “act of kind