新版大学英语综合教程第一册章节6课文解读

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新版大学英语综合教程第一册章节6课文解读

　　一、Animal Intelligence

　　Part I Pre-reading Task

　　Listen to the recording two or three times and then think over the following questions:

　　1. What do you know about Michael Jackson?

　　2. How does he feel about Ben? Why?

　　3. Do you think the song Ben reveals something about the relationship between man and animals? If so, what is it?

　　4. Is the song related to the theme of the unit — animal intelligence? How?

　　Part II

　　Text

　　Food, warmth, sleep? Their thoughts may be much deeper than that.

　　WHAT ANIMALS REALLY THINK

　　Euqene Linden

　　Over the years, I have written extensively about animal-intelligence experiments and the controversy that surrounds them. 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.

　　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 us 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

　　Consider the time Charlene Jendry, a conservationist at the Columbus Zoo, learned that a female gorilla named Colo was handling a suspicious object. Arriving on the scene, Jendry offered Colo some peanuts, only to be met with a blank stare. Realizing they were negotiating, Jendry raised the stakes and offered a piece of pineapple. At this point, while maintaining eye contact, Colo opened her hand and revealed a key chain.

　　Relieved it was not anything dangerous or valuable, Jendry gave Colo the pineapple. Careful bargainer that she was, Colo 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?

　　If an animal can show skill in trading one thing for another, why not in handling money? One orangutan named Chantek did just that in a sign-language study undertaken by anthropologist Lyn Miles at the University of Tennessee. Chantek figured out that if he did tasks like cleaning his room, he'd earn coins to spend on treats and rides in Miles's car. But the orangutan's understanding of money seemed to extend far beyond simple dealings. Miles first used plastic chips as coins, but Chantek decided he could expand the money supply by breaking chips in two. When Miles switched to metal chips, Chantek found pieces of tin foil and tried to make copies.

　　Miles also tried to teach Chantek more virtuous 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 anyone might envy. When Miles gave Chantek some grapes and asked him to share them, Chantek promptly ate all the fruit. Then, as if he'd just remembered he'd been asked to share, he handed Miles the stem.

　　Tale of a Whale

　　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.

　　Gail Laule, a consultant on animal behavior, speaks of Orky, a killer whale, she knew. "Of all the animals I've worked with, he was the most intelligent," she says. "He would assess a situation and then do something based on the judgments he made."

　　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 wrong when they returned the baby whale to the tank. As the workers halted the stretcher a few meters above the water, the baby suddenly began throwing up through its mouth. The keepers feared it would choke, but they could not reach the baby to help it.

　　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 to keep steady, Orky let the keeper reach up and release the 420-pound baby so that it could slide into the water within reach of help.

　　Primate Shell Game

　　Sometimes evidence of intelligence can be seen in attempts to deceive. Zoo keeper Helen Shewman of Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo recalls that one day she dropped an orange through a feeding hole for Melati, an orangutan. Instead of moving away to get it, Melati looked Shewman in the eye and held out her hand. Thinking the orange must have rolled off somewhere inaccessible, Shewman gave her another one. But when Melati moved off, Shewman noticed the original orange was hidden in her other hand.

　　Towan, the colony's dominant male, watched this whole trick, 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. Giving in, she gave him another one, then saw that he had been hiding his orange underneath his foot.

　　What is intelligence anyway? If life is about survival of a species — and intelligence is meant to serve that survival — then we can't compare with pea-brained sea turtles, which were here long before 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 assess the world around them, even if their horizons are more limited than ours.

　　二、New Words and Expressions

　　extensively

　　ad. to a large extent, or in a large amount 广泛地;大量地

　　intelligence

　　n. 智力

　　intelligent

　　a. 聪明的，有才智的

　　controversy

　　n. 争论，争议

　　surround

　　vt. be or go all around (sth. or sb.) 围绕;包围

　　consciousness

　　n. 意识

　　explore

　　vt. examine thoroughly, learn about 探究，探索

　　obvious

　　a. easy to see and understand; clear 明显的

　　vet

　　n. 兽医

　　encounter

　　vt. meet, esp. unexpectedly 遇到，遭遇

　　reveal

　　vt. make (sth.) known 展示;揭露

　　convince

　　vt. make (sb.) feel sure by the use of argument or evidence 使确信，使信服

　　feat▲

　　n. 技艺;业绩，功绩

　　captivity

　　n. 被俘;监禁;束缚

　　dominant

　　a. ruling; most important or strongest 统治的;占优势的

　　species

　　n. (单复同)物种

　　make a deal

　　reach an agreement or arrangement, esp. in business or politics 达成交易

　　conservationist

　　n. 自然资源保护论者

　　female

　　a. 雌的;女(性)的

　　n. 雌性的动物或植物;女人

　　gorilla

　　n. 大猩猩

　　suspicious▲

　　a. causing or showing a feeling that sth. is wrong 可疑的;猜疑的

　　peanut▲

　　n. 花生

　　blank

　　a. without expression; without writing, or other marks 没有表情的;空白

　　negotiate

　　vi. discuss in order to come to an agreement 谈判，协商

　　stake

　　n. (usu.pl) 奖品;奖金;赌注

　　pineapple

　　n. 凤梨，菠萝

　　maintain

　　vt. continue to do or have (sth.) 保持;继续

　　relieve

　　vt. free (sb.) from pain, anxiety, etc.; ease (pain, anxiety, etc.) 使减轻痛苦或焦虑等;减轻(痛苦或焦虑等)

　　link

　　n. 链环;环节;联系

　　v. join or connect 联系，连接

　　orangutan

　　n. 猩猩

　　undertake

　　vt. (undertook, undertaken) carry out; take upon oneself (a task, etc.) 从事;承担(任务等)

　　anthropologist

　　n. 人类学者

　　figure out

　　understand; reason out 理解;推断出

　　extend

　　v. (cause to) stretch or reach; make larger or longer 延伸，伸展;扩大;加长

　　dealing

　　n. (usu.pl) business relations 交易，买卖

　　plastic

　　a. 塑料的

　　chip

　　n. 薄片;碎片;集成电路片

　　expand

　　v. (cause to) grow larger 扩大，扩展

　　switch

　　v. change; shift 转换，变换

　　foil▲

　　n. 金属薄片，箔

　　virtuous

　　a. showing moral goodness 有道德的;善良的

　　envy

　　vt., n. 妒忌;羡慕

　　grape

　　n. 葡萄

　　promptly

　　ad. immediately 立即地

　　stem

　　n. 茎，(树)干，(叶)梗

　　whale

　　n. 鲸

　　cooperate

　　vi. act or work together 合作，协作

　　behaviorist

　　n. 行为主义者

　　in sb.'s interest(s)

　　to sb.'s advantage 为了某人的利益

　　go far

　　help very much; achieve much success 帮助很大;很有成效

　　consultant

　　n. 顾问

　　behavior

　　n. the way one acts or behaves 举止，行为

　　assess

　　vt. judge the quality, importance or worth of 评估，估量

　　judgment

　　n. 判断;意见，看法

　　mate

　　n. 配偶;伙伴，同事

　　thrive

　　vi. grow strong and healthy; develop well 茁壮成长;兴旺

　　at first

　　at the beginning 起先

　　stretcher

　　n. 担架

　　emergency

　　n. an unexpected and dangerous happening which must be dealt with at once 紧急情况;突然事件

　　go wrong

　　stop developing well 有毛病，出故障

　　halt

　　v. (cause to) stop 停住，停止

　　throw up

　　(infml) vomit 呕吐

　　apparently

　　ad. it is clear (that) 明显地

　　size up

　　carefully examine (a situation or person) in order to make a judgement 估量，判断

　　release

　　vt. set free 释放

　　slide

　　v. (cause to) move smoothly along a surface (使)滑动

　　primate

　　n. 灵长目动物

　　evidence

　　n. sth. that gives a reason for believing sth.; trace 证据;迹象

　　deceive

　　v. try to make(sb.) believe sth. that is false 欺骗

　　inaccessible

　　a. very difficult or impossible to reach 达不到的;难得到的

　　original

　　a. first or earliest 最初的;原始的

　　colony

　　n. (生长在同一地方的动物或植物)群，群体;殖民地

　　male

　　n. 雄性动物或植物;男子

　　a. 雄的;男(性)的

　　gaze

　　n., v. 凝视，注视

　　give in

　　让步;屈服;投降

　　underneath

　　prep., ad. under or below 在…下面，在…底下

　　pea-brained

　　a. 笨的

　　turtle

　　n. (海)龟

　　survive

　　v. remain alive in spite of; continue to live or exist after 幸免于;继续存在，幸存

　　survival n.

　　disaster

　　n. an event causing great suffering and damage 灾难

　　wipe out

　　get rid of or destroy 消灭，消除

　　dinosaur

　　n. 恐龙

　　horizon

　　n. 眼界，见识;地平线

　　三、Proper Names

　　Ugene Linden

　　尤金·林登

　　Charlene Jendry

　　查伦·延德里

　　Columbus Zoo

　　哥伦布动物园

　　Colo

　　科洛(文中指动物名)

　　Chantek

　　夏特克(文中指动物名)

　　Lyn Miles

　　琳·迈尔斯

　　University of Tennessee

　　田纳西大学

　　Zoo Atlanta

　　亚特兰大动物园

　　Gail Laule

　　盖尔·劳尔

　　Orky

　　奥基(文中指动物名)

　　Corky

　　科基(文中指动物名)

　　Helen Shewman

　　海伦·休曼

　　Seattle

　　西雅图(美国华盛顿州西部港市)

　　Woodland Park Zoo

　　伍德兰公园动物园

　　Melati

　　梅拉蒂(文中指动物名)

　　Towan

　　托温(文中指动物名)

　　四、拓展资料：课后练习题

　　一、选择题：

　　1、He ______ in the army for ten years, and he retired last year.

　　A) has served

　　B) had served

　　C) served

　　D) had been serving

　　2、I don t think this room will be big enough to ______ all the guests.

　　A) contain

　　B) hold

　　C) keep

　　D) swallow

　　3、An iron and steel works, with several satellite factories, ______ in that city now.

　　A) is built

　　B) is being built

　　C) were built

　　D) are being built

　　4、Hospital doctors don t go out very often as the work takes ______ their time.

　　A) away

　　B) over

　　C) in

　　D) up

　　5、The teacher doesnt permit ______ in class.

　　A) smoke

　　B) smokes

　　C) to have a smoke

　　D) smoking

　　二、填空题：

　　6、What a (self) ______ girl you are; let the other children share your toys.

　　7、A few simple (modify) ______ to this work would greatly improve it.

　　8、I ve been reading a mystery story. Many (mystery) ______ events took place in it.

　　9、He looks rather (elder) ______ with grey hair.

　　10、By the end of 20xx, she (be) ______ in Beijing for 4 years.

　　三、阅读题：

　　Thus far, there is little evidence to suggest that technology will reduce inequality; indeed it may only intensify inequality. Technology is costly and it is generally impossible to introduce advances to everyone at the same time. So who gets this access first? As we travel further and further along the electronic frontier through advances such as telecommuting (在家办公) and the Intemet, the poor may be isolated from mainstream society in an "information ghetto (贫民窟) ".

　　Drawing on a survey, the Census Bureau (国家调查局) estimated that only 6.8 percent of households earning less than $ 10,000 had home computers, compared to 61.7 percent of those with incomes of $ 75,000 or more. This issue goes beyond individual interest or lack of interest in computers.

　　The technological advances of the present and future may not be equally beneficial to men and women. Many studies have shown that computer games, which serve as an important means of early socialization to computers, typically involve sports or skills associated with the traditional male role. As a result computers camps have become mainly male settings.

　　Like money, food, and other resources, technology is unevenly distributed within societies and throughout the world. The technology gap is widening rather than narrowing. Although nations are exchanging technical data more freely than before, critical technology transfer is often kept back. The technology exported to developing countries may be poorly suited to the conditions of their economies and workplaces.

　　11、According to the writer, "information ghetto" is caused by ______.

　　A.the strict control of information

　　B.the rapid technological advances

　　C.the complete isolation of the poor

　　D.the existence of mainstream society

　　12、The data the Census Bureau collected indicates that ______.

　　A.technology has widened the gap between the rich and the poor

　　B.individual interest in computers might be a significant reason

　　C.the survey has covered more than enough investigation samples

　　D.the estimation by the Census Bureau is subject to correction

　　13、According to the writer, one supposed function of computer games is ______.

　　A.to divide social roles between boys and girls