Level 3 Reading 10B

Ch.20 Reading 10B

第20章 阅读10B

INSIDE ANIMAL MINDS In 1977, Irene Pepperberg, a recent graduate of Harvard University, did something very unusual. Pepperberg was interested in learning if animals could think, and the best way to do this, she reasoned, was to talk to them. To test her theory, she bought an African gray parrot she named Alex and taught him to reproduce the sounds of the English language. "I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world," she explains. When Pepperberg began her research with Alex, very few scientists acknowledged that animals were capable of thought. The general belief was that animals reacted to things in their environment but lacked the ability to think or feel. How, then, could a scientist demonstrate that animals might, in fact, possess intelligence?" That's why I started my studies with Alex," Pepperberg says. Certain skills are considered key signs of higher mental abilities: a good memory, an understanding of symbols, self-awareness, understanding of others' motives, and creativity. Little by little, researchers have documented these abilities in other species. Sheep and elephants can recognize faces. Chimpanzees—who are genetically similar to humans—use a variety of primitive tools for eating, drinking, and hunting; they also laugh when pleased and spit to show they dislike something. Octopuses in captivity are known to amuse themselves by shooting water at laboratory staff. They may even exhibit basic emotions by changing color. Alex the parrot was a surprisingly good talker. He learned how to use his voice to imitate almost 100 English words, including those for foods, colors, shapes, and numbers. Although imitation was once considered a simple skill, in recent years, scientists have revealed that it's an extremely difficult ability. Because Alex had mastered many English words, Pepperberg could ask him questions about a bird's basic understanding of the world. Alex could count, as well as describe shapes, colors, and sizes for Pepperberg; he even had an elementary understanding of the abstract concept of zero. Many of Alexs cognitive skills, such as his ability to understand the concepts of "same" and " different," are generally attributed only to higher mammals, particularly primates such as humans and apes. But parrots, like great apes (and humans), live a long time in complex societies. And like primates, these birds must monitor the changing relationships within the group. This may explain Alex's ability to learn a human language. "When we take [parrots] into captivity, what they start to do is treat us as their flock," explains Pepperberg. Parrots learn to pronounce and use our words so they can become a part of our group. Researchers in Germany and Austria have also been studying language ability in dogs. One named Betsy has shown that she is able to learn and remember words as quickly as a two-year-old child. She has a vocabulary of over 340 words, knows at least 15 people by name, and can link photographs with the objects they represent. Like Alex, she's pretty smart.

动物内心 1977年，哈佛大学应届毕业生Irene Pepperberg做了一件非常不寻常的事情。 佩珀伯格有兴趣了解动物是否会思考， 她认为，最好的办法就是和他们谈谈。 为了验证她的理论，她买了一只名叫亚历克斯的非洲灰鹦鹉 教他再现英语的发音。 她解释说：“我想，如果他学会了沟通，我可以问他关于他如何看待世界的问题。”。 当佩珀伯格开始与亚历克斯进行研究时，很少有科学家承认动物能够思考。 人们普遍认为，动物对环境中的事物有反应，但缺乏思考或感觉的能力。 那么，科学家如何证明动物实际上可能具有智力呢？" 这就是为什么我开始和亚历克斯一起学习，”佩珀伯格说。 某些技能被认为是更高智力的关键标志： 良好的记忆力、对符号的理解、自我意识、对他人动机的理解和创造力。 渐渐地，研究人员在其他物种中记录了这些能力。 绵羊和大象能认出人脸。 黑猩猩在基因上与人类相似，它们使用各种原始工具进食、饮水和狩猎； 他们高兴时也会笑，吐口水以示不喜欢。 众所周知，圈养的章鱼会向实验室工作人员喷水自娱自乐。 它们甚至可能通过改变颜色来表现出基本的情绪。 鹦鹉亚历克斯的谈吐出奇地好。 他学会了如何用自己的声音模仿近100个英语单词， 包括食物、颜色、形状和数字。 尽管模仿曾经被认为是一种简单的技能，但近年来，科学家们发现这是一种极其困难的能力。 因为亚历克斯掌握了许多英语单词，佩珀伯格可以问他关于鸟类对世界的基本理解的问题。 亚历克斯不仅能数，还能为佩珀堡描述形状、颜色和大小； 他甚至对抽象的零概念有了基本的了解。 亚历克斯的许多认知技能，比如他理解“相同”和“不同”概念的能力 通常只归因于高等哺乳动物，特别是灵长类动物，如人类和猿。 但是鹦鹉和类人猿（以及人类）一样，在复杂的社会中生活了很长时间。 与灵长类动物一样，这些鸟类必须监测群体内不断变化的关系。 这或许可以解释亚历克斯学习人类语言的能力。 佩珀伯格解释说：“当我们把（鹦鹉）圈养时，它们开始把我们当作自己的羊群。”。 鹦鹉学习发音和使用我们的单词，这样它们就可以成为我们群体的一部分。 德国和奥地利的研究人员也一直在研究狗的语言能力。 一位名叫贝齐的人已经证明她能够学习和记住单词 就像两岁的孩子一样快。 她的词汇量超过340个单词，至少认识15个人的名字， 并且可以将照片与它们所代表的对象链接起来。 像亚历克斯一样，她很聪明。

This is the larger lesson of animal cognition research: We are not alone in our ability to invent, communicate, demonstrate emotions, or think about ourselves. Still, humans remain the creative species. No other animal has built cities, created music, or made a computer. In fact, a number of critics dismiss animals' ability to use tools or understand human language. They believe animals are just copying human behavior. Yet many researchers say that creativity and language in animals, like other forms of intelligence, have evolved. "People were surprised to discover that chimpanzees make tools," says Alex Kacelnik, an animal researcher at Oxford University. "But people also thought, 'Well, they share our ancestry—of course they're smart.’ Now we're finding these kinds of behaviors in some species of birds. But we don't have a recently shared ancestry with birds . . . It means that evolution can invent similar forms of advanced intelligence more than once— that it's not something reserved only for primates or mammals."

这是动物认知研究的更大教训： 我们并不是唯一一个有能力发明、交流、表达情感或思考自己的人。 尽管如此，人类仍然是有创造力的物种。 没有其他动物建造过城市，创造过音乐，也没有制造过电脑。 事实上，许多评论家对动物使用工具或理解人类语言的能力不屑一顾。 他们认为动物只是在模仿人类的行为。 然而，许多研究人员表示，动物的创造力和语言，就像其他形式的智力一样，已经进化了。 牛津大学的动物研究员Alex Kacelnik说：“人们惊讶地发现黑猩猩会制造工具。”。 “但人们也认为，‘好吧，他们有着我们的祖先——当然他们很聪明。’ 现在我们在一些鸟类身上发现了这种行为。 但我们最近与鸟类没有共同的祖先。 . . 这意味着进化可以不止一次地发明类似形式的高级智能-- 这不是只留给灵长类或哺乳动物的东西。"

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