Unit 28

Unit 28 Monkey business LESSON 55 Some US scientists have shown that monkeys can be quite clever with money. In one study, the monkeys are given silver ‘coins’, and are taught to use them as money. They get the idea very fast. The monkeys can ‘buy' pieces of apple or pieces of banana. When a piece of apple costs the same as a piece of banana, the monkeys buy each fruit the same number of times. But when the apple pieces go 'on sale’, the monkeys lose interest in banana. They choosc apple, because they get more fruit for the same money. When pieces of cucumber were offered as well, one group of monkeys did something interesting. They didn't eat the cucumber pieces. They saw that the cucumber pieces were the same size as their silver coins. They hid the silver coins and tried to use the cucumber pieces as money. The scientists are very interested, but they are also getting a bit worried. They have discovered that the monkeys can become enthusiastic gamblers, too!