时间:2018-12-28 作者:英语课 分类:初学者听力文摘精选


英语课

Dear A Moment of Science,

亲爱的《科学一刻》栏目组:



I know that humans and chimps 1 share something like 98 percent of our DNA 2. But what does this really mean? At least on the surface, humans and chimps seem very different we live in houses, they live in trees. We use complex language, they use hoots 3 and grunts 4.

我知道人类和猩猩有许多共同之处,比如我们有98%相同的DNA。但是,这究竟意味着什么呢?至少从表面上看来,人类和猩猩大有不同,人类居住在房子里,而猩猩却居住在树上;人类使用复杂的语言交流,而猩猩却用尖叫声和咕噜声进行交流。



So how similar are we?

究竟我们有多相似呢?



Well, according to a slew 5 of studies, humans and apes and monkeys are much more alike than they are different.

根据大量的研究显示,人类、类人猿以及猴子之间的相似之处远多于不同之处。



For example, one thing that seems to make us unique is our ability to think ahead and to be aware of what other people may be thinking. But chimps do this, too.

例如,一个使得我们看起来独一无二的能力是,人类有能力事先考虑和意识到其他人的想法。但是,猩猩也有这样的能力。



In zoos they’ve been seen collecting rocks to use as weapons, and hiding them under haystacks to fool their enemies. In one experiment, chimps that were able to see some hidden food could realize that other chimps were not aware of the food and used that information against them.

在动物园里,他们会收集石块作为武器,而且会藏身在干草垛里来愚弄敌人。一项实验发现猩猩能够看到一些隐藏的食物,并且能发觉其他猩猩没有发现这些食物,于是它会利用它所得到的信息来对付其它猩猩。



Another supposedly uniquely human trait is self awareness 6. But dolphins and elephants can recognize themselves in a mirror. And when it comes to memory, some apes are far better than humans at memorizing images and strings 7 of numbers.

另一个被认为是人类独特特性的是——自我意识。但是海豚和大象也能够认出在镜中的自己。就记忆而言,一些猿类在记忆图片和一串数字的时候远比人类要强得多。



None of this means that monkeys and apes are the same as people. There are still important differences. While some apes can recognize that certain letter combinations form words, they still can’t read and understand what words mean. And the way apes and monkeys communicate is much simpler and more primitive 8 than human language.

以上并不表明猴子、猿类跟人类是一样的。他们之间仍存在着许多重要的不同。虽然一些猩猩能够认出一些字母组成的单词,但是他们不会读也不能明白单词的意思。此外,猩猩和猴子交流的方式比人类语言更加简单和原始。

 



1 chimps
(非洲)黑猩猩( chimp的名词复数 )
  • Chimps are too scarce, and too nearly human, to be routinely slaughtered for spare parts. 黑猩猩又太少,也太接近于人类,不可以作为人器官备用件说杀就杀。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
  • And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类,就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
2 DNA
(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸
  • DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
  • Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。
3 hoots
咄,啐
  • His suggestion was greeted with hoots of laughter. 他的建议引起了阵阵嗤笑。
  • The hoots came from the distance. 远处传来呜呜声。
4 grunts
(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说; 石鲈
  • With grunts of anguish Ogilvie eased his bulk to a sitting position. 奥格尔维苦恼地哼着,伸个懒腰坐了起来。
  • Linda fired twice A trio of Grunts assembling one mortar fell. 琳达击发两次。三个正在组装迫击炮的咕噜人倒下了。
5 slew
v.(使)旋转;n.大量,许多
  • He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧,抵住了。
  • They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。
6 awareness
n.意识,觉悟,懂事,明智
  • There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
  • Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。
7 strings
n.弦
  • He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上,随意地拨着吉他的弦。
  • She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
8 primitive
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物
  • It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
  • His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。
学英语单词
4-methylsalinomycin
acetilenic
airspace prohibited area
aporheidine
ataxiameter
Barytheres
bismarckia nobilis hiddebr et wendel
boiler blowdown water
Carloforte
cassette lid
cellulose propionate fibre
chapel of love
chobes
closing of root
commuting time
crassament
cultural immediacy
cushion moss
differential instrument
dilatant fluia
diveroli
documentary
ecomap
electrovoice
enqueuers
enquiry (enq)
everall
Fahry alloy
fire-prevention pipe
forest-police
game laws
gastos
geographical variant of association
grievance provision
grouped controls
had a cow
high tensile reinforing steel
highway bus station
historiosophical
hydraulic gate valve
information system for process control
inverse-feedback filter
jtc
Krishnapur
kuehneola japonica
lift someone's face
Ligularia atroviolacea
martingality
melolontha minima
Mendhein kiln
military ordinary mail
Murker
musico-
national resource industries
nickelization
niprs
nostalgie
occluded rubber
off-market offsetting
ornela
pansy orchid
pat test
per incuriam
pesterings
piston (pneumatic)
platydema terusane
production campaign
projection tract
pronunciable
pseudo-cumene
radial ventilated type
response circuit
scanzoni
seien
selective bias
semi passive
set an objective
shock tube
shotblaster
shriveling
Sinmyong
Soromaya
stowings
subarea
systems audit
Taihei-yama
taken your own life
talastine
the Alps
traceability of measurements
transient condition
truanted
truth drug
two-pass symbolic language assembler
typical model
UK-6558-01
unisolvent
Ur of the Chaldees
vapor pressure method
water fennel oil
weather notations