2020英语教学资源：时文阅读|黑猩猩：嬉闹采果荡秋千，投石掷树却为哪般？

时文拓展阅读│黑猩猩：嬉闹采果荡秋千，投石掷树却为哪般？

黑猩猩是进化史上人类的近亲，它们会使用简单的工具，是目前已知仅次于人类最聪慧的动物。但当你看到一只黑猩猩手里拿着一块石头时，你一定想和它保持适当的距离。根据德国研究人员的最新发现，生活在西非丛林的黑猩猩会朝着树干扔石块，它们的这一行为是单纯娱乐还是另有深意？跟着我们去一探究竟吧！

Researchers recently discovered some unusual behavior among chimps（黑猩猩）living in the forests of West Africa. An adult male in the wild would pick up a rock, throw it at a tree while yelling, and then run away. Although researchers aren’t certain why the chimps fling the rocks, they have discovered that they seem to prefer trees that create longer-lasting, more resonant（共振的）sounds when struck.

A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, first discovered this behavior three years ago. Because the actions appeared to be localized, the researchers suggested the purpose was a local tradition and was likely to be part of some sort of ritual（仪式）. But they weren’t sure what purpose the ritual served. So the group designed more experiments to determine why the chimps were so interested in throwing rocks at trees. This time around, they went to the same areas but set up microphones to capture the sounds of stones as they were thrown. While waiting for the chimps to hurl the rocks, the researchers threw stones at 13 different kinds of trees in various situations.

“It was quite fun, I have to say,” coauthor and primatologist Ammie Kalan tells Science. Researchers analyzed all the recordings and found that the chimps tended to prefer throwing rocks at trees that made lower, longer-lasting sounds. Often these were trees that had exposed roots.

In their findings, published in Biology Letters, the researchers write that “low-frequency sounds travel further in the environment and are better suited to long-distance communication.” In addition, more resonant sounds last longer in the environment. But if chimps were looking to communicate, it would be more effective for them to drum on the trees or choose the ones that made the loudest noises when struck.

The researchers found that chimps stick to the same trees and never choose new ones and that location could be a factor. Kalan tells Science that maybe the locations of the trees have something to do with nearby resources like food and water, and the sound is a signal to others about where to find them.

1. What unusual behavior of chimps is described in paragraph 1?

  A. Throwing rocks at trees.                          B. Making longer-lasting noises.

  C. Shouting to frighten people.                           D. Collecting stones in the forests.

2. How did the researchers study the unusual behavior?

  A. By analyzing different sounds from various trees.

  B. By recording the sounds of rocks thrown by chimps.

C. By measuring the lasting time of sounds made by chimps.

D. By exploring the characteristics of trees chosen by chimps.

3. Why do chimps prefer trees with exposed roots?

A. Those trees are very easy to find.                      

B. Those trees are suitable for gathering.  

C. The sounds those trees make last longer. 

D. The sounds those trees produce travel fast.

4. What probably makes chimps choose the same trees to make sounds?

A. To attract their partners nearby.

B. To adapt to their bad memories.

C. To be familiar with the local surroundings.

D. To inform others of life necessities being discovered.

【参考答案】ABCD

 

单词学习

1. fling  v. 扔，掷，抛

  Someone had flung a brick through the window.  有人把一块砖扔进了窗户。

2. capture  v. 俘获；捕获

  The animals are captured in nets and sold to local zoos.  那些动物被用网捕获后卖到了当地的动物园。

3. hurl  v. 猛扔；猛投；猛摔

  Simon caught the grenade and hurled it back.  西蒙接住手榴弹，把它掷了回去。

4. primatologist  n. 灵长类动物学家

 

长难句分析

Although researchers aren’t certain why the chimps fling the rocks, they have discovered that they seem to prefer trees that create longer-lasting, more resonant sounds when struck.

【分析】“Although researchers aren’t certain why the chimps fling the rocks”为让步状语从句，其中“why the chimps fling the rocks”为表语从句。“they have discovered that …when struck”为主句，其中“that they seem to prefer trees that create longer-lasting, more resonant sounds when struck”为“have discovered”的宾语从句，其中“that create longer-lasting, more resonant sounds when struck”为定语从句，修饰先行词“trees”，“when struck”为时间状语从句。

【翻译】尽管研究者们还不确定黑猩猩为什么要扔石块，但他们发现黑猩猩似乎更喜欢那些在受到撞击时发出更持久、更多共振声音的树木。

 

知识拓展

1. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology: 马克斯·普朗克演化人类学研究所（德语：Max-Planck-Institut für evolutionäre Anthropologie），是坐落于德国莱比锡的一个研究机构，它成立于1997年，是马克斯·普朗克学会的一部分。

2. Biology Letters:《生物学快报》，是由英国皇家学会出版的一份同行评议的科学期刊。该杂志在网上和出版物上发表来自整个生物学领域的研究。

 

声明

原文选自MNN，试题与内容讲解由天学网教学研究中心编写。