Everybody loves a fat pay rise. Yet pleasure at your own can vanish if you learn that a colleague has been given a bigger one. Indeed, if he has a reputation for slacking, you might even be outraged. Such behaviour is regarded as “all too human”, with the underlying assumption that other animals would not be capable of this finely developed sense of grievance. But a study by Sarah Brosnan and Frans de Waal of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, which has just been published in Nature, suggests that it is all too monkey, as well。
The researchers studied the behaviour of female brown capuchin monkeys. They look cute. They are good-natured, co-cooperative creatures, and they share their food readily. Above all, like their female human counterparts, they tend to pay much closer attention to the value of “good and services” than males。
Such characteristics make them perfect candidates for Dr. Brosnan’s and Dr. de Waal’s study. The researchers spent two years teaching their monkeys to exchange tokens for food. Normally, the monkeys were happy enough to exchange pieces of rock for slices of cucumber. However, when two monkeys were placed in separate but adjoining chambers, so that each could observe what the other was getting in return for its rock, their behaviour became markedly different。
In the world of capuchins, grapes are luxury goods (and much preferable to cucumbers). So when one monkey was handed a grape in exchange for her token, the second was reluctant to hand hers over for a mere piece of cucumber. And if one received a grape without having to provide her token in exchange at all, the other either tossed her own token at the researcher or out of the chamber, or refused to accept the slice of cucumber. Indeed, the mere presence of a grape in the other chamber (without an actual monkey to eat it) was enough to induce resentment in a female capuchin。
The researchers suggest that capuchin monkeys, like humans, are guided by social emotions. In the wild, they are a co-operative, group-living species. Such co-operation is likely to be stable only when each animal feels it is not being cheated. Feelings of righteous indignation, it seems, are not the preserve of people alone. Refusing a lesser reward completely makes these feelings abundantly clear to other members of the group. However, whether such a sense of fairness evolved independently in capuchins and humans, or whether it stems from the common ancestor that the species had 35 million years ago, is, as yet, an unanswered question。
21. In the opening paragraph, the author introduces his topic by
[A] posing a contrast。
[B] justifying an assumption。
[C]making a comparison。
[D]explaining a phenomenon。
22. The statement “it is all too monkey” (Paragraph 1) implies that
[A] monkeys are also outraged by slack rivals。
[B] resenting unfairness is also monkeys’ nature。
[C]monkeys, like humans, tend to be jealous of each other。
[D] no animals other than monkeys can develop such emotions。
23. Female capuchin monkeys were chosen for the research most probably because they are
[A]more inclined to weigh what they get。
[B]attentive to researchers’ instructions。
[C]nice in both appearance and temperament。
[D]more generous than their male companions。
24. Dr. Brosnan and Dr. de Waal have eventually found in their study that the monkeys
[A]prefer grapes to cucumbers。
[B]can be taught to exchange things。
[C]will not be co-operative if feeling cheated。
[D]are unhappy when separated from others。
25. When can we infer from the last paragraph?
[A]Monkeys can be trained to develop social emotions。
[B]Human indignation evolved from an uncertain source。
[C]Animals usually show their feelings openly as human do。
[D]Cooperation among monkeys remains stable only in the wild。
名師解析
21. In the opening paragraph, the author introduces his topic by 第一段,作者引入主題是通過
[A] posing a contrast. 提出一個對照。
[B] justifying an assumption. 證明假定是正確的。
[C] making a comparison. 作出一個比較。
[D] explaining a phenomenon 解釋一個現(xiàn)象。
【答案】 C
【考點】 寫作手法題。
【分析】 從題目入手可以節(jié)約時間,增強閱讀目的性,有的放矢。第一題的題目告訴我們需要先確定主題。如前所述,一段文章的主題同樣可能就隱藏在一句關(guān)鍵的話中。從文章第一段講人會因為不公平而憤怒,推導(dǎo)動物會不會呢?有人認(rèn)為不會,但是科學(xué)研究表明猴子同樣會。這就是關(guān)鍵句,這就是作者要討論的主題。[A]選項表示對比,相反或不同,可是文章說的是猴與人類似,所以不選。[B]選項原文提出的假定原本是人與猴不一樣,所以這個答案不對。[D]選項解釋現(xiàn)象,這個說法不能夠?qū)㈤_頭和主題的內(nèi)在聯(lián)系結(jié)合起來。
22. The statement“it is all too monkey”(Last line, Paragraph l) implies that
“太猴子化”(第一段比較后一行)這一說法的言下之意是
[A] monkeys are also outraged by slack rivals。
猴子也會被懶散的競爭對手激怒。
[B] resenting unfairness is also monkeys’ nature。
痛恨不公平也是猴子的本性。
[C] monkeys, like humans, tend to be jealous of each other。
猴子和人一樣,也會彼此嫉妒。
[D] no animals other than monkeys can develop such emotions。
除了猴子以外,沒有動物能夠產(chǎn)生出這樣的感情。
【答案】 B
【考點】 推斷題。
【分析】 由于題目表面看上去是問一個詞組的意思,所以很多人糾纏在字面意義上。實際上,考生只有先理解“all too human”然后才能夠理解“all too monkey”。[A]選項談到“猴子也會被懶散的競爭對手激怒�!蔽恼轮虚_篇的時候只是說人會被懶散的競爭對手激怒,沒有說動物也會被懶散的競爭對手激怒,所以不選。[C]選項說“猴子和人一樣,也會彼此嫉妒�!边@個選項是比較大的干擾項。在對文章經(jīng)過仔細(xì)的閱讀后,考生可以發(fā)現(xiàn),作者的主題就是要告訴大家“對不公平的痛恨猴子也會”。這個選項在程度上超過了我們的需要。[D]“除了猴子沒有動物能夠培養(yǎng)出這樣的感情�!边@個說法如果斷章取義也有可能會被錯選,但是只有結(jié)合上文的邏輯順序就能夠去除這個干擾項。
23. Female capuchin monkeys were chosen for the research most probably because they are
母卷尾猴比較有可能被選為研究對象的原因是它們
[A] more inclined to weigh what they get. 更加傾向于權(quán)衡它們之所得。
[B] attentive to researchers’ instructions. 關(guān)注研究人員的指導(dǎo)。
[C] nice in both appearance and temperament. 有好的外表和脾氣。
[D] more generous than their male companions. 比公猴更加慷慨。
【答案】 A
【考點】 事實細(xì)節(jié)題。
【分析】 第三段第一句“Such characteristics make them perfect candidates for Dr. Brosnan’s and Dr. de waal’s study�!闭没卮鹆诉@個問題�?忌鷳�(yīng)該立即意識到“such characteristics”指的是第二段中“They look cute(可愛). They are good-natured(脾氣好), co-operative(合作)creatures, and they share their food readily(共享食物). Above all(比較重要的是), like their female human counterparts, they tend to pay much closer attention to the value of ‘goods and services’than males�!比绻忌鷮Ρ容^后一句話仔細(xì)研究一下,就會發(fā)現(xiàn)這句話中的“密切關(guān)注它們獲得的東西”其實就是“權(quán)衡它們獲得的東西”的意思。而且這是首要的,有“above all”為證明。這里有一個閱讀技巧,即注意“such”一詞。當(dāng)“such”出現(xiàn)在某段某句中作定語時,表示的意思是“如此的,這樣的”。請考生務(wù)必到前文去尋找該詞的實際指代內(nèi)容。切記![B]這個意思也不錯,因為文中有“cooperative”,可惜這不是比較重要的。[C]文中也提到了,但是仍然不是比較重要的。[D]選項是出題人自己編的。
24. Dr. Brosnan and Dr. de Waal have eventually found in their study that the monkeys
Dr. Brosnan and Dr. de Waal比較終在他們的研究中發(fā)現(xiàn)猴子
[A] prefer grapes to cucumbers. 喜歡葡萄勝過黃瓜。
[B] can be taught to exchange things. 可以被訓(xùn)練來交換東西。
[C] will not be co-operative if feeling cheated. 如果感覺被欺騙,就不會合作。
[D] are unhappy when separated from others. 與其他猴子分離時不開心。
【答案】 C
【考點】 事實細(xì)節(jié)題。
【分析】 比較后一段第二句“Such co-operation is likely to be stable only when each animal feels it is not being cheated�!盵A]、[B]兩項是事實,但不是結(jié)論。[D]選項是明顯是錯誤的。
25. What can we infer from the last paragraph? 從比較后一段我們可以得出什么結(jié)論?
[A] Monkeys can be trained to develop social emotions。
通過訓(xùn)練,猴子可以培養(yǎng)出社會情感。
[B] Human indignation evolved from an uncertain source。
人類的義憤起源不確定。
[C] Animals usually show their feelings openly as humans do。
動物通常象人那樣公開表達自己的情感。
[D] Cooperation among monkeys remains stable only in the wild。
只有在野外時猴子間的合作才保持穩(wěn)定。
【答案】 B
【考點】 推斷題。
【分析】 [A]選項中把“guide”的概念偷換成“train”,意思就不一樣了。前者表示“引導(dǎo)”,后者表示“訓(xùn)練”。所以不選。[C]這個說法超出了正確度很多,因為文中“Feelings of righteous indignation, it seems, are not the preserve of people alone�!敝槐硎尽傲x憤非人類專有�!盵D]選項也對原文意思產(chǎn)生了曲解。不是只有在野生狀態(tài)下猴子的合作才穩(wěn)定。而是只有在猴子沒有被騙的時候它們才有可能穩(wěn)定。[B]選項在原文中可以找到類似的說法�!皐hether such a sense of fairness evolved independently in capuchins and humans, or whether it stems from the common ancestor that the species had 35 million years ago, is, as yet, an unanswered question�!迸c[B]意思一樣。
難句解析:
1. Such behavior is regarded as“all too human”, with the underlying assumption that other animals would not be capable of this finely developed sense of grievance。
【結(jié)構(gòu)分析】 在這句話里面,“such behavior”是句子主語,“with”引導(dǎo)一個狀語,“the underlying assumption”做“with”的賓語,所謂介賓就是這個道理�!皌hat”引導(dǎo)一個同位語從句�!癮ll too human”比較難以理解,“all too”的意思就是“實在太……,很……”;而“human”是理解的難點,根據(jù)上下文可以看出,作者的意思就是“這種行為實在是具有太多人類的特征了”,言下之意就是“動物太低級了”,還沒有能夠進化出這么精致的機制。后面出現(xiàn)的“all too monkey”同樣就是說“這也實在是太具有猴子的特征了”。
2. However, when two monkeys were placed in separate but adjoining chambers, so that each could observe what the other was getting in return for its rock, their behavior became markedly different。
【結(jié)構(gòu)分析】 本句的主干是“their behavior became markedly different”,前面是“when”引導(dǎo)的一個時間狀語從句;而這個時間狀語從句中又包含著一個“so that”引導(dǎo)的目的狀語從句,而目的狀語從句中又包含著一個“what”引導(dǎo)的賓語從句。這樣的句子體現(xiàn)了英文的句子特征,即句子是按照一定的邏輯,順著作者的思路一直寫下去。
全文翻譯:
所有人都喜歡工資猛漲。但是如果你得知你的同事工資漲得比你的還多,你的高興就會煙消云散了。事實上,這個同事如果還有偷懶的名聲,那么你甚至有可能會勃然大怒。這種行為被認(rèn)為是“太人化”,其言下之意就是動物是不可能產(chǎn)生這種微妙的怨恨的。但是美國佐治亞州亞特蘭大市埃默里大學(xué)的莎拉·布魯斯南和弗蘭斯·德瓦爾比較近在《自然》上發(fā)表了一項研究,這項研究認(rèn)為猴子也有類似的“太猴子化”的行為。
研究人員研究的是棕色母卷尾猴的行為。它們看起來很可愛,很友好而且愿意合作,慢悠悠地分享食品。比較重要的是,與公猴相比較,它們像人類女性一樣,更傾向于關(guān)注“商品和服務(wù)”的價值。
這樣的特性使它們成為布魯斯南博士和德瓦爾理想的研究對象。研究人員花了兩年的時間教他們的猴子把代幣換成食品。通常,猴子會高興地把巖石碎片換成黃瓜薄片。但是,當(dāng)兩只猴子被放在單獨但是相鄰的房間里,互相能夠看見對方用石塊換取什么的時候,它們的行為就大不一樣了。
在卷尾猴看來,葡萄是奢侈品,比黃瓜更受歡迎。因此,當(dāng)一只猴子用石塊換了一顆葡萄,另外一只就不愿意用它的石塊去換一片黃瓜。而且,如果有一只猴子不交石塊就得到了葡萄,那么,另一只猴子就會將石塊拋向研究人員或拋出籠子,或者拒絕接受黃瓜。的確,只要另一只籠子里面有一顆葡萄(不管有沒有猴子吃它),就足以引起一只母卷尾猴的怨恨。
研究表明,卷尾猴象人類一樣,受著社會情感的支配。在野外,它們是一個相互合作的群居物種。這種合作只有在每一只猴子都感覺它沒有被欺騙的情況下才可能保持穩(wěn)定。感到合理的憤怒似乎不是人類的專利。拒絕接受較少的酬勞可以讓這些情緒清楚地傳達給這個群體的其他成員。然而,到底這樣的公平意識是人類和卷尾猴各自形成的,還是因為二者在3,500萬年前有一個共同的祖先造成的,目前還沒有答案。