听力文摘：什么动物和人类最像

Once again we go to the mailbag. A listener writes:

我们又一次打开邮箱。一位听众写到:

Dear A Moment of Science, Besides chimps¹, which animals do you think are the most likepeople?

亲爱的科学一刻，除了黑猩猩，你认为哪种动物最像人类？

Scientists have closely studied prairie dog chirps² and found that they're really complex.

科学家仔细研究了草原狗的叫声，发现这很复杂。

You know how some animals have warning calls such as warning shrieks³ or yells that alert theirgroup when a predator⁴ is nearby?

你知道当有捕食者靠近时，一些动物会发出警号信号比如叫声或呼喊来警告同伴么？

Prairie dogs do this, too, but in a way that's impressively detailed⁵.

草原狗也有这种行为。而且在某种程度上，草原狗的具体行为令人印象深刻。

For example, they not only havespecific chirps for different kinds ofpredators, but also for specific details about what the predatorslook like.

例如，草原狗不仅对特定的捕猎者有特定的叫声，对于捕猎者的外貌也有特定的细节描述。

Yes. In fact, they'd exchange information not only about your presence but about what you looklike your size, shape, and the color of your clothes.

是的，事实上，他们不仅交流你出现的信息，还会讨论你的高矮和体型，你衣服的颜色。

They did a cool little experiment where they sent the same person into a prairie dog colony atdifferent times, wearing different colored tee shirts.

他们做了一个很酷的小实验，在不同的时间里，让同一个人穿着不同颜色的T恤进入草原狗的领地。

When they analyzed⁶ the animals' alarm callsthey found that they used the same ones for the person's size and shape, but different onesdepending on the color of the tee shirt.

当科学家们分析动物的警觉信号时，他们发现动物用同样的叫声表示人的高矮和体型，但是会根据T恤的颜色改变叫声。

And it speaks to the larger point that humans are not the only animals with a sophisticatedlanguage system.

从更深层次的角度上说，人类不是唯一具有复杂语言系统的生物。

Ours may be the most complex, but it's only one among many other, nonhuman descriptive languages.

我们的语言可能是最复杂的，但是只是许多其它非人类描述性语言中的一种。

1 chimps   

（非洲）黑猩猩( chimp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 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 chirps   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的第三人称单数 )； 啾； 啾啾

参考例句：

• The linnet chirps her vernal song. 红雀吱喳鸣叫着她春天的歌。
• She heard nothing but the chirps and whirrs of insects. 除了虫的鸣叫声外，她什么也没听见。

3 shrieks   

n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• shrieks of fiendish laughter 恶魔般的尖笑声
• For years, from newspapers, broadcasts, the stages and at meetings, we had heard nothing but grandiloquent rhetoric delivered with shouts and shrieks that deafened the ears. 多少年来， 报纸上， 广播里， 舞台上， 会场上的声嘶力竭，装腔做态的高调搞得我们震耳欲聋。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

5 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

6 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》