英语听力文摘 English Digest 27、狗和狼

　　Don: Who's the smartest dog in the whole wide world?
DOG BARKING
Yael: Please. Even if Ralph is the smartest dog in the world, that's not saying much. Any animal that will do exactly what you tell it to do isn't very smart. I'm not saying dogs  weren't intelligent creatures in their distant past, before they were domesticated¹. But now wolves are much smarter than dogs.
D: It's true that in a test a wolf will perform whatever task necessary to get to a piece of  meat, whereas a dog, if in the presence of its owner, will typically wait for      permission. But that doesn't mean that wolves are smarter than dogs, Yael. A dog's  attentiveness² to its owner might be an important kind of intelligence.
Y: Nice try, Don, but I'm not buying it.
D: Listen to this. In an experiment, graduate students studying animal behavior were  given either a puppy or a wolf cub³ to raise. Several months later, the animals were      offered a piece of meat, but to get to it, they had to pull a rope to remove the meat from under a cage. Both the dogs and the wolves mastered this task without trouble.      The rope was then anchored, so that retrieving⁴ the meat was impossible. The wolves  pulled at the rope until they were exhausted⁵. The dogs, however, gave up after a few      tries and looked to their caregivers for help.
Y: Giving up makes dogs smart?
D: It shows that dogs have an innate⁶ ability and motivation to communicate with humans in finding food. They're as interested in eating as wolves are, but they seem to      understand that paying attention to humans can help them get what they want. Right, Ralph?
DOG BARKING

1 domesticated   

adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务，烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 attentiveness   

[医]注意

参考例句：

• They all helped one another with humourous attentiveness. 他们带着近于滑稽的殷勤互相周旋。 来自辞典例句
• Is not attentiveness the nature of, even the function of, Conscious? 专注不正是大我意识的本质甚或活动吗？ 来自互联网

3 cub   

n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人

参考例句：

• The lion cub's mother was hunting for what she needs. 这只幼师的母亲正在捕猎。
• The cub licked the milk from its mother's breast. 这头幼兽吸吮着它妈妈的奶水。

4 retrieving   

n.检索（过程），取还v.取回( retrieve的现在分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• Ignoring all, he searches the ground carefully for any cigarette-end worth retrieving. 没管打锣的说了什么，他留神的在地上找，看有没有值得拾起来的烟头儿。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Retrieving the nodules from these great depths is no easy task. 从这样的海底深渊中取回结核可不是容易的事情。 来自辞典例句

5 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

6 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。