英语听力—环球英语 1249 Naming the Bird Brain

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Joshua Leo.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Have you heard the expression, ‘bird brain?’ It is not a nice term! People use it as an insult². Calling someone a bird brain is like calling someone stupid. It means they have a small brain! Of course, compared to humans, birds do have small brains. But is it also true that birds are stupid?

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　In 1903, German scientist Ludvig Edinger drew a picture of the bird’s brain. And he defined³ the different parts. He used names with Latin⁴ roots. But the Latin words made it sound like the birds could not learn. They included words like ‘primitive’, meaning simple or not as intelligent. The names made the birds sound stupid.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Nature and science books used these terms for over one hundred years. But, Erich Jarvis has worked to change all this. He is a scientist who studies the human brain. As part of his work, he also studies bird brains. And he has led an effort to re-write the scientific names! Jarvis and other scientists believe that birds’ brains are far more complex than people originally thought. And he set out to bring justice to the bird brain!

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Here is one example of the amazing things birds can do. In 2005, scientists at Oxford⁵ University performed a series of experiments. They were testing the brain of a black crow. They put meat at the bottom of a thin tube. They placed a thin straight piece of wire on the top of the tube. Would the bird use the wire to get the food? Rena Dam describes the birds’ reaction.

 

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　　The crow looks at the meat. She moves around the tube. Then, she gets the wire in her beak⁶, her mouth. She pushes the wire into the tube. But, the wire is straight. It cannot reach the food. So, the crow takes the wire out of the tube. She pushes the end of the wire against the wall. The wire bends. Then, the bird goes to the tube. She puts the bent⁷ wire into the tube. The food attaches to the bent end of the wire. She has succeeded! She eats her reward - the meat!

 

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　　The scientists perform the same experiment ten times. In nine out of the ten times the bird made an effective tool from the wire. Harvey Karten is one of the scientists who worked with Erich Jarvis. He told the television program NOVA:

 

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　　“We had not even considered that birds were that able!”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　But over past years, scientists have learned⁸ that birds are far more able than they first thought. In the past, scientists believed that birds’ brains were mostly ‘instinctual’. That is, birds did not think before they acted. Their actions were based on their built-in, natural urges. But now, scientists know that this is not true. Birds’ brains are much more complicated⁹. The cortex is the outer brain shell. It is responsible for controlling some complex behaviour. Scientists used to think that songbirds only had a very small, thin cortex. But now they know that the opposite is true. Some songbirds can teach and learn thousands of different calls. This is called ‘vocal’ or ‘spoken’ learning¹⁰. It is the same communication that makes human language possible.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Erich Jarvis is working to understand how scientists can use discoveries into the bird’s brain. He hopes to help understanding of human language. He hopes that his work will lead to treatments for complex human speech problems. In an interview with the television program NOVA, Jarvis said,

 

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　　“We want to learn about bird brains so that we can understand how our own brains work. This is for public health, for diseases¹¹ like Alzheimers’ and Parkinsons’. This is more than just bird stuff¹². It is important to get it right.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　This is why Jarvis decided¹³ to rename bird brain structures. He said that he and other scientists were studying complex bird behaviours. But they were using words that were not modern. The words made it seem like the birds were not intelligent. Jarvis said they had students who did not want to study the bird brain. The terms made bird brains sound uninteresting. The general public could not understand why the bird brain was worth studying. So, the names were important!

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　But what is the big deal about changing a few names? How difficult can it be? Well, it is more difficult than you may think. It is a little like trying to change all the names in a town. And then asking the people living there to come and discuss it! But Jarvis did not give in! He sat with the scientists as they argued and debated. Jarvis was a good leader. He permitted everyone to have his or her say. He made sure people listened. He listened. And, finally, a result! All the scientists agreed on the new names. Publishers printed the new scientific papers.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　During this time, some people criticised Jarvis for his actions. They said that he should have been working on publishing his own papers. He should have been thinking about his individual success. Leading an effort like this did not help his research. But Jarvis believes that working together is often the only way forward. He explained to NOVA:

 

　　Voice 4

 

　　“It was not easy. But I felt that it was necessary. It was the right and moral¹⁴ thing to do.”

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　At the end of the meeting, the group took a picture of all the scientists involved. At first, the 28 scientists just stood together. Erich Jarvis stood in the middle. But then, he stopped. The picture was not quite complete. He asked all the scientists to join hands! He told NOVA,

 

　　Voice 4

 

　　“This shows the rest of the scientific community that we are united in this.”

 

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　　Because of this work, Erich Jarvis was awarded the 2005 science pioneer award. The U-S National Institutes of Health, or NIH, gives this highly¹⁵ respected award. The NIH recognised that Jarvis’ work could make great changes in the areas of human health.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　So not everyone criticised Jarvis’ effort! And he continues to study the complex workings of the bird brain. He hopes that his work will result in a greater understanding of human behaviour. And, science will be able to offer more help to people with learning or speech problems. Who would have thought that a bird brain contained so many scientific discoveries! Calling someone a bird brain may not be an insult after all!

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The writer of this program was Marina Santee. The producer was Rena Dam. The voices you heard were from the United States. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find our programs on the internet at http://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called ‘Naming the Bird Brain’.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 insult   

vt.侮辱，凌辱；n.侮辱的言词或行为

参考例句：

• You will insult her if you don't go to her party. 你要是不去参加她举办的聚会，就对她太无礼了。
• I can't sit down with that insult.我不能忍受那种侮辱。

3 defined   

adj 定义的; 清晰的

参考例句：

• These categories are not well defined. 这些类别划分得不太明确。
• The powers of a judge are defined by law. 法官的权限是由法律规定的。

4 Latin   

adj.拉丁的，拉丁语的，拉丁人的；n.拉丁语

参考例句：

• She learned Latin without a master.她无师自通学会了拉丁语。
• Please use only Latin characters.请仅使用拉丁文字符。

5 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

6 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

7 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

8 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

9 complicated   

adj.错综复杂的，麻烦的，结构复杂的

参考例句：

• The poem is so complicated that I cannot make out its meaning.这首诗太复杂，我理解不了它的意思。
• This is the most complicated case I have ever handled.这是我所处理过的最为复杂的案子。

10 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

11 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

12 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 moral   

adj.道德(上)的，有道德的；n.品行，寓意，道德

参考例句：

• Moral beauty ought to be ranked above all other beauty.品德之美应列于其他美之上。
• He deceived us into believing that he could give us moral support.他骗得我们相信他能给我们道义上的支持。

15 highly   

adv.高度地，极，非常；非常赞许地

参考例句：

• It is highly important to provide for the future.预先做好准备非常重要。
• The teacher speaks very highly of the boy's behaviour.老师称赞这个男孩的表现。