6.There was a time when we thought humans were special in so many ways.Now we know better.We are not the only species that feels emotions,or follows a moral code.Neither are we the only ones with personalities,cultures and the ability to design and use tools.Yet we all agree that one thing,at least,makes us unique:we alone have the ability of language.
It turns out that we are not so special in this aspect either.Key to the revolutionary reassessment of our talent for communication is the way we think about language itself.Where once it was seen as an unusual object,today scientists find it is more productive to think of language as a group of abilities.Viewed this way,it becomes apparent that the component parts of language are not as unique as the whole.
Take gesture,arguably the starting point for language.Until recently,it was considered uniquely human-but not any more.Mike Tomasello of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig,Germany,and others have collected a list of gestures observed in monkeys and some other animals,which reveals that gestures play a large role in their communication.Ape (猿) gestures can involve touch,vocalising or eye movement,and individuals wait until they have another ape's attention before making visual or auditory gestures.If their gestures go unacknowledged,they will often repeat them.
In an experiment carried out in 2006by Erica Cartmill and Richard Byrne from the University of St Andrews in the UK,they got a person to sit on a chair with some highly desirable food such as banana to one side of apes and some undesirable food such as vegetables to the other.The apes,who could see the person and the food from their enclosures,gestured at their human partners to encourage them to push the desirable food their way.If the person showed incomprehension and offered the vegetables,the animals would change their gestures-just as humans would in a similar situation.If the human seemed to understand while being somewhat confused,giving only half the preferred food,the apes would repeat and exaggerate their gestures-again in exactly the same way a human would.Such findings highlight the fact that the gestures of the animals are not merely inborn but are learned,flexible and under voluntary control-all characteristics that are considered preconditions for human-like communication.
73.Compared with all the other animals,we agree that humans aloneB.
A.own the ability to show their personalities
B.a(chǎn)re capable of using language to communicate
C.have moral standards and follow them in society
D.a(chǎn)re intelligent enough to release and control emotions
74.According to the passage,humans are not so special in language ability because languageC.
A.involves some abilities that can be mastered by animals
B.is a talent impossibly owned by other animals
C.can be divided into different components
D.a(chǎn)re productive for some talented animals
75.Which of the statements can be concluded from the passage?A
A.Some animals can try to use body languages as communication methods.
B.Gestures,the starting point for language,are considered uniquely human.
C.Some animals such as apes and monkeys share some common gestures codes.
D.When gestures are misunderstood,apes will often try to express in a new way.
76.What can we learn from the experiment by Cartmill and Byrne?C
A.Apes can use language to communicate with the help of humans.
B.Repeating and exaggerating gestures is vital in language communication.
C.Some animals can learn to express and communicate through some trials.
D.The preferred food stimulates some animals to use language to communicate.
77.What is probably the best title of the passage?B
A.Language involves gestures!
B.Animals language-gestures!
C.So you think humans are unique?
D.The similarity between humans and apes.
分析 本文主要講述了有些動物能夠通過肢體語言進行交流.肢體語言不再被認為是人類所獨有的能力,它在動物之間的溝通中也發(fā)揮了很大的作用.實驗表明,動物的姿態(tài)不僅是與生俱來的,而且可以通過學習來進行表達交流.
解答 73.B細節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)第一段we alone have the ability of language.可知只有人類能用語言交流.故選B.
74.C細節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)第二段it becomes apparent that the component parts of language are not as unique as the whole.可知語言的組成部分并不像整體那樣獨特.故選C.
75.A細節(jié)判斷題.根據(jù)第三段主要講述了一些動物可以嘗試使用身體語言作為溝通的方法.故選A.
76.C細節(jié)推斷題.根據(jù)最后一段Such findings highlight the fact that the gestures of the animals are not merely inborn but are learned,flexible and under voluntary control-all characteristics that are considered preconditions for human-like communication.可知實驗發(fā)現(xiàn)動物的姿態(tài)不僅是與生俱來的,而且是有學問的,靈活隨意的控制被認為是人類交流的先決條件.由此推知,有些動物可以通過一些試驗來學習表達和交流.故選C.
77.B理解判斷題.本文主要講述了有些動物能夠通過身體語言進行交流.故選B.
點評 本文考察學生的理解推斷能力以及細心程度,只要抓住文章的關(guān)鍵詞,采用尋讀的方法查找細節(jié),就能找到正確答案.