2017年職稱英語試題《理工C》概括大意專項練習(2)

　　Washoe Learned American Sign Language

　　(1) An animal that influenced scientific thought has died. A chimpanzee named Washoe and born in Africa died of natural causes late last month at the age of 42 at a research center in the American state of Washington. Washoe had become known in the scientific community and around the world for her ability to use American Sign Language. She was said to be the first non-human to learn a human language. Her skills also led to debate3 about primates and their ability to understand language.

　　(2) Research scientists Allen and Beatrix Gardner began teaching Washoe sign language in 1966. In 1969, the Gardners described Washoe's progress in a scientific report. The people who experimented with Washoe said she grew to understand about 250 words. For example, Washoe made signs to communicate when it was time to eat. She could request foods like apples and bananas. She also asked questions like, "Who is coming to play?"

　　Once the news about Washoe spread, many language scientists began studies of their own into this new and exciting area of research. The whole direction of primate research changed.

　　(3) However, critics argued Washoe only learned to repeat sign language movements from watching her teachers. They said she had never developed true language skills. Even now there are some researchers who suggest that primates learn sign language only by memory,and perform the signs only for prizes. Yet Washoe's keepers disagree. Roger Fours is a former student of the Gardners. He took Washoe to a research center in Ellensburg,Washington. There, Washoe taught sign language to three younger chimpanzees, which are still alive.

　　(4) Scientists like private researcher Jane Goodall believe Washoe provided new information about the mental workings of chimpanzees. Today, there are not as many scientists studying language skills with chimps. Part of the reason is that this kind of research takes a very long time.

　　(5) Debate continues about chimps' understanding of human communication. Yet, one thing is sure--Washoe changed popular ideas about the possibilities of animal intelligence.

　　23. Paragraph 1 __________

　　24. Paragraph 2 __________

　　25. Paragraph 3 __________

　　26. Paragraph 4 __________

　　A. Reason why not many scientists carry out this research nowadays

　　B. Report about Washoe's progress in leaming sign language

　　C. General information about Washoe

　　D. The Gardeners' contributions recognized

　　E. Debate on chimps' intelligence

　　F. Washoe's love for three young chimps

　　27. Washoe could make signs to communicate __________.

　　28. Some scientists doubted

　　29. Washoe taught three younger chimps sign language

　　30. The experimenters thought Washoe was intelligent __________

　　A. if the Gardeners' argument was sound

　　B. because she was cleverer than other chimps

　　C. when she wanted to eat

　　D. while she was at a research center in Ellensburg

　　E. because she could use sign language to ask for fruits

　　F. while Washoe was learning sign language

　　2017年職稱英語試題《理工C》概括大意專項練習答案與解析

　　23.C。第一段主要介紹黑猩猩Washoe的出生地、死亡年齡、被帶到美國學習美式手語等情況。用General Information about Washoe來概括是很準確的。

　　24.B。第二段的關鍵句是：“In 1969，the Gardners described Washoe’s progress in a scientific report.”隨后的句子簡略介紹了Washoe的學習情況和結果，如已學會250個單詞，并能用手語表達“該吃飯了”等概念。所以選項B是正確答案。

　　25.E。第三段介紹了對Gardener夫婦發(fā)表的報告的兩種不同的解讀。一派認為Washoe的手語能力只是機械重復、死記硬背、物質激勵的結果，不是智能的表現(xiàn)。另一派認為這是智能的表現(xiàn)，其證據是Washoe還能教三個小猩猩學習手語。爭論的焦點是黑猩猩有沒有智能。選項E用debate來概括上述爭論，很恰當。

　　26.A。第四段解釋了為什么現(xiàn)在從事這項研究的科學家人數不多，部分原因是由于研究周期太長，所以答案為A。

　　27.C。題干：Washoe能通過手勢來交流__________。利用題干關鍵詞可以定位到第二段第四句，由該句可知答案為C。

　　28.A。題干：有些科學家懷疑__________。利用題干關鍵詞可以定位到第三段的上半段說了一些科學家對Gardener夫婦的實驗的解讀所持懷疑態(tài)度。題干中出現(xiàn)的doubted引導我們選A。

　　29.D。題干：Washoe__________教三只年幼的黑猩猩標志語言。利用題干關鍵詞可以定位到第三段的最后兩句，即“He took Washoe to a research center in Ellensbur9，Washington.There，Washoe taught sign language to three younger chimpanzees，which are still alive.”，所以答案為D。

　　30.E。題干：實驗者認為Washoe是有邏輯思維能力的__________。利用題干關鍵詞可以定位到第二段第四句：“She could request foods like apples and bananas.”根據全段意思和上述句子，選擇E是正確的。