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Chattering Chimps
喋喋不休的黑猩猩！
We talk to our house pets all the time, but wouldn’t it be great if your cat could answer you in English?
我們經(jīng)常跟家里的寵物聊天。如果你的貓能用英語回應，那豈不是很棒？
Well, maybe it wouldn’t be so great!
不過，或許并沒有你想象的那么美好。
We tend to assume that, because they don’t speak human language, other animals are dumb, or emotionless, or might make a good cheeseburger.
我們傾向于假設其他動物不會說人類語言，便想當然覺得它們愚蠢或認為它們沒有感情，甚至認為它們只適合用來制作芝士漢堡。
If we could ask them what they think, we might have to reconsider how we think!
如果問一問動物們自己的想法，那么人類可能就得重新改觀了。
In the 1960′s, psychologists Beatrice and Robert Gardner decided to do just this.
20世紀60年代，心理學家碧翠斯（Beatrice）和羅伯特·加德納（Robert Gardner）打算印證這一想法。
They wanted to see if chimpanzees had the mental capacity for language.
他們想要確認黑猩猩是否具備語言方面的心智能力。
Now since chimps can’t make the verbal sounds that humans can, so the Gardners tried teaching chimpanzees sign language.
由于黑猩猩無法像人類那樣口頭發(fā)聲，加德納夫婦就嘗試教他們手勢語。
The results surprise almost everyone who hears about these studies.
研究結果令幾乎所有知曉該研究的人目瞪口呆。
Not only was sign language possible for chimps, some acquired vocabularies of several hundred words.
黑猩猩不僅有學會手勢語的可能性，甚至還能挑戰(zhàn)數(shù)百個詞匯。
譯文為可可英語翻譯，未經(jīng)授權請勿轉載!
