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Unit 6 What Animal Really Think?

Many researchers believe that chimps are able to see themselves in relation to others in their groups.

Some birds have the capacity to recognize, count, or name different objects

dolphin is catching the ballbelow

elephants painting (L)

and being trained (R)

What is intelligence? The power of perceiving, learning, underst

anding and knowing; mental ability

Cf. feat sth. difficult needing a lot of skill, strength,

bravery, etc. to achieve it eg.The Eiffel Tower is a remarkable feat of

engineering.

Why do people have great interest in animal intelligence?

--to learn about the origins of human's unique intelligence by studying the mental processes of lower species

Why do people have great interest in animal intelligence?

--to understand how humans became smart we need to learn in other animals and how they may have led to our development of art, religion or mathematics

--also, to distinguish animal learning

processes from human

Warm-up Questions

Which of the following animals do you think is the most intelligent? Rank them in order and find out examples of their intelligence.

pig, hen, dog, dolphin, elephant, monkey, rat, parrot, cat, ant

Questions based on the text

According to the author, what is the better way to explore animal intelligence?

What is the author’s view about animal

intelligence? Do you agree?

Main idea

Some animals do have intelligence (seem capable of thinking) when it is in their own interests (it serves their own purpose).

Type of writing and skills Exposition With 3 supporting examples by using

subheading Transitional sentences and words Anaphora (the use of pronouns to refe

r to sth./sb. or event previously mentioned 前指 )

Controversy question "Are animals intelligent?"

--a discussion about whether it is meaningful to speak of animals as "intelligent" at all--or whether animal behavior should instead be thought of as a series of unthinking mechanical responses to stimuli that originate in the animal's internal or external environments

.

--because we think only humans are capable of conscious thought and flexible responding

--largest of the great apes and one of the closest living relatives of the human species

--members of the primate order --has formidable teeth, no natural enemie

s, usu. walk on fours but occasionally upright

--many accounts of the gorilla have portrayed a ferocious 凶猛的 , powerful beast prone to attacking people

Cultural Notes Gorilla 大猩猩

--Only after 1960 did evidence emerge, from the field studies of American zoologists George B. Schaller and Dian Fossey, that the gorilla is a relatively gentle vegetarian who attacks only if directly threatened.

orangutan猩猩

orangutan猩猩

--largest fruit eater in the world -- known for their intelligence and

their long arms, reddish-brown hair and small eyes and ears

--the coat is coarse, long and shaggy 浓密而不整齐

Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, they are currently found only in rainforests on the islands of Borneo婆罗洲 and Sumatra 苏门答腊岛 , though fossils have been found in Java 爪哇 , Vietnam and China.

Chimpanzee 黑猩猩

Chimpanzee

-- inhabits the rain forests and woodland savannas( 亚 ) 热带的稀树大草原 of equatorial Africa, the closest living relative to humans

-- 3 – 5.5 ft (1 – 1.7 m) tall when standing upright, weigh 70 – 130 lbs (32 – 60 kg), with a brown or black coat and a bare face ranging in color from nearly white to black

-- do most of their feeding in the trees, swinging from branch to branch; usually on the ground; eat mostly fruits, berries, leaves, and seeds, some termites 白蚁 and ants

-- capable of problem solving, tool use, and deceit ; highly social and live in flexible groups (15 – 100 or more members)

-- In the wild they live about 45 years, in captivity more than 50.

Language Pointslack: n. the state or fact

not having sth.

eg: Her only problem is lack of confidence. /lack of money/experience

最后那人因为缺少证据而被释放。（ T ） In the end, the man was released for lac

k of proof.

v. not having sth. /not have enough of it

eg: I lack the energy that’s required to look after children.

我好像什么都不缺。（ T ） I don't seem to lack anything.

eg: She encountered an old friend on the street.

Before they had gone very far, they encountered a young man selling oranges.

encounter: (fml) meet, esp. unexpectedly

blank: carrying no information or mark; empty or clear

eg: There is a blank space at the bottom of the form for you to sign your name in.

I never know what Jayne’s thinking – she has such a blank expression.

reveal: make (sth.) known eg: The details of the new policy for medical insura

nce have been revealed. His research in cloning "Dolly" revealed some

very important facts. A survey of the Chinese diet has revealed that a

growing number of children in cities are overweight.

convince: make (sb.) feel sure by the use of argument or evidence

eg: His parents managed to convince him that teaching was the most suitable profession for him.

We finally convinced the police of our innocence.

(be convinced: feel certain that sth. is true)

eg: I was convinced that we were doing the right thing.

eg: I'll make a deal with you -- you wash the car and I'll let you use it tonight.

The car company has made a deal with a Japanese firm, which will supply engines in exchange for brakes.

make a deal: reach an agreement or arrangement esp. in business or politics

eg: He hurried to the railway station, only to find that the train had left.

他曾试图邀请她出去，可她反应冷淡。（ T ） He had once tried inviting her out, only t

o meet with a rather cool response.

only to (do sth.): often used to indicate that sb. did sth. with a disappointing or surprising result. “to” functions as result adverbial

figure out: understand; reason out

eg: I can't figure out why he quit his well-paid job to undertake such tedious work.

I can't figure her out; one minute she's happy, the next, sad.

It took me 2 hours to figure out how to start the new washing-machine.

extend: make sth. longer or larger (in space or time); offer or give sth. (n. extension)

eg. Can you extend your visit for a few days longer?

They extend a warm welcome to her. Let me extend an offer of help to you. Cf. extend and expand (L.29/31)

expand: cause sth. to become greater in size, number or importance; spread out (n. expansion)

eg. Our foreign trade has expanded greatly in recent years.

The population of the town expanded rapidly in the 1960s.

His face expanded in a smile of welcome.

expend: spend/use money in doing sth. (time or energy) (n. expense)

eg. The students expended an extraordinary amount of time on the science project.

Susan expended a great deal of energy while exercising.

eg: It would be in your interests to undertake this task although it's difficult.

The local government has to abandon the plan for a new chemical plant because it is not in the public interest. （ T ）

(in the interest(s) of sth.: for the sake of sth.)

eg: In the interests of safety, please do not smoke.

in sb's interest(s): for or to sb.'s advantage

go far: help very much; achieve much success

eg: Your suggestion will go far towards solving our present housing problem.

Jane's a very talented writer -- she'll go far.

eg: Everything went wrong with my computer after I installed that new program.

I didn't watch the live opening ceremony of the World Cup yesterday because my television went wrong again.

go wrong: stop developing well

assess : 对 ... 进行估价 , 评价 to judge or decide the amount, value, quality or importance of sth. eg. Damages of the flood were asses

sed at 1000 RMB. Examinations are not the only means

of assessing a student's ability. We need to assess whether the proje

ct is worth doing. Cf. size up

eg: My garden is too dry and shady– not many plants thrive in those condition.

His business thrived in the years before the war.

房地产现在发展迅速。（ T ） The real estate business is thriving.

thrive: to grow, develop healthy or be successful

eg: I don't like the way the sales assistants in that shop size you up as you walk through the door.

Some manufacturers have been sizing up some African countries as a possible market for their motorcycles.

I felt insulted by the way my father sized up my boyfriend.

size up: carefully examine a situation or person in order to make a judgment

eg: Some of the house on the hillside are inaccessible to cars.

I found his lecture completely inaccessible—I could not understand a word of it.

Why is opera so inaccessible to so many people?

inaccessible: very difficult to travel to or difficult to understand or appreciate

access :n [U] the method or possibility of approaching a place or person, or the right to use or look at something eg. The only access to the village

is by boat. The tax inspector had/gained com

plete access to the company files.

v. [T] open a computer file in order to look at or change information in it [ 电脑 ] 取出 ( 资料 ); 使用

accessible : a.1) able to be reached or easily obtained; 2) easy to understand eg. The resort is easily accessible by road,

rail and air. The problem with some of these drugs is t

hat they are so very accessible. (T) Covent Garden has made some attempt to

make opera accessible to a wider public. Cf. estimate to guess the cost, size, value, etc. of some

thing