共用题干 Washoe Learned American Sign LanguageAn animal that influenced scientific thought has died. A c...
Washoe Learned American Sign Language
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 A-merican 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 debate about primates and their ability to under-stand language.
Research scientists Allen and Beatrix Gardner began teaching Washoe sign language in 1966.In 1969,the Gardeners 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 ba-nanas .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 nev and exciting area of research .The whole direction of primate research changed.
However,critics argued Washoe only learned to repeat sign language movements from watc-hing 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 Fouts is a former student of the Gar-deners. He took Washoe to a research center in Ellensburg,Washington. There,Washoe taught sign language to three younger chimpanzees,which are still alive.
Scientists like private researcher Jane Goodall believe Washoe provided new information a-bout the mental workings of chimpanzees. Today,there are not as many scientists studying lan-guage skills with chimps. Part of the reason is that this kind of research takes a very long time.
Debate continues about chimps' understanding of human communication. Yet,one thing is sure-Washoe changed popular ideas about the possibilities of animal intelligence. The second paragraph mainly discusses______.
参考答案: A
参考解析: 根据第二段的“…many language scientists began studies of their own into this new and exciting area of research. The whole direction of primate research changed.”可知，这个试验影响了对灵长目动物的研究。故本题选D。
段落主旨题。仔细阅读本段发现，这是对Washoe学习手语进展的报道。故选A。
根据第三段的“However,critics argued Washoe only learned to repeat sign language movements from watching her teachers.”可知，批评家们认为，Washoe只是重复老师教给她的手语，并没有发展真正的语言技能。故本题选B。
由第一段的“She was said to be the first non-human to learn a human language.”可知， B正确。由第三段“There,Washoe taught sign language to three younger chimpanzees...”知，是Washoe教三个年轻黑程猩手语的，A错误；根据第一段第二句可知，Washoe出生于非洲，死于美国华盛顿，C错误；根据倒数第二段的“Today,there are not as many sci-entists studying language skills with chimps.”可知，D项错误。故本题选B。
根据最后一段第一句可知，科学家们对于黑猩猩理解人类语言仍有争议，因此黑猩猩能否学习人类语言仍然没有答案。因此选A。
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