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1、RATS HAVE HEAD FOR LANGUAGE Researchers in Spain reported that animals, especially mammals ( nfLD), evolved some of the skills underlying the use and development of language long before language itself ever evolved. It is the first time that an animal other than a human or monkey has been shown to h
2、ave this skill. For their study neuroscientist Juan Toro and his colleagues at Barcelonas Scientific Park tested 64 adult male rats. They used Dutch and Japanese because these languages were used in earlier, similar tests, and because they are very different from one another in use of words, rhythm
3、and structure. The rats were trained to respond to either Dutch or Japanese using food as a reward. Then they were separated into four groups one that heard each language spoken by a native, one that heard synthesized ( ) speech, one that heard sentences read in either language by different speakers
4、 and a fourth that heard the languages played backwards. Rats rewarded for responding to Japanese did not respond to Dutch and rats trained to recognize Dutch did not respond to spoken Japanese. The rats could not tell apart Japanese or Dutch played backwards. Results showed that rats could discrimi
5、nate natural sentences when uttered by a single speaker and not when uttered by different ones, nor could they distinguish the languages when spoken by different people. Human newborns have the same problem, although tamarins C ) can easily tell languages apart even when spoken by different people.
6、It was striking to find that rats can track certain information that seems to be so important in language development in humans. The study shows which abilities that humans use for language are shared with other animals, and which are uniquely human. Lt also suggests what sorts of evolutionary precu
7、rsors ( fuJl ) language might have. Choose the best answers to the following questions. 1. 64 adult male rats have been tested to show that _ . A. rats can be trained to speak Japanese and Dutch B. rats have some of the skills potential to the use and development of lanquaqe C. rats are able to reco
8、gnize a language when it is spoken by different people D. rats can understand the words, rhythm and structure of a language 2. Dutch and Japanese are chosen to be the test languages because _ . A. they were used in earlier, similar tests B. some rats can recognize Dutch and some Japanese C. Dutch an
9、d Japanese belong to different families of language and they were used earlier in similar tests D. Dutch and Japanese have different words, rhythms and structure 3. Rats were rewarded when they _ . A. could respond to either of the two languages B. could respond to both Dutch and Japanese C. could t
10、ell apart Japanese or Dutch played backwards D. could discriminate natural sentences spoken by different speakers 4. The test results have shown us all of the following EXCEPT _ . A. rats can distinguish the languages spoken by a single speaker B. rats share some of the abilities for language with h
11、uman beings C. rats can track certain information which seems to be important in language development in humans D. rats can discriminate natural sentences spoken by different speakers S. The sentence Rats rewarded for responding to Japanese did not respond to Dutch and rats trained to recognize Dutc
12、h did not respond to spoken Japanese is closest in meaning to _ . A. When rats were trained to respond to one of the two languages, they didnt respond to the other B. When rats responded to Japanese, they were rewarded. When rats responded to Dutch, they were not rewarded C. Given good rewards and s
13、pecial training, a rat could respond to both Dutch and Japanese D. For rats, responding to one language is less difficult than to two languages Judge whether or not the following statements agree with the information given in the passage, and mark Y for YES, N for NO, or NG if information is not giv
14、en in the passage. 1. The scientists used Dutch and Japanese as the test languages because of their unusual words, rhythm and structure. Y N NG 2. Newly born babies have little trouble in distinguishing language spoken by different people. Y N NG 3. When Dutch and Japanese were played backwards, rat
15、s could not tell them apart. Y N NG 4. The study shows that some abilities for language are unique to human beings. Y N NG 5. It is the first time scientists have conducted such an experiment to prove that some animals, other than humans or monkeys, have skills underlying the use and development of language. Y N NG