One day in 1963, a dolphin named Elvar and a famous astronomer, Carl Sagan, were playing a little game. The astronomer was visiting an institute which was looking into the way dolphins communicate with each other. Sagan was standing on the edge of one of the tanks where several of these friendly, highly intelligent creatures were kept. Elvar had just swum up alongside him and had turned on his back.
The dolphin wanted Sagan to scratch his stomach again, as the astronomer had done twice before. Elvar looked up at Sagan, waiting. Then, after a minute or so, the dolphin leapt up through the water and made a sound just like the word more. The astonished astronomer went to the director of the institute and told him about the incident. Oh, yes. Thats one of the words he knows, the director said, showing no surprise at all.
Dolphins have bigger brains in proportion to their body size than humans have, and it has been known for a long time that they can make a number of sounds. What is more, these sounds seem to have different functions, such as warning each other of danger. Sound travels much faster and much further in water than it does in air. That is why the parts of the brain that deal with sound are much better developed in dolphins than in humans. But can it be said that dolphins have a language, in the real sense of the word? Scientists dont agree on this.
A language is not just a collection of sounds, or even words. A language has a structure and what we call a grammar. The structure and grammar of a language help to give it meaning. For example, the two questions Who loves Mary? and Who does Mary love? mean very different things. If you stop to think about it, you will see that this difference doesnt come from the words in the question but from the difference in structure. That is why the question Can dolphins speak? cant be answered until we find out if dolphins not only make sounds but also arrange them in a grammatical order which affects their meaning.
1 The astronomer was not interested in the way dolphins communicate with each other.
A Right
B Wrong
C Not mentioned
2 The dolphin leapt up into the air because Sagan was too near the water.
A Right
B Wrong
C Not mentioned
3 Parts of the dolphins brain are particularly well developed to handle different kinds of sound.
A Right
B Wrong
C Not mentioned
4 Dolphins are the most useful animals to humans.
A Right
B Wrong
C Not mentioned
5 Dolphins travel faster in water than any other animals.
A Right
B Wrong
C Not mentioned
6 Some scientists believe that dolphins have a language of their own.
A Right
B Wrong
C Not mentioned
7 Sounds can be called a language only when they have a structure and a grammar.
A Right
B Wrong
C Not mentioned
【参考答案】1. B 2. B 3. A 4. C 5. C 6. A 7. A
在餐馆点菜常说的13句话
郁金香的英语单词如何讲
学会称赞别人的9种表达方法
如何增强英语复习课的活力
初学者如何练习英语口语
如何用英语讨价还价
如何改善你的英语口语
最常用的26句生活用语
如何有效记单词
普雅花的英文单词
中小学英语有效教学策略
彼岸花的英语单词这么讲
美国人常用的26句经典句子
惬意的英文单词怎样说
天使除了“angel”还能怎么讲
好的教师关键在于好的教学方法
浅谈英语歌曲在英语教学中的作用
初中英语小班化教学探讨
跑龙套/群众演员的英文单词是什么?
英语教学课堂导入的方法
袋鼠英语单词如何讲
长颈鹿的英文怎样说
最美丽的英语单词怎么讲
外媒看中国 苏州3D打印别墅帅爆了
谈对英语学困生的兴趣培养
女人最爱“珠宝”的英语单词应该这样讲
开车时喜欢讲的十句话
五种趣味方法帮你学好初中英语语法
谈小学英语教师的人文素养
爵士用英文怎么表达
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |