Washoe Learned American Sign Language

    1　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 American state of Washington. Washoe had become known in the scientific community¹ and around the world for her ability to use American Sign Language². She was said to be the first non-human to lean a human language. Her skills also led to debate³ about primates and their ability to understand language.

    2　Research scientists Allen and Beatrix Gardner began teaching Washoe sign language in 1966. In 1969, the Gardners described Washoe’s progress in a scientific report. The people who experimented with Washoe said she grew to understand4 about 250 words⁴. For example, Washoe made signs to communicate when it was time to eat. She could request foods like apples and bananas. She also asked questions like, “Who is coming to play?” Once⁵ the news about Washoe spread, many language scientists began studies of their own⁶ into this new and exciting area of research. The whole direction of primate research changed.

    3　However, critics argued Washoe only learned to repeat sign language movements from watching 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 Gardners⁷. He took Washoe to a research center inEllensburg,Washington. There, Washoe taught sign language to three younger chimpanzees, which are still alive.

    4　Scientists like private researcher Jane Goodall believe⁸ Washoe provided new information about the mental workings of chimpanzees. Today, there are not as many scientists studying language skills with chimps. Part of the reason is that this kind of research takes a very long time.

    5　Debate continues about chimps’ understanding of human communication. Yet, one thing is sure — Washoe changed popular ideas about the possibilities of animal intelligence.

词汇：

chimpanzee /,tʃɪmpæn’zi:/ n．黑猩猩

community / kə’mju:nɪtɪ/ n．社区，圈子

primate / ’praɪmeɪt / n．灵长类动物

critic / ’krɪtɪk / n．评论家，批评家

workingsn．活动，运行

chimp /tʃɪmp/ n．= chimpanzee 黑猩猩

注释：

1．in the scientific community：在科学界，在科学家的圈子里

2．American Sign Language（ASL）：美国手语。利用手、脸部表情、身诔姿势表达思想的美国聋哑人语言。在加拿大、墨西哥等地也使用ASL。ASL与British Sign Language（BSL英国手语）不同，两者不能相互理解。

3．led to debate：引起辩论。lead to意为“导致”，to为介词，debate为名词。

4．she grew to understand about 250 words：她渐渐掌握约250个单词。grow to是“渐渐”的意思。

5．Once：—旦。Once是连接词。例：Children like to cycle once they have learned how.小孩一旦学会了如何骑自行车，就会喜欢上它。

6．of their own：属于自己的。of their own的含义与on their own不同，on their own是“独自”的意思。

7．the Gardners：Gardner夫妇

8．Scientists like private researcher Jane Goodall believe ... ：像个体研究者Jane Goodall这样的科学家相信…like（像，跟……一样）是介词，本句的谓语是believe。句子中的private researcher意为“不受雇于任何单位，自己独立工作的科研人员。”

B because she was cleverer than other chimps

C when she wanted to eat

D while she was at a research center in Ellensburg

E because she could use sign language to ask for fruits

Washoe taught three younger chimps sign language _____.

A:A B:B C:C D:D E:E F:F

Text 2
Linguists have been able to follow the formation of a new language in Nicaragua. The catch is that it is not a spoken language but, rather, a sign language which arose spontaneously in deaf children.
The Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL) emerged in the late 1970s, at a new school for deaf children. Initially the children were instructed by teachers who could hear. No one taught them how to sign; they simply worked it out for themselves. By conducting experiments on people who attended the school at various points in its history, Dr. Senghas has shown how NSL has become more sophisticated over time. For example, concepts that an older signer uses a single sign for, such as rolling and falling, have been unpacked into separate signs by youngsters.
Early users, too, did not develop a way of distinguishing left from right. Dr. Senghas showed this by asking signers of different ages to converse about a set of photographs that each could see. One signer had to pick a photograph and describe it. The other had to guess which photograph was being described.
When all the photographs contained the same elements, merely arranged differently, older people, who had learned the early form of the language, could neither signal which photo they meant, nor understand the signals of their younger partners. Nor could their younger partners teach them the signs that indicate left and right. The older people clearly understood the concept of left and right, they just could not converse about it a result that bears on the vexing question of how much language merely reflects the way the brain thinks about the world, and how much it actually shapes such thinking.
For a sign language to emerge spontaneously, though, deaf children must have some inherent tendency to tie gestures to meaning. Spoken language, of course, is frequently accompanied by gestures. But, as a young researcher, Dr. Goldin-Meadow suspected that deaf children use gestures differently from those who can hear. In a 30-year-long project carried out on deaf children in America and Taiwan, whose parents can hear normally, she has shown that this is true.
Even deaf children who have no deaf acquaintances use signs as words. The order the signs come in is important. It is also different from the order of words in either English or Chinese. But it is the same, for a given set of signs and meanings, in both America and Taiwan.
Curiously enough, the signs produced by children in Spain and Turkey, whom Dr. Goldin- Meadow is also studying, while similar to each other, differ from those that American and Taiwanese children produce. Dr. Goldin-Meadow is not certain why that is. However, the key commonality is that their spontaneously created languages resemble fully-formed languages.

A:Sign language and spoken language. B:The history of NSL. C:Findings about sign language. D:The origin of language.

As one approaches some crossroads, one comes to a sign which says that drivers have to stop when they come to the main road ahead. At other crossroads, drivers have to go slow, but they do not actually have to stop (unless, of course, there is something coming along the main road); and at still others, they do not have either to stop or to go slow, because they are themselves on the main road.
Mr. Williams, who was always a very careful driver, was driving home from work one evening when he came to a crossroads. It had a "Slow" sign, so he slowed down when he came to the main road, looked both ways to see that nothing was coming, and then drove across without stopping completely.
At once he heard a police whistle, so he pulled in to the side of the road and stopped. A policeman walked over to him with a notebook and pencil in his hand and said, "You didn’t stop at the crossing."
"But the sign there doesn’t say ’Stop’," answered Mr Williams. "It just says ’Slow’, and I did go slow."
The policeman looked around him, and a look of surprise came over his face. Then he put his notebook and pencil away, scratched his head and said, "Well, I’ll be blowed! I am in the wrong street!/

A:there is s stop sign B:there is a slow sign C:you are on the main road D:you are on the crossroad

As one approaches some crossroads, one comes to a sign which says that drivers have to stop when they come to the main road ahead. At other crossroads, drivers have to go slow, but they do not actually have to stop (unless, of course, there is something coming along the main road); and at still others, they do not have either to stop or to go slow, because they are themselves on the main road.
Mr. Williams, who was always a very careful driver, was driving home from work one evening when he came to a crossroads. It had a "Slow" sign, so he slowed down when he came to the main road, looked both ways to see that nothing was coming, and then drove across without stopping completely.
At once he heard a police whistle, so he pulled in to the side of the road and stopped. A policeman walked over to him with a notebook and pencil in his hand and said, "You didn’t stop at the crossing."
"But the sign there doesn’t say ’Stop’," answered Mr Williams. "It just says ’Slow’, and I did go slow."
The policeman looked around him, and a look of surprise came over his face. Then he put his notebook and pencil away, scratched his head and said, "Well, I’ll be blowed! I am in the wrong street!/

A:there was a stop sign that Mr Williams ignored B:the police was not sure whether Mr Williams had a driving license C:the police thought that he was at a different crossroads with a stop sign on it D:there was a slow sign that Mr Williams ignored

Smiling is the universal sign for goodwill, and it reduces social tension. I went to a job interview when I was about 18, and I was so nervous that I could (51) keep myself from (52) . After five minutes, the (53) said the manager would meet me. I moved slowly (54) the manager’s office door and opened it (55) . There, standing behind his desk with his hand outstretched in greeting, was a man (56) about 50, and he was grinning(露齿而笑)from ear to ear. "Come in and have a seat, David," he said. He shook my hand and told me that he was happy I had come. It wasn’t long before my anxiety inched away in the glow of his bright smile and warm (57) . When I left that meeting with my new job, I couldn’t remember why I had been so afraid (58) . A warm smile made all the (59) .
In some cultures, eye contact is a sign of aggression especially (60) it is made between inferiors(下级) and superiors(上级), but in most western countries it is a (61) of honesty and goodwill. Eye contact simply means to look at someone directly into their eyes. (62) staring long into someone else’s eyes can be (63) as something inappropriate if that person is not a loved one, making proper eye contact (64) the greeting ritual is absolutely necessary. In western countries, a person who cannot or will not make eye contact is perceived (理解) (65) dishonest. Remember, during the greeting ritual, you must make eye contact.

A:symbol B:sign C:signal D:symptom

　8 New York Students Have Swine Flu 　　The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 51 of swine flu in eight students at a New York preparatory school, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday. The students have had only 52 symptoms and none have been hospitalized, he said. Some of the students have already recovered. 　　More than 100 students were absent from 53 due to flu-like symptoms last week. New York health officials tested samples for eight students Saturday and determined the students were probably 54 from swine flu, and the CDC confirmed the 55 on Sunday, Bloomberg said. 　　The announcement brings the 56 of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States to 20. Bloomberg and New York Health Commissioner Tom Frieden said there is no 57 of a citywide outbreak of the flu, and no sign of a potential 58 of swine flu at other schools. 　　Some students at the school 59 spring break1 in Mexico, Bloomberg said, but authorities have not determined 60 any of the students with a confirmed case of swine flu was in Mexico. Someone who traveled to Mexico may not have had any flu symptoms but 61 on the flu to someone else, he noted. 　　Frieden called 62 students who are home sick to stay home for 48 hours after their symptoms subside. 　　If symptoms are normal for a regular kind of flu, there is 63 need to go to a hospital, said Bloomberg. If symptoms become severe, as with any 64 , people should go to the hospital, he said. 　　St. Francis, which has 2,700 students, announced it will remain closed for two days. 65 whether the students’ illnesses have been minor because they’re young and healthy or because it is a minor strain of the virus, Frieden responded, "We don’t know."

A:chance B:need C:hope D:sign

下面的短文有15处空白，请根据短文内容为每处空白确定1个最佳选项。

A:chance B:sign C:news D:hope

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 American 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 understand language. Research scientists Allen and Beatrix Gardner began teaching Washoe sign language in 1966.In 1969, the Gardners 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 bananas. 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 new and exciting area of research. The whole direction of primate research changed. However, critics argued Washoe only learned to repeat sign language movements from watching 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 Gardners. 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 Washoer provided new information about the mental workings of chimpanzees. Today,there are not as many scientists studying language 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.According to the passage ,which of the following is true?

A:Roger Fouts taught sign language to three younger chimpanzees. B:Washoe was the first chim to use American Sign Language. C:A chimpanzee died of natural causes in Africa at a research center. D:Nowadays there are still lots of scientists experimenting with chimpanzees.