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.The Gardners’ experiment with Washoe____

Medicine Award Kicks off Nobel Prize Announcements

Two scientists who have won praise for research into the growth of cancer cells could be candidates for the Nobel Prize in medicine when the 2008 winners are presented on Monday, kicking off¹ six days of Nobel announcements.
　　Australian-born U. S. citizen Elizabeth Blackburn and American Carol Greider have already won a series of medical honors for their enzyme research and experts say they could be among the front-runners for a Nobel.
　　Only seven women have won the medicine prize since the first Nobel Prizes were handed out² in 1901. The last female winner was U. S.researcher Linda Buck in 2004，who shared the prize with Richard Axel.
　　Among the pair"s possible rivals are Frenchman Pierre Chambon and Americans Ronald Evans and El wood Jensen, who opened up the field of studying proteins called nuclear hormone receptors³.
　　As usual, the award committee is giving no hints about who is in the running before presenting its decision in a news conference⁴ at Stockholm"s Karolinska Institute.
　　Alfred Nobel, the Swede who invented dynamite, established the prizes in his will in the categories of medicine，physics，chemistry，literature and peace. The economies pijize is technically not a Nobel but a 1968 creation of Sweden"s central bank.
　　Nobel left few instructions on how to select winners, but medicine winners are typically awarded for a specific breakthrough rather than a body of⁵ research.
　　Hans Jornvall, secretary of the medicine prize committee, said the 10 million kronor (US $1.3 million) prize encourages groundbreaking research but he did not think winning it was the primary goal for scientists.
　　”Individual researchers probably don"t look at themselves as potential Nobel Prize winners when they"re at work,” Jornvall told The Associated Press⁶. ”They get their kicks from their research and their interest in how life functions. ”
　　In 2006，Blackburn, of the University of California, San Francisco, and Greider, of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, shared the Lasker prize for basic medical research with Jack Szostak of Harvard Medical School. Their work set the stage for⁷ research suggesting that cancer cells use telomerase to sustain their uncontrolled growth.

词汇：

enzyme/ "enzaɪm/n. 酶

krona/ ˈkrəunə/n. 瑞典克朗
receptor/ rɪˈseptə(r)/n. 受体

kronor krona的复数形式
dynamite/ "daɪnəmaɪt/n. 甘油炸药

telomerase/ tə"lɒməreɪz/n. 端粒酶

注释：

1.kicking off：开始(某种）活动
2.handed out：分发
3.nuclear hormone receptors：核激素受体
4.a news conference ：记者招待会
5.a body of：一批
6.The Associated Press ：美联社
7.set the stage for：为……打好基础

Who is NOT a likely candidate for this year"s Nobel Prize in medicine?

A:Elizabeth Blackburn B:Carol Greider C:Linda Buck D:Pierre Chambon

—Who's won the first prize in the competition
—Henry ______. He has ______ it for a week.