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 second paragraph mainly discusses ____

Cigars Instead?

Smoking one or two cigars a day doubles the risk of cancers of the lip, tongue, mouth, and throat, according to a government study.

Daily cigars also increase the risk of lung cancer and cancer of the esophagus，and increase the risk of cancer of the larynx (voicebox) sixfold¹，say researchers at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

In addition, the report revealed that smoking three or four cigars a day increased the risk of oral cancer to 8.5 times the risk for nonsmokers² and the risk of esophageal cancer by four times the risk of nonsmokers.

The health effects of smoking cigars is one of eight sections of the article “ Cigars ： Health Effects and Trends". The researchers report that, compared with a cigarette, a large cigar emits up to 90 times as much carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines.

“This article provides clear and invaluable information about the disturbing increase³ in cigar use and the significant public health consequences⁴ for the country," said Dr. Richard Klausner, director of the National Cancer Institute，in a statement.

"The data are clear 一 the harmful substances and carcinogens in cigar smoke, like cigarettes, are associated with⁵ the increased risks of several kinds of cancers as well as heart and lung diseases，” he added. “ In other words，cigars are not safe alternatives to cigarettes⁶ and may be addictive. ”

"To those individuals who may be thinking about smoking cigars, our advice is — don"t.⁷ To those currently smoking cigars, quitting is the only way to eliminate completely the cancer, heart and lung disease risks，” warned Klausner.

According to a National Cancer Institute press release⁸，there haven"t been any studies on the health effects on nonsmokers at cigar social events，but "... a significant body of evidence⁹ clearly demonstrates an increased lung cancer risk from secondhand smoke. ”

词汇：

cigar/sɪ"gɑː/ n.雪茄烟

double /"dʌbl/ vt.使加倍，把增一倍

esophagus /iː"sɒfəɡəs/ n.食管

larynx/"lærɪŋks/ n.喉

esophageal /iː,sɒfə"dʒiːəl/ adj.食管的

emit /ɪ"mɪt/ vt.发出，射出，散发

carcinogenic /,kɑːsɪnə"dʒenɪk/ adj.致癌的

nitrosamine/naɪ"trəʊsəmiːn/ n.亚硝胺

valuable /"væljʊbəl/ adj.非常宝贵的，无价的

carcinogen/kɑː"sɪnədʒ(ə)n/ n.致癌物

alternative/ɔːl"tɜːnətɪv; ɒl-/ n.供替代的抉择

addictive /ə"dɪktɪv/ adj.（使人）上瘾的，（使人）人迷的

eliminate /ɪ"lɪmɪneɪt/ vt.排除，消除，根除

注释：

1.sixfold：六倍。fold 是一个表示倍数的后缀,如：sevenfold，eightfold。

2.smoking three or four cigars a day increased the risk of oral cancer to 8. 5 times the risk for nonsmokers:每天吸三到四支雪茄时这些吸烟者患口腔癌的危险增加到不吸烟者的8.5倍

3.disturbing increase:令人不安的增长（指吸雪茄人数增加引起专家对大众健康问题的担忧）

4.significant public health consequences ：又才大众健康造成的严重后果

5.be associated with ：与……有关

6.cigars are not safe alternatives to cigarettes:雪前不是香烟的安全替代品

7.To those individuals who may be thinking about smoking cigars, our advice is — don"t.对那些正考虑吸雪茄的人,我们的建议是别那么做。

8.press release：(通讯社或政府机构等发布的)新闻稿

9.a significant body of evidence:大量的有力证据。body是“一大堆”的意思。

According to the report, smoking three or four cigars a day____

A:increases the risk of oral cancer for non-smokers B:greatly increases the risk of oral cancer for smokers C:increases the risk of more than one cancer for non-smokers D:greatly increases the risk of more than one cancer for smokers

—How about putting some pictures into the report
—（　） A picture is worth a thousand words.