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科学美国人60秒 SSS 2016-8-02

时间:2016-08-16 08:49:33

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(单词翻译)

We’ve all heard the adage1: monkey see, monkey do. But it is literally2 true—if a monkey sees you looking at something, it will look, too. Now, a study shows that this tendency for a monkey to track what another is looking at is age-dependent. And in a very similar way to the same behavior in people.

我们都听过这样一句谚语:有样学样。但它是完全正确的。如果一只猴子看见你在看什么东西,它也会看。现在,一项研究表明猴子的这种效仿另一个正在看什么的趋势,源于年龄相关性,并且以相似的方式表达出与人类相同的行为。

The ability to what’s called “gaze-follow” is a fundamental skill that underlies3 our social lives. When we turn to see what other people see, we recognize their interest and join in their curiosity—or concern. Stand on a busy street corner and look up. It won’t be long before you have a crowd of people trying to see what it is you’re looking at. And other primates4 do it too.

所谓的“追随视线”的能力是一项基本技能,成为我们社会生活的基础。当我们转身去看其他人在看什么时,我们寻求他们的兴趣,融入他们所好奇的——或关心的。站在一个繁忙的街角并仰望,用不了多久,就会有一群人过来围观使劲儿看你正在看什么。并且其他灵长类动物也这么做。

Researchers studied a large population of free-ranging macaques on an island off Puerto Rico. One scientist would approach a macaque that was sitting by itself and would attempt to get its attention by clapping or snapping or by saying, “Monkey, monkey.” That’s lead investigator5 Alexandra Rosati of Harvard. When the macaque made eye contact, Rosati would look straight up in the air. A second researcher would film the interaction to see whether the monkey also looked up.

研究人员对数量巨大的自由放养猕猴进行研究,这些猕猴生活在波多黎各一座岛屿上。一位科学家将接近坐着的猕猴,并且试图通过鼓掌或发出啪的一声或说猴子猴子来吸引它的注意力。这是哈佛的首席研究员亚历山德拉罗萨蒂(Alexandra Rosati)。当猕猴和他有眼神接触时,德拉罗萨蒂将看向正上方的天空。第二个研究人员将拍摄这一互动,以查看是否猕猴也会向上看。

The humans pulled the same stunt6 on nearly 500 monkeys of all different ages, from infants just two weeks old to elders of 28 years. And they found that, for macaques, gaze following kicks in a few months after birth, peaks in juveniles8, and declines in old age—a pattern that matches what happens in humans. To see the results for yourself, take a look at the write-up in the Proceedings9 of the Royal Society B. [Alexandra G. Rosati et al, Rhesus monkeys show human-like changes in gaze following across the lifespan]

人们又在近500只不同年龄段的猴子身上测试这同一动作,从仅仅两周大的婴儿到28岁的年老猴子。他们发现,猕猴在出生几个月之后就拥有视线追随能力,青少年时期达到峰值,年老之后衰退——其模式与人类身上所发生的相匹配。如果想查看,请在《英国皇家学会会报》B版上查看书面结果。

The researchers also found that juvenile7 and adult macaques quickly figured out that Rosati was faking: when she looked up, there wasn’t actually anything in particular worth seeing. At which point the clever primates disengaged from the activity. Which suggests that, yes, you can make a macaque look. But you can’t make it a monkey’s uncle.

研究人员还发现,青少年和成年猕猴很快就可以发现 Rosati 是假装的。当她抬起头向上看时,实际上没有什么特别值得一看的。这时聪明的灵长类动物就可以从这个活动中脱离出来。这表明,是的,你可以使一只猕猴观看,但你不能让它变成猴子的叔叔。


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1 adage koSyd     
n.格言,古训
参考例句:
  • But the old adage that men grow into office has not proved true in my experience.但是,根据我的经验,人们所谓的工作岗位造就人材这句古话并不正确。
  • Her experience lends credence to the adage " We live and learn!"她的经验印证了一句格言: 活到老,学到老!
2 literally 28Wzv     
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
参考例句:
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
3 underlies d9c77c83f8c2ab289262fec743f08dd0     
v.位于或存在于(某物)之下( underlie的第三人称单数 );构成…的基础(或起因),引起
参考例句:
  • I think a lack of confidence underlies his manner. 我认为他表现出的态度是因为他缺乏信心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Try to figure out what feeling underlies your anger. 努力找出你的愤怒之下潜藏的情感。 来自辞典例句
4 primates 9536f12c27d026e37c108bd6fc53dbba     
primate的复数
参考例句:
  • Primates are alert, inquisitive animals. 灵长目动物是机灵、好奇的动物。
  • Consciousness or cerebration has been said to have emerged in the evolution of higher primates. 据说意识或思考在较高级灵长类的进化中已出现。
5 investigator zRQzo     
n.研究者,调查者,审查者
参考例句:
  • He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
  • The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。
6 stunt otxwC     
n.惊人表演,绝技,特技;vt.阻碍...发育,妨碍...生长
参考例句:
  • Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
  • Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。
7 juvenile OkEy2     
n.青少年,少年读物;adj.青少年的,幼稚的
参考例句:
  • For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人,他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
  • Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。
8 juveniles 257c9101f917ec8748aa5fc520c6a9e3     
n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 );扮演少年角色的演员;未成年人
参考例句:
  • Do you think that punishment for violent crimes should be the same for juveniles and adults? 你对暴力犯罪的惩罚对于青少年和成人应一样吗? 来自生活英语口语25天快训
  • Juveniles Should we not exactly in need of such strength and conviction? 少年的我们难道不正是需要这种力量和信念吗? 来自互联网
9 proceedings Wk2zvX     
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
  • to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

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