大学英语期末.docx

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1、Unit 7 Are Animals Smarter Than We Think?What does an elephant see when it looks in the mirror? Itself, apparently. Previously, such self-awareness was thought to be limited to humans, primates and the great celebrities of the world of animal intelligence, dolphins. At first, elephants in studies wi

2、th mirrors will explore the mirror as an object. Eventually, they may realize they are looking at themselves. They will repeatedly touch a mark painted on their heads that they wouldnt see without the mirror. Diana Reiss of Hunter College believes these are compelling signs of self-awareness.Scienti

3、sts used to believe that animals were like machines programmed to react to stimuli. They were not considered capable of feeling or thinking, and certainly not of understanding abstract concepts. However, any dog owner will disagree. They know, when they see the love in their pets eyes, that it has f

4、eelings. A dog can be trained to respond to commands and perform useful tasks. It can recognize different people and make choices about what to eat or which path to take. But does this mean that an animal is capable of thinking and, if so, can it be proved? Our perceptions of animals are filtered th

5、rough our own human understanding of the world and we often project human feelings and thoughts onto other creatures.One of the first scientists to try to investigate the animal mind was the British naturalist Charles Darwin. In his book The Descent of Man, published in 1871, he questioned whether h

6、igher mental abilities such as self-consciousness and memory, were limited to human beings. Darwin speculated that human and non-human minds arent all that different. Animals, he argued, face the same general challenges and have the same basic needs as humans: to find food and a mate, to navigate th

7、rough the sky, the woods or the sea. All these tasks require the ability to problem-solve and to categorize. Birds, for example, need to be able to distinguish colors so they know when a fruit is ripe, what is safe to eat and what is not. Knowing the shapes of predators helps them to escape danger.

8、Having a concept of numbers helps them to keep track of their flock, and to know which individuals have a mate.All these skills require, not just instinct, but cognitive ability, argues Irene Pepperberg, who has worked on animal intelligence since 1977.She studied an African grey parrot called Alex

9、from the age of one for 30 years. Parrots are well-known for their ability to imitate speech and in her experiments; Pepperberg used this talent to find out about Alexs understanding of the world. Her aim was to teach him to reproduce the sounds of the English language so that she could then have a

10、dialogue with him.I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world.Memory, language, self-awareness, emotions and creativity are key indications of higher mental abilities. Scientists have, bit by bit, uncovered and documented these talents in other speci

11、es. Pepperberg discovered that Alex could count, distinguish shapes, sizes, colors and materials such as wood, wool and metal. Until recently, only higher mammals, such as primates, have been thought capable of understanding concepts of same and different. But parrots, like primates, live for a long

12、 time in complex societies, so abstract mental ability would seem to be a valuable survival skill for them, too.Darwin argued that animals minds, like their bodies, have evolved to suit their environment. He went so far as to suggest that even worms have some hint of intelligence since he observed t

13、hem making judgments about the kinds of leaves they used to block their tunnels. Many scientists in the 20th century dismissed such findings as unreliable, usually influenced by anthropomorphism, in other words, judging animals by human attributes. However, the pendulum is now swinging away from thi

14、nking of animals as machines without intelligence, and back towards Darwins ideas. A wide range of studies on animals suggests that the roots of intelligence are deep, widespread across the animal kingdom and highly changeable.People were surprised to find that chimpanzees and other primates were sm

15、art. They make tools. Orangutans use leaves as rain hats and protect their hands when climbing spiky trees. Scientists put this down to the fact that primates and humans share a common ancestor. What is surprising them now however, is that intelligence doesnt seem to be limited to those species with

16、 whom; we have a common ancestor. It appears that evolution can reinvent similar forms of consciousness indifferent species; and that to an astonishing degree, this intelligence is not reserved only for higher mammals. One vital question is thrown up by the current research: If all this is true and

17、animals have feelings and intelligence, should it affect the way we humans treat them?动物比我们想象的更聪明吗?大象照镜子时到底看到了什么?显然是它自己。以前,人们认为这样的自我意识仅存于人类、灵长类动物以及动物智慧世界的明星一海豚。在这项大象和镜子的研究里,大象起初只把镜子当作物品来把玩。最后,它们可能意识到它们在镜子里看到了自己。它们会反复触碰画在它们头上的印记,这是一些没有镜子就不可能看见的印记。亨特大学的戴安娜雷斯认为,这是自我意识的很有力的说明。过去,科学家认为动物和机器一样,能根据事先编排好的程序

18、对外界的刺激作出反应。还认为它们不具备感受和思考能力,绝对没有理解抽象概念的能力。但是,养狗的人是不会同意这种看法的。他们在宠物狗的眼睛里看到了爱,知道它有情感。狗能通过训练接受指令做有益的事情。它会认人、选择食物、识别道路。但这是否意味着它有思维能力呢?如果有的话,又如何证实呢?我们对动物的认知是经过过滤的,是建立在人类对世界的理解的基础上的,我们经常把人类的情感和思想投射到其它动物身上。最早研究动物心智的科学家之一是英国博物学家查尔斯达尔文。在1871年出版的人类的起源一书中,他质疑是否只有人类才具有高级思维能力一如自我意识和记忆。达尔文猜测人脑和动物脑没有那么大的差别。他认为,动物和人一

19、样面对相同的常规挑战和相同的基本需求:寻找食物和伴侣,在天空、森林和海洋中旅行时不迷失方向。要完成这些任务,就需要有解决问题和甄别分类的能力。例如鸟类必须有分辨颜色的能力,以确定果实什么时候成熟,什么东西能吃,什么东西不能吃。了解捕食动物的形状能帮助它们避开危险,有数字概念可帮助他们了解本鸟群的情况,了解哪些鸟已有伴侣。从1977年起就从事动物智慧研究的艾琳佩拍伯格认为,所有这些技巧不仅需要本能,还需要认知能力。她研究一只叫“亚历克斯”的非洲灰鹦鹉,从它一岁开始整整研究了30年。鹦鹉以模仿语言的能力著称;在她的实验里,佩拍伯格利用鹦鹉这方面的才能来了解亚历克斯对世界的理解。她的目标是教会它英语

20、,以便能够和它对话。“我想如果它学会如何交流,我就可以问它是如何看待这个世界的了。”记忆、语言、自我意识、情感和创造性是高智力的关键标志。科学家已经一点一滴地揭示并记录了其他物种在这些方面的才能。佩拍伯格发现亚历克斯不仅能够数数,还能分辨形状、大小、颜色及材料(如木头、羊毛和金属)。直到最近,只有高等哺乳动物,如灵长类,才会被认为具有理解“相同”和“不同”这些概念的能力。但鹦鹉和灵长类一样长期生活在复杂社会里,因此抽象的智力对它们而言似乎也同样是有价值的生存技巧。达尔文认为,动物的心智和它们的身体一样因为要适应环境而进化了。他甚至说:即便是虫子也有一点点智慧,因为他观察到虫子能判断什么样的叶子

21、适合用来堵它们的洞口。许多20世纪的科学家轻视这些发现,认为它们不可靠,这是受了拟人说的影响,即根据人的特征来判断动物。但是,现在舆论的天平已经不再向那些认为动物像机器一样没有智慧的观点倾斜了,而是向达尔文的观点倾斜。大范围的动物研究表明:智慧之根在动物界的分布既深又广,变化多端。人们吃惊地发现黑猩猩及其他灵长类动物都很聪明,它们会制造工具。红毛黑猩猩能用树叶当斗笠挡雨;在爬带刺的树时,它们知道如何保护自己的手。科学家把这种现象归结为灵长类动物和人类拥有共同祖先这一事实。但是,现在让他们吃惊的是智慧似乎并不仅仅体现在与人同祖的物种身上。进化似乎能够在不同物种身上重新创造出相似的意识形式。令人吃

22、惊的是,这种智慧并非高等哺乳动物的专利。目前的研究提出了一个重大的问题:如果这一切都是真的,如果动物具有情感和智力,这会改变人类对待动物的方式吗?Unit 8 Painting as a PastimeA gifted American psychologist has said,Worry is a spasm of the emotion; the mind catches hold of something and will not let it go. Its useless to argue with the mind in this condition. The stronger

23、the will, the more futile the task. One can only gently insinuate something else into its convulsive grasp. And if this something else is rightly chosen, if it is really attended by the illumination of another field of interest, gradually, and often quite swiftly, the old undue grip relaxes and the

24、process of recuperation and repair begins.The cultivation of a hobby and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of first importance to a public man. But this is not a business that can be undertaken in a day or swiftly improvised by a mere command of the will. The growth of alternative mental i

25、nterests is a long process. The seeds must be carefully chosen; they must fall on good ground; they must be sedulously tended, if the vivifying fruits are to be at hand when needed.To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is n

26、o use starting late in life to say:I will take an interest in this or that. Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet hardly get any benefit or relief. It is no use doing what you like; you have g

27、ot to like what you do. Broadly speaking, human beings maybe divided into three classes: those who are toiled to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death. It is no use offering the manual laborer, tired out with a hard weeks sweat and effort, the chance of playing a ga

28、me of football or baseball on Saturday afternoon. It is no use inviting the politician or the professional or businessman, who has been working or worrying about serious things for six days, to work or worry about trifling things at the weekend.As for the unfortunate people who can command everythin

29、g they want, who can gratify every caprice and lay their hands on almost every object of desire - for them a new pleasure, a new excitement is only an additional satiation. In vain they rush frantically round from place to place, trying to escape from avenging boredom by mere clatter and motion. For

30、 them discipline in one form or another is the most hopeful path.It may be said that rational, industrious, useful human beings are divided into two classes: first, those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure; and secondly, those whose work and pleasure are one. Of these the former are t

31、he majority. They have their compensations. The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modest forms. But Fortunes favored children belong to the second class. Their life

32、 is a natural harmony. For them the working hours are never long enough. Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidays when they come are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vocation. Yet to both classes the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere, of a diversion of ef

33、fort, is essential. Indeed, it may well be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their minds.绘画消遣(节选)一位天才美国心理学家说过:“烦恼是感情的发作;此时大脑缠住了某种东西不肯放手。”在这种情况下,和头脑争论(让它放手)是无用的。愿望越强烈,与之争论就越是徒劳。你只能温和地将另一种东西慢慢灌输到痉挛状态的头脑中。如果(这一东西)选得恰当,而且它真的从另一领域的

34、情趣中受到启迪的话,那么逐渐地,往往也是迅速地,原先不适当的“不肯放手”就会慢慢放松,恢复和补救的过程就会开始。因此,对于公众人物而言,培养业余爱好和新的兴趣才是上策。但这并非一日之功,也不是单凭意志力就能做到的事情。精神情趣的培养是一个长期的过程。要想在需要的时候可随手摘取充满生机的果实,种子就必须精挑细选,必须播种在肥沃的土壤里,还必须辛勤地护理。要想真正快乐,真正安全,一个人至少应有两三种业余爱好,而且必须是实际可行的。到了晚年才开始说:“我会培养对这或对那的兴趣”,这是没有用的。这种愿望只能加剧精神紧张。一个人可能会获得大量与其日常工作无关的知识,却不能从中得到任何益处或宽慰。做你喜欢

35、做的事是没有用的,你要喜欢你做的事。泛而言之,人可以分为三类:极其劳累的人,极其操心的人,极其无聊的人。对于卖了一周力气、流了一周汗水的体力劳动者来说,让他们在星期六下午踢足球或打垒球是不合适的。同样,对于工作了六天、一直为公务操心的政界人士、专业人员或商人来说,在周末再让他们为鸡毛蒜皮的琐事而操心劳累也是无益的。那些能够支配一切、能够肆意妄为、能够染指一切追求目标的人是“不幸的”。对于他们而言,不多一种新的乐趣、多一种新的刺激只是增加一分厌腻而已。他们到处奔乱跑,企图靠喧闹和骚动来摆脱无聊对他们的报复,但这么做是徒劳的。对他们来说,某种形式的纪律约束是最有希望让他们走出困境、走上正道的。可以

36、这样说,理智的,勤劳的、有用的人可以分为两类:第一类人认为工作是工作,娱乐于是娱乐;第二类人认为工作和娱乐是一回事。这两类人当中,第一类人占大多数。他们是能够得到补偿的。在办公室或工厂里长时间工作给他们带来了报酬,这不仅是谋生的手段,也使他们对寻找快乐充满了渴望,哪怕是最简单、最质朴的快乐。但是,幸运之神偏爱的是第二类人。他们的生活是一种自然的和谐。对他们来说,工作时间永远不会太长(永远都不够长),每一天都是假日,而当普通节日来到时,他们会感到厌恶,因为这强行打断了他们埋头从事的工作。然而对这两种人来说,换换脑子,改变一下气氛,转移一下注意力都是不可缺少的。其实,把工作当作乐趣的人,很可能是最

37、需要每隔一段时间就把工作放下,让头脑放松的人。Unit 9 Are You the Right Person for the Job?In the old days it was easy. They were going to be the best three years of your life, and you knew it. You spent your time chatting late into the night with new-found friends in coffee bars and pubs, playing your heart out in the squ

38、ash courts and on the cricket field, or strutting across the stage as a leading light of the university dramatic society. Whatever your interest, university life catered for it. And, lets not forget, you would usually manage to keep up with the work too, by doing the required reading and dashing off

39、 the week5s essay at the last minute. The only thing you didnt find time for was thinking about what came afterwards, at the end of those three exciting years. But you didnt need to, because whatever your chosen career, the companies were all lining up to offer you a job.That was what it was like in

40、 the old days as a student in the UK. But things have changed. A recent study of Britains major multinational companies reveals that even with a good degree graduates can no longer walk into the top jobs. Today there are twice as many universities as there were just 30 years ago, and 40 percent of y

41、oung people now go on to higher education. So with no shortage of graduates, a good degree has become vital in the search for a job. Competition is tough, and todays students are spending more time than ever preparing for those dreaded final exams, or doing low-paid part-time jobs to pay off debts.B

42、ut thats just the problem. In the opinion of managers from more than 200 British companies, students are spending too much time studying, or worrying about making ends meet, instead of joining clubs and acquiring basic skills such as teamwork and making presentations. The managers also said that the

43、y were prepared to leave jobs unfilled rather than appoint graduates who didnt have the necessary skills to get ahead in the global market.But what can be done about the problem? The solution, the managers believe, is to include social skills in degree courses; and some universities are taking the a

44、dvice. At the University of Southampton, for example, history students have to do a 12-week project -frequently related to the local context - working in teams of six. This includes making a presentation, writing a group thesis, and carrying out a public service, which might involve teaching schoolc

45、hildren or making a radio program about the topic.There can be no doubt that this sort of cooperative approach can help many students develop personal skills which will help improve their prospects in their search for a job. One of the most well-known personality tests used by employers when intervi

46、ewing candidates, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), puts the extrovert / introvert dichotomy at the top of the list of personality traits it tries to analyze. There are no right answers in such tests, but extroverts, it is assumed, are going to be more suited to jobs in which they have to work

47、 in teams or deal with other people.Equally interesting in the Southampton project is the conviction that students should be aware of the wider community, and find ways to make contributions to it. In todays shrinking world, students are increasingly aware that a university is not an ivory tower of

48、learning, cut off from the real problems of the world, but on the contrary, can itself be an agent for change for a better world. There are numerous ways in which students can be volunteers一before, during, or after their degree courses. With courses making heavy demands on students time, as we have

49、seen, a popular option is to take a gap year before or after university.Typically, volunteering might mean helping the sick or elderly, entertaining underprivileged children on holiday camps, teaching in a Third World country or perhaps working on agricultural or environmental projects.For students who choose to offer their talents in this way, one side effect is to gain a wealth of experience to be added to the CV, which will not go unnoticed by future employers. But a word of warni

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