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媒體英語會帶大家一起學習 BBC 撰稿人在報道世界大事時常用到的單詞和短語。
美國科學家們發現黑猩猩會因自己做出了錯誤的決定而感到無比沮喪。來自杜克大學的研究人員和黑猩猩做了幾個有賞遊戲,結果發現輸了遊戲的猩猩都會發脾氣。以下是來自 Victoria Gill 的報道:
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The Duke University team designed two games - one to test patience and the other assessing risk-taking.
The second was a sort of gambling game where the forty chimps and bonobos the team studied were offered a choice between a safe option - six peanuts hidden under a bowl - or a risky option. The second bowl concealed either a slice of cucumber or a much tastier piece of banana, and that prize wasn't revealed until the ape had made its choice.
When one chimp, named Timi, gambled and got the cucumber, he threw what looked and sounded very much like a tantrum. Although some were more stoic than Timi, many of the animals involved showed an emotional response to a bad decision - anxiously scratching themselves or calling out.
The study, the scientists say, suggests that emotions like frustration and regret - so fundamental to our own decisions - are not uniquely human, but are an important and ancient part of ape society.
Quiz 聽力測驗
What were the two games trying to test?
The chimpanzees' patience and risk-taking.
What word means 'hidden'?
Concealed.
True or false? The chimpanzees reacted badly when they made the wrong decision.
True. The chimpanzees appeared to throw tantrums, scratched themselves or called out.
What does the study say about feelings of frustration and regret?
That they are not unique to humans but are also present in ape society.
Glossary 词汇表 (点击单词收听发音)
patience耐心
risk-taking冒險精神
a safe option保險的選擇
concealed蓋住的、遮住的
revealed揭開,使顯露
a tantrum發脾氣
frustration挫敗,沮喪
regret悔恨,惋惜
fundamental不可缺少的,重要的
uniquely獨有的