大學(xué)英語自學(xué)教程(上)

01?A.Howtobeasuccessfullanguagelearner?

“Learningalanguageiseasy,evenachildcandoit!”

Mostadultswhoarelearningasecondlanguagewoulddisagreewiththis

statement.For(hem.learningalanguageisaverydifficulttask.Theyneedhundreds

ofhoursofstudyandpractice,andeventhiswillnotguaranteesuccessforevery

adultlanguagelearner.

Languagelearningisdifferentfromotherkindsoflearning.Somepeoplewho

areveryintelligentandsuccessfulintheirfieldsfinditdifficulttosucceedin

languagelearning.Conversely,somepeoplewhoaresuccessfullanguagelearners

finditdifficulttosucceedinotherfields.

Languageteachersoftenofferadvicetolanguagelearners:"Readasmuchas

youcaninthenewlanguage.n"Practicespeakingthelanguageeveryday.”

“Livewithpeoplewhospeakthelanguage.”“Don'ttranslate-trytothinkin(he

newlanguage.**“Learnasachildwouldlearn;playwiththelanguage.

Butwhatdoesasuccessfullanguagelearnerdo?Languagelearningresearch

showsthatsuccessfullanguagelearnersaresimilarinmanyways.

Firstofall,successfullanguagelearnersarcindependentlearners.Theydonot

dependon(hebookortheteacher;theydiscovertheirownwaytolearnthe

language.Insteadofwaitingfortheteachertoexplain,theytrytofindthepatterns

andtherulesforthemselves.Theyaregoodguesserswholookforcluesandform

theirownconclusions.Whentheyguesswrong,theyguessagain.Theytrytolearn

fromtlicirmistakes.

Successfullanguagelearningisactivelearning.Therefore,successfullearners

donotwaitforachancetousethelanguage;theylookforsuchachaiicc.Theyfind

peoplewhospeakthelanguageandtheyaskthesepeopletocorrectthemwhenthey

makeamistake.Theywilltryanythingtocommunicate.Theyarcnotafraidto

repeatwhattheyhearortosaystrangethings;theyarewillingtomakemistakesand

tryagain.Whencommunicationisdifficult,theycanacceptinformationthatis

inexactorincomplete.Itismoreimportantforthemtolearntothinkinthelanguage

thantoknowthemeaningofeveryword.

Finally,successfullanguagelearnersarelearnerswithapurpose.Theywantto

learnthelanguagebecausetheyareinterestedinthelanguageandthepeoplewho

speakit.Itisnecessaryforthemtoleamthelanguageinordertocommunicatewith

thesepeopleandtolearnfromthem.Theyfinditeasytopracticeusingthelanguage

regukirlybecausetheywanttolearnwithit.

Whatkindoflanguagelearnerarcyou?Ifyouareasuccessfullanguagelearner,

youhaveprobablybeenlearningindependently,actively,andpurposefully.Onthe

otherhand,ifyourlanguagelearninghasbeenlessthansuccessful,youmightdo

welltotrysomeofthetechniquesoutlinedabove.

01-B.Lanauaae

Whenwewanttotellotherpeoplewhatwethink,wecandoitnotonlywith

thehelpofwords,binalsoinmanyotherways.Forinstance,wesometimesmove

ourheadsupanddownwhenwewanttosay"yes"andwemoveourheadsfrom

sidetosidewhenwewanttosay"no.'Peoplewhocanneitherhearnorspeak(that

is,deafanddumbpeople)talktoeachotherwiththehelpoftheirfingers.People

whoconotunderstandeachother'slanguagehavetodothesame.Thefollowing

storyshowshowtheysometimesdoit.

AnEnglishmanwhocouldnotspeakItalianwasoncetravelinginItaly.One

dayheenteredarestaurantandsatdownatatabic.Whenthewaitercame,the

Englishmanopenedhismouth,puthisfingersinit,tookthemoutagainandmoved

hislips.Inthiswayhemeanttosay,'Bringmesomethingtoeat."Thewaitersoon

broughthimacupoftea.TheEnglishmanshookhisheadandthewaiterunderstood

(hathedidn'twanttea,sohetookitawayandbroughthimsomecoffee.The

Englishman,whowasveryhungrybythistimeandnotalallthirsty,lookedverysad.

Heshookhisheadeachtimethewaiterbroughthimsomethingtodrink.Thewaiter

broughthimwine,(henbeer,thensoda-water,butthatwasn'tfood,ofcourse.He

wasjustgoingtoleavetherestaurantwhenanothertravelercamein.Whenthisman

sawthewaiter,heputhishandsonhisstomach.Thatwasenough:inafewminutes

therewasalargeplateofmacaroniandmeatonthetablebeforehim.

Asyousee,(heprimitivelanguageofsignsisnotalwaysveryclear.The

languageofwordsismuchmoreexact.

Wordsconsistofsounds,buttherearemanysoundswhichhaveameaningand

yetarenotwords.Forexample,wemaysay”Sh-sh-sh“whenwemean”keep

silent/'Whenbabieslaugh,weknowtheyarehappy,andwhentheycry,weknow

theyareillorsimplywantsomething.

I:isthesamewithanimals.Whenadogsays"G-r-r“oracatsayswe

knowtheyareangry.

Butthesesoundsarenotlanguage.Languageconsistsofwordswhichweput

togetherintosentences.Butanimalscannotdothis:adogcansay"G-r-r''whenhe

means"1amangry,"buthecannotsayfirsLT'andthen"am"andthen"angry.,'A

parrotcan(alklikeaman;itcanrepeatwholesentencesandknowswhattheymean.

Wcmaysaythataparrottalks,butcannotsaythatitreallyspeaks,becauseitcannot

formnewsentencesoutofthewordsitknows.Onlymanhasthepowertodothis.

02-A.Taxes,Taxes,andMoreTaxes

Americansoftensaythatthereareonlytwothingsapersoncanbesureofin

life:deathandtaxes,Americansdonothaveacorneronthe"death"market,but

manypeoplefeelthattheUnitedStatesleadstheworldwiththeworsttaxes.

Taxesconsistofthemoneywhichpeoplepaytosupporttheirgovernment.

TlieiearegenerallythreelevelsofgovernmentintheUnitedStates;federal,state,

andcity;therefore,therearcthreetypesoftaxes.

Salariedpeoplewhoearnmorethanafewthousanddollarsmustpayacertain

percentageoftheirsalariestothefederalgovernment.Thepercentagevariesfrom

persontoperson.Ildependsontheirsalaries.Thefederalgovernmenthasa

graduatedincometax,thatis,thepercentageofthetax(14to7()percent)increases

asaperson'sincomeincreases.Withthehighcostoftaxes,peoplearenotvery

happyonApril15,when(hefederaltaxesaredue.

Thesecondtaxisforthestategovernment:NewYork.California.North

Dakota,oranyoftheotherforty-sevenstates.Somestateshaveanincometax

simikirtothatofthefederalgovernment.Ofcourse,thepercentageforthestatetax

islower.Otherstateshaveasalestax,whichisapercentagechargedtoanyitem

whichyoubuyinthatstate.Forexample,apersonmightwanttobuyapacketof

cigarettesfortwenty-fivecents.Ifthereisasalestaxofeightpercentinthatstate,

thenthecostofthecigarettesistwenty-sevencents.Thisfigureincludesthesales

tax.Somestatesuseincometaxinadditiontosalestaxtoraisetheirrevenues.The

statetaxlawsarediverseandconfusing.

Thethirdtaxisforthecity.Thistaxcomesintwoforms:properlytax(people

whoownahomehavetopaytaxesonit)andexcisetax,whichischargedoncarsin

acity.Thecitiesusethesefundsforeducation,policeandfiredepartments,public

worksandmunicipalbuildings.

SinceAmericanspaysuchhightaxes,theyoftenfeelthattheyareworkingone

dayeachweekjusttopaytheirtaxes.Peoplealwayscomplainabouttaxes.They

oftenprotestthatthegovernmentusestheirtaxdollarsinthewrongway.Theysay

thatitspendstoomuchonuselessandimpracticalprograms.AlthoughAmericans

havedifferentviewsonmanyissues,theytendI。agreeononesubject:taxesarctoo

high.

02?B.Advertisinq

Advertisingisonlypartofthetotalsaleseffort,butitisthepartthatattractsthe

mostattention.Thisisnaturalenoughbecauseadvertisingisdesignedforjustthat

purpose.Innewspapers,inmagazines,inthemail,onradioandtelevision,we

constantlyseeandhearthemessagesforhundredsofdifferentproductsandservices.

Forthemostpart,theyarethekindsofthingsthatwecanbepersuadedtobuy-

foodanddrinks,carsandtelevisionsets,furnitureandclothing,travelandleisure

timeactivities.

Thesimplestkindofadvertisingistheclassifiedad.Everydaythenewspapers

carryafewpagesoftheseads;inthelargeSundayeditionstheremaybeseveral

sectionsofthem.Aclassifiedadisusuallyonlyafewlineslong,hisreallyanolice

orannouncementthatsomethingisavailable.

Newspapersalsocarryalargeamountofdisplayadvertising.Mostofi(isfor

storesorforvariousformsofentertainment.Newspapersgenerallyreachan

audienceonlyinalimitedarea.Tobringtheirmessagetoalargeraudience,many

whowanttoDUItheiradsusenationalmagazines.Manyofthetechniquesof

modernadvertisingweredevelopedinmagazineads.Theuseofbrightcolors,

attractivepictures,andshortmessagesisallcharacteristicofmagazineads.The

mostimportantpurposeislocalch(heeye.Themessageitselfisusuallyshort,often

nomoreihanasloganwhichthepublicidentifieswiththeproduct.

Thesametechniqueshavebeencarriedoverintotelevisionadvertising.Voices

andmusichavebeenaddedtocolorandpicturestocatchtheearaswellastheeye.

Televisionadsareshort-usuallyonly15,30,or60seconds,buttheyarerepeated

overandoveragainsothattheaadienceseesandhearsthemmanytimes.

Commercialtelevisionhasmixedenlertainmentandadvertising.Ifyouwantthe

entertainment,youhavetopulupwilhtheadverlising-andmillionsofpeoplewant

theentertainment.

Themenandwomeninthesalesdepartmentareresponsiblefbrthecompany's

advertising,Theymustdecideontheaudiencetheywanttoreach.Theymustalso

decideonthebestwaytogettheirmessagetotheirparticularaudience.Theyalso

makeanestimateofthecostsbeforemanagementapprovestheplan.Inmostlarge

companiesmanagementisdirectlyinvolvedinplanningtheadvertising.

03?A.TheAtlanticOcean

TheAtlanticOceanisoneoftheoceansthatseparatetheOldWorldfromthe

New.ForcenturiesitkepttheAmericasfrombeingdiscoveredby(hepeopleof

Europe.

ManywrongideasabouttheAtlanticmadeearlysailorsunwillingtosailfarout

intoi(.Oneideawasthatitreachedoutto"theedgeoftheworld."Sailorswere

afraidthattheymightsailrightofftheearth.Anotherideawasthatattheequatorthe

oceanwouldbeboilinghot.

TheAtlanticOceanisonlyhalfasbigasthePacific,butitisstillverylarge.It

ismorethan4.000miles(6.000km)widewhereColumbuscrossedit.Evenatits

narrowestitisabout2,()0()miles(3,200km)wide.Thisnarrowestplaceisbetween

thebulgeofsouthAmericaandthebulgeofAfrica.

TwothingsmaketheAtlanticOceanratherunusual.Forsolargeanoceanithas

veryfewislands.Also,itistheworld'ssaltiestocean.

ThereissomuchwaterintheAtlanticthatitishardtoimaginehowmuchthere

is.Butsupposenomorerainfellintoitandnomorewaterwasbroughttoitby

rivers.Itwouldtaketheoceanabout4.000yearstodryup.Ontheaveragethewater

isalittlemorethantwomiles(3.2kin)deep,butinplacesitismuchdeeper.The

deepestspotisnearPuertoRico.This"deep"30,246feet-almostsixmiles(9.6

km).

OneofthelongestmountainrangesoftheworldrisestheflooroftheAtlantic.

Thismountainrangerunsnorthandsouthdownthemiddleoftheocean.The(opsof

afewofthemountainsreachupabovetheseaandmakeislands.TheAzoresarethe

topsofpeaksinthemid-Atlanticmourtainrange.

SeveralhundredmileseastwardfromFloridathereisapartoftheoceancalled

theSargassoSea.Herethewaterisquiet,forthereislittlewind.Inthedaysof

sailingvesselsthecrewwereafraidtheywouldbebecalmedhere.Sometimesthey

were.

Oceancurrentsaresometimecalled"riversinthesea."Oneofthese"river"in

theAtlanticiscalledtheGulfStream.Itisacurrentofwarmwater.Anotheristhe

LabradorCurrent-coldwatercomingdownfrom(heArctic.Oceancurrentsaffect

theclimatesofthelandsnearwhichtheyflow.

TheAtlanticfurnishesmuchfoodforthepeopleonitsshores.Oneofitsmost

famousfishingregions,theGrandBanks,isnearNewfoundland.

TodaytheAtlanticisagreathighway.Itisnot,however,alwaysasmoothand

safeone.Stormssweepacrossitandpileupgreatwaves.Icebergsfloatdownfrom

theFarNorthacrossthepathsofships.

Wenowhavesuchfastwaysoftraveling(hatthisbigoceanseemstohave

grownsmaller.Columbussailedformorethantwomonthstocrossit.Afastmodern

steamshipcanmakethetripinlessthanfourdays.AirplanesflyfromNewYorkto

LondoninonlyeighthoursandfromSouthAmericatoAfricainfour!

03?B.TheMoon

Wefindthatthemoonisabout239,000miles(384,551km)awayfromtheearth,

and.towithinafewthousandmiles,itsdistancealwaysremainsthesame.Yetavery

littleobservationshowsthatthemoonisnotstandingstill.Itsdistancefromthe

earthremainsthesame,butitsdirectioncontinuallychanges.Wefindthatitis

(ravelinginacircle-orverynearlyacircle-roundiheearth,goingcompletely

roundonceamonth,or,moreexactly,onceevery271/3days.Itisournearest

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neighbourinspace,andlikeourselvesitiskepttiedtotheearthbytheearth's

gravitationalpull.

Excepiforthesun,themoonlooksthebiggestobjectinthesky.Actuallyiiis

oneofthesmallest,andonlylooksbigbecauseitissoneartous.Ilsdiameteris

only2,160miles(3,389km),oralittlemorethanaquarterofthediameterofthe

earth.

Onceamonth,or.moreexactly,onceevery291/2days,atthetimewecall

"fullmoon,"itswholedisclooksbright.Atothertimesonlypartofitappearsbright,

andwealwaysfindthatthisisthepartwhichfacestowardsthesun,whilethepart

facingawayfromthesunappearsdark.Artistscouldmaketheirpicturesbetterif

theykeptinmind-onlythosepartsofthemoonwhicharelightedupbythesunare

bright.Thisshowsthatthemoongivesnolightofitsown.Itmerelyreflectsthelight

ofthesun,likeahugemirrorhunginthesky.

Yetthedarkpartofthemoon'ssurfaceisnotabsolutelyblack;generallyi(is

justlightenoughforustobeabletoseeitsoutline,sothatwespeakofseeing"the

oldmooninthenewmoon'sarms."Thelightbywhichweseetheoldmoondoes

notcomefromthesun,butfromtheearth,weknowswellhowthesurfaceofthesea

orofsnow,orevenofawetroad,mayreflectuncomfortablymuchofthesun'slight

ontoourfaces.Inthesameway(hesurfaceofthewholeearthreflectsenoughof

thesun'slightontothefaceofthemoonforustobeabletoseethepartsofitwhich

wouldotherwisebedark.

Iftherewereanyinhabitantsofthemoon,theywouldseeourearthreflecting

(helightofthesun,againlikeahugemirrorhungin(hesky.Theywouldspeakof

earthlightjustaswcspeakofmoonlight.'Theoldmooninthenewmoon'sarms"is

nothingbutthatpartofthemoon'ssurfaceonwhichitisnight,lightedupbyearth

light.In(hesameway,(helunarinhabitantswouldoccasionallyseepartofour

earthinfullsunlight,andtherestlightedonlybymoonlight;theymightcallthis

"theoldearthinthenewearth'sarms.”

04-A.ImDrovinqYourMemorv

Psychologicalresearchhasfocusedonanumberofbasicprinciplesthathelp

memory:meaningfuIness,organization,association,andvisualization.Itisusefulto

knowhowtheseprincipleswork.

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Meaningfulnessaffectsmemorya(alllevels.Informationthatdoesnotmake

anysensetoyouisdifficulttoremember.Therearcseveralwaysinwhichwecan

makematerialmoremeaningful.Manypeople,forinstance,learnarhymetohelp

themremember.Doyouknowtherhyme“ThirlydayshasSeptember,April,June,

andNovember...?Ithelpsmanypeoplerememberwhichmonthsoftheyearhave

30days.

Organizationalsomakesadifferenceinourabilitytoremember.Howuseful

wouldalibrarybeifthebookswerekeptinrandomorder?Material(hatis

organizedisbetterrememberedthanjumbledinformation.Oneexampleof

organizationischunking.Chunkingconsistsofgroupingseparatebitscfinformation.

Forexample,thenumber4671363ismoreeasilyrememberedifitischunkedas

467,13,63.Categorizingisanothermeansoforganization.Supposeyouareaskedto

rememberthefollowinglistofwords:man.bench,dog,desk,woman.horse,child,

cat,chair.Manypeoplewillgroupthewordsintosimilarcategoriesandremember

themasfollows:man,woman,child;cat,dog,horse;bench,chair,desk.Needlessto

say,thesecondlistcanberememberedmoreeasilythanthefirstone.

Associationrefers(otakingthematerialwewanttorememberandrelatingitto

somethingwerememberaccurately.Inmemorizinganumber,youmighttryto

associateitwithfamiliarnumbersorevents.Forexample,theheightofMountFuji

inJapan-12,389feet-mightberememberedusingthefollowingassociations:12

isthenumberofmonthsintheyear,and389isthenumberofdaysinaycar(365)

addedtothenumberofmonthstwice(24).

Thelastprincipleisvisualization.Researchhasshownstakingimprovements

inmanytypesofmemorytaskswhenpeopleareaskedtovisualizetheitemstobe

remembered.Inonestudy,subjectsinonegroupwereaskedtolearnsomewords

usingimagery,whilethesecondgroupusedrepetitiontolearnthewords.Those

usingimageryremembered80to90percentofthewords,comparedwith30to40

percentofthewordsforthosewhomemorizedbyrepetition.Thusformingan

integratedimagewithalltheinformationplacedinasinglementalpicturecanhelp

ustopreserveamemory.

04?B.Short-termMemory

Therearetwokindsofmemory:shore-termandlong-term.Informationin

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long-termmemorycanberecalledatalatertimewhenitisneeded.Theinformation

maybekeptfordaysorweeks.Sometimesinformationinthelong-termmemoryis

hardtoremember.Studentstakingexamoftenhavethisexperience.Incontrast,批注［zzgll：相反

informationinshore-termmemoryiskeptforonlyafewseconds,usuallyby

repeatingtheinformationoverandover.Forexample,youlookupanumberinthe

telephonebook,andbeforeyoudial,yourepeatthenumberoverandover.If

someoneinterruptsyou,youwillprobablyforgetthenumber.Inlaboratorystudies,

subjectsareunabletorememberthreelettersaftereighteensecondsiftheyarenot

allowedlorepeatthelettersto(hemselves.

Psychologistsstudymemoryandlearningwithbothanimalandhumansubjects.

Thetwoexperimentshereshowhowshort-termmemoryhasbeenstudied.

Dr.Hunterstudiedshort-termmemoryinrats.Heusedaspecialapparatus

whichhadacagefortheratandthreedoors.Therewasalightineachdoor.Firstthe

ratwasplacedintheclosedcage.Next,oneofthelightswasturnedonandthenoff.

Therewasfoodfbrtheratonlyat(hisdoor.Afterthelightwasturnedoff,therathad

towaitashorttimebeforeitwasreleasedfromitscage.Then,ifitwenttothe

correctdoor,itwasrewardedwith(hefoodthatwasthere.Hunterdidthis

experimentmanylimes.Healwaysturnedonthelightsinarandomorder.Therat

hadtowaitdifferentintervalsbeforeitwasreleasedfromthecage.Hunterfound

(hatiftheralhad(owaitmorethantenseconds,i(couldnotrememberthecorrect

door.Hunter'sresultsshowthatratshaveashort-termmemoryofabouttenseconds.

Later,Dr.HenningstudiedhowstudentswhoarelearningEnglishasasecond

languageremembervocabulaiy.Thesubjectsinhisexperimentwere75studentsat

(heUniversityofCaliforniainLosAngeles.Theyrepresentedalllevelsofabilityin

English;beginning,intermediate,advanced,andnative-speakingstudents.

Tobegin,thesubjectslistenedtoarecordingofanativespeakerreadinga

paragraphinEnglish.Followingtherecording,thesubjectstooka15-qucstiontest

toseewhichwordstheyremembered.Eachquestionhadfourchoices.Thesubjects

hadtocirclethewordtheyhadheardintherecording.Someofthequestionshad

fourchoicesthatsoundalike.Forexample,weather,whether,wither,andwetterare

fourv/ords(hatsoundalike.Someofthequestionshad(burchoices(hathavethe

samemeaning.Method,way,manner,andsystemwouldbefourwordswiththe

samemeaning.Someofthemhadfourunrelatedchoices.Forinstance,weather,

method,love,andresultcouldbeusedasfourunrelatedwords.Finallythesubjects

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tookalanguageproficiencytest.

HenningfoundthatstudentswithalowerproficiencyinEnglishmademoreof

(heirmistakesonwords(hatsoundalike;studentswithahigherproficiencymade

moreoftheirmistakesonwordsthathavethesamemeaning.Henning'sresults

suggestthatbeginningstudentsholdthesoundofwordsintheirshort-termmemory,

whileadvancedstudentsholdthemeaningofwordsintheirshort-termmemory.

05?A.FallaciesaboutFood

Manyprimitivepeoplesbelievedthatbyeatingananimaltheycouldgetsome

ofthegoodqualitiesofthatanimalfbrthemselves.Theythought,forexample,(hat

eatingdeerwouldmakethemrunasfastasthedccr.Somesavagetribesbelieved

thateatingenemiesthathadshownbraveryinbattlewouldmakethembrave.

Man-eatingmayhavestartedbecausepeoplewereeagertobecomeasstrongand

braveastheirenemies.

Amongcivilizedpeopleitwasoncethoughtthatgingerrootbysomemagical

powercouldimprovethememory.Eggswerethoughttomakethevoicepretty.

Tomaloesalsowerebelievedtohavemagicalpowers.Theywerecalledloveapples

andweresupposedtomakepeoplewhoatethemfallinlove.

Lateranotherwrongideaabouttomatoesgrewup-theideathattheywere

poisonous.Howsurprisedthepeoplewhothoughttomatoespoisonouswouldbeif

(heycouldknowthatmillionsofpoundsoftomatoesweresuppliedtosoldiers

overseasduringWorldWarII.

Eventodaythereareagreatmanywrongideasaboutfood.Soinsofthemare

verywidespread.

Onesuchideaisthatfishisthebestbrainfood.Fishisgoodbrainfoodjustas

itisgoodmusclefoodandskinfoodandbonefood.Butnoonehasbeenableto

provethatfishisanybelterfbrthebrainthanmanyotherkindsoffood.

Anothersuchideais(hatyoushouldnotdrinkwaterwithmeals.Washingfood

downwithwaterasasubstituteforchewingisnotagoodidea,butsomewaterwith

mealshasbeenfoundtobehelpful.1(makesthedigestivejuicesflowmorefreely

andhelpstodigest(hefood.

Manyoftheideaswhichscientiststellushavenofoundationhavelodowilh

io

mixturesof(bods.Afewyearsagothebeliefbecamegeneralthatorangejuiceand

milkshouldneverbedrunkatthesamemeal.Thereasongivenwasthattheacidin

theorangejuicewouldmakethemilkcurdleandbecomeindigestible.Asamatterof

fact,milkalwaysmeetsinthestomachadigestivejuicewhichcurdlesit;the

curdlingofthemilkisthefirststepinitsdigestion.Asimilarwrongideaisthatfish

andicscreamwheneatenatthesamemealformapoisonouscombination.

Stillanotherwrongideaaboutmixingfoodsisthatproteinsandcarbohydrates

shouldneverbeeatenatthesamemeal.Manypeoplethinkofbread,forexample,as

acarbohydratefood.Itischieflyacarbohydratefood,butitalsocontainsproteins.

Inthesameway,milk,probablythebestsinglefood,containsbothproteinsand

carbohydrates.itisjustasfoolishtosaythatoneshouldnevereatmeatandpotatoes

togetlierasitistosaythatoneshouldnevereatbreadordrinkmilk.

05?B?DoAnimalsThink?

Thequestionhasoftenbeenasked.Doanimalsthink?Ibelievethatsomeof

themthinkagreatdeal.Manyofthemarelikechildrenintheirsports.Wenoticethis

tobetrueveryoftenwithdogsandcats;butitistruewithotheranimalsaswell.

Somebirdsareverylivelyintheirsports;andthesameistruewithsome

insects.Theants,hardworkingastheyare,have(heirtimesforplay.Theyrunraces;

theywrestle;andsometimestheyhavemockfightstogether.Verybusymustbetheir

thoughtswhileengagedinthesesports.

Therearcmanyanimals,however,thatneverplay;theirthoughtsseemtobeof

themoresoberkind.Weneverseefrogsengagedinsport.Theyallthetimeappear

tobeverygrave.Thesameistrueof(heowl,whoalwayslooksasifhewere

consideringsonicimportantquestion.

Animalsthinkmuchwhilebuildingtheirhouses.Thebirdsearchesforwhatit

canuseinbuildingitsnest,andindoing(hisitthinks.Thebeaversthinkasthey

buildtheirdamsandtheirhouses.Theythinkingettingtheirmaterials,andalsoin

arrangingthem,andinplasteringthemtogetherwithmud.Somespidersbuild

houseswhichcouldscarcelyhavebeenmadeexceptbysomethinkingcreature.

Asanimalsthink,theylearn.Somelearnmorethanothers.Theparrotlearnsto

talk,thoughinsomeotherrespectsitisquitestupid.Themockingbirdlearnsto

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imitateagreatmanydifferentsounds.Thehorseisnotlonginlearningmanythings

connectedwiththeworkwhichhehastodo.Theshepherddogdoesnotknowas

muchaboutmostthingsassomeotherdogs,andyetheunderstandsverywellhow

totakecareofsheep.

Thoughanimalsthinkandlearn,theydonotmakeanyrealimprovementin

theirwaysofdoingthings,asmendo.Eachkindofbirdhasitsownwayof

buildinganest,anditisalwaysthesameway.Andsoofotheranimals.Theyhave

nonewfashions,andlearnnonefromeachother.Buimen,asyouknow,arealways

findingnewwaysofbuildinghouses,andimprovedmethodsofdoingalmostall

kindsoflabor.

Manyofthethingsthatanimalsknowhowtodotheyseemtoknoweither

withoutlearning,orinsomewaywhichwecannotunderstand.Theyaresaidtodo

suchthingsbyinstinct;butnoonecantellwhatinstinctis.Itisbythisinstinctthat

birdsbuildtheirnestsandbeavers