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Text 1
Morals, Apes and Us
About the
author:
MARC D. HAUSER is an evolutionary psychologist,
and a professor at Harvard University where he is a fellow
of the Mind, Brain, and Behavior Program. He is a professor
in the departments of Anthropology and Psychology, as well
as the Program in Neurosciences. He is the author of The Evolution
of Communication , and Wild Minds: What Animals Think
Hauser argues that to understand what animals think and what
they feel, we must ask about the kinds of selection pressures
which shaped their minds and see the creature for what it
is, no more, no less. Using the tools of evolutionary biology,
linguistics, neuroscience, and cognitive science, he asks
questions such as: Why can't animals be taught to speak? How
do animals find their way home in the dark? Do animals lie
or feel guilty? Do they enjoy sex? Why were emotions designed
into animal systems? Why are certain emotions universal and
others highly specialized?
Hauser works on both captive and wild monkeys and apes as
well as collaborative work on human infants. His research
focuses on problems of acoustic perception, the generation
of beliefs, the neurobiology of acoustic and visual signal
processing, and the evolution of communication.
Along with Irv Devore, he teaches the Evolution of Human Behavior
class, a Core Course at Harvard with 500 undergraduate students.
The interdisciplinary course, "Science B29" (nickname: "The
Sex Course"), has been running for 30 years, was started by
Devore and Robert Trivers, and is the second most popular
course on campus, behind "Econ 10".Section teachers over the
years comprise a who's who of leading thinkers and include
people such as John Tooby and Leda Cosmides, and Sarah B.
Hardy. In 1997-98, he sponsored a trial run of "Edge University"
in which the students in Science B29 received Edge mailing
as part of required reading in the course.
Language notes:
1. The event captured
the nation's heart as newspaper headlines blared: "Gorilla
Saves Boy."
Blare: to proclaim flamboyantly.
e.g.
Headlines blared his defeat.
2.
Most reports suggested that Binti rescued the boy because
she felt empathy for him.
Empathy: the ability to share another
person's feelings as if they were one's own.
3.
And to date, no study of ape intelligence comes close to showing
that...
Come close to: be very near or like (sth or doing sth).
e.g.
He came close to being run over by a truck.
4.
As a psychologist, I'm interested in the techniques we use
to get at these questions:
Get at: reach and discover (sth).
e.g.
It's always difficult to get at the truth.
5.
...to test their ability to rein in aggressive behavior and
act cooperatively.
Rein in/back: control, restrain (one's feelings).
e.g.
The man who does not rein in his passions will always be weak.
6.
they began to inhibit their aggression.
Inhibit: to hold in check; restrain.
7.
But in any social situation with conventions, individuals
often find that it pays to break the rules.
It pays to do sth means it results in
some advantage or benefit for one to do sth, or it makes one
suffer to do sth. Here it means it makes one suffer to break
the rules.
8.
They beelined to the food and either consumed it on the spot
or gobbled a few pieces and then moved to a new location with
a stash.
Beeline: move in a straight course.
e.g.
Just before the storm broke we beelined for home.
On the spot: at once.
e.g.
The boss was so anger over Ned's mistake that he fired him
on the spot.
9.
This experiment left many loose ends.
Loose ends: things still to be dealt with or explained.
e.g.
His composition had many loose ends.
Text 2
Pepperberg's Parrots
About the author:
Dr. Mark Caldwell, Professor of Literature, Fordham University,
is a voluminous writer. He is the author of The Last Crusade: The American War on Consumption, 1880- 1954. Dr. Caldwell
has written extensively on the texts and symbols of the American
response to tuberculosis. Mark Caldwell's A Short History
of Rudeness: Manners, Morals and Misbehavior in Modern America
even merited a mention in People magazine recently, attention
that partly prompted Picador's return to press on this July
release. While the house wouldn't reveal its imprint figure,
the second printing is about 30% of its initial copy outlay.
Caldwell has done the rounds of media, including Newsday,
NPR and CNBC. In addition to getting a review in the New York
Times, Caldwell is now set to get a profile interview in the
Times sometime soon.
Mark Caldwell's interest is wide-ranged. He once published
many articles in Discover which include the famous Mind over
Time and Polly wanna PhD? (entitled as "Pepperberg's Parrots"
in this unit).
About the text:
Irene Pepperberg of Purdue University has been researching
on the intelligence of parrots for the last 20 years, challenging
the idea that humans alone are capable of real thought and
communication. Pepperberg chose parrots for her studies because
they are smart, long-lived, social animals that rely on communication
for survival. She implemented a learning program that followed
the model/rival mode, which is based on the premise that both
animals and people learn more easily if they can observe and
even compete with others learning at the same time. Her rigorous
experiments have proved that 23-year-old Alex and 4-year-old
Griffin are intelligent enough to comprehend abstract images,
speak English, and associate specific objects with their relevant
words. Moreover, her findings are forcing psychologists to
reevaluate the boundaries between animals and humans.
Language notes:
1. Alex, age 23,
and Griffin, age 4, are hell on decor.
Be hell on: be extremely harmful to.
e.g.
It's going to be hell on wheels.
2.
But they can clearly get their two cents in despite having
a brain the size of a walnut.
Get their two cents in means "have
their ideas understood".
Put in (one's) two cents: offer advice without being
invited.
3.
Even the most skeptical visitor to Pepperberg's lab is sure
to be taken aback by what the birds can do.
Take aback: surprise (and upset or dismay) sb.
e.g.
His sudden change of opinion took his colleagues all aback.
Note: this phrase is often used in the passive voice.
4.
The history of science is littered with animals that seemed
to be displaying extraordinary brainpower but were just responding
to unconscious prompts from owners and trainers.
be littered with: be full of.
e.g.
The manuscripts are littered with accounts of miraculous happenings.
5.
When this occurs, Alex tends to stick to his guns and repeat
the correct answer.
Stick to one's guns: keep firmly to what one believes or is
arguing, as in agreement.
e.g.
People laughed at Columbus when he said the world was round.
He stuck to his guns and proved he was right.
6.
...a step so crucial in human intellectual development that
it has become a staple of Sesame Street shtick.
Sesame Street: a popular TV program for children in the US.
Shtick: an entertainment routine.
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