Unit Six Animal Intelligence. Contents I. Lead-in II. Text Analysis III. Language Points IV. Presentation and exercises.

Unit Six

Animal Intelligence

Contents

• I. Lead-in

• II. Text Analysis

• III. Language Points

• IV. Presentation and exercises

Think about it

According to the author, what is the better way to explore animal intelligence?

What is the author’s view about animal intelligence? Do you agree?

III Language Points• intelligence: a.[u] ability to learn and under

stand • b. information gathered esp.about an enemy

country.• An intelligence test • He’s in intelligence. 他在做情报工作 .• The Central Intelligence Agency of the US.

美国中央情报局

• controversy n. 争论 , 辩论• The new government appointments h

ave caused much controversy.

• The point in controversy is not whether we should do it , but whether we can do it.

• explore vt. examine carefully in order to learn more 仔细检查 , 研究 .

• Explored all the possibilities• The man explored my car and said he

would fix it tomorrow.• The man will explore the Sahara dese

rt on foot.

Contents

• obvious a. easy to see or understand; clear

• It must be obvious to everyone that he’s lying.

• 同义词 : evident .apparent

• encounter vt. meet, esp. unexpectedly

• She encountered an old friend on the street.

• vt. to meet or be faced by ( sth. bad, esp. a danger or a difficulty)

• He encountered many difficulties.

• reveal vt. make(sth.) known

• She suddenly revealed (the fact) that she was not married.

• To reveal a secret.

• These letters reveal him as/ reveal him to be an honest man.

• convince vt make ( sb.) feel sure by the use of argument or evidence 使确信 , 说服

• convince sb. of sth. , convince sb. that

• We finally convinced the police of our innocence.

• It’s going to be hard to convince my wife that we can’t afford

• a new car.

• dominant: ruling; most important or strongest.

• Charlie Chaplin was a dominant figure in the American film industry.

• The dominant powers took control of the conference.

• My sister has a dominant nature; we all did what she wanted. 我姐姐性情很霸道 ,我们都听她的 .

• make a deal: reach an agreement or arrangement, esp, in business or politics

• The car company has made a deal with a Japanese firm.

• deal at : I’ve dealt at this store for 20 years. 我跟这家商店来往 20 年了 .

• deal in: This shop deals in woolen goods.

• negotiate: discuss in order to come to an agreement( negotiate for sth., negotiate to do sth., negotiate with sb.)

• We will negotiate for a pay increase of 3.5%.

• The government refused to negotiate with terrorists.

• 1. ... only to be met with a blank stare:

Sentences

Only to (do sth.) is often used to indicate that sb. did sth. with a disappointing or surprising result. Infinitive to functions as result adverbial.

• Examples: He hurried to the railway station, only to find that the train had left.

• He had once tried inviting her out, only to meet with a rather cool response.

• 2. This is true, but I don't think it goes far enough.: What behaviorists say is right, but I don't think their explanation helps very much.

• go far: help very much; achieve much success

• Examples: Your suggestion will go far towards solving our present housing problem.

• Jane's a very talented writer — she'll go far.

3. Melati looked Shewman in the eye ...:

• look sb. in the eye(s): look directly and steadily at sb. because you are not embarrassed or ashamed

• Examples: I couldn't look him in the eye afterwards, knowing that I had lost all that money.

• Can you look me in the eyes and say you didn't break the window?

IV Presentation and exercises

As students will learn how to support a topic with examples by studying Strategy in this unit, we are not going to dwell upon this point here. Instead, we will focus on the various transitional devices employed in the text.

Comprehension

Let’s Make a Deal: Some animals are intelligent enough to know how to bargain with people.

Tale of a Whale: Animals like whales can assess a situation and act accordingly.

Primate Shell Game: Animals sometimes can be tricky.

Part Division

I. Lead-in

• Background information• Columbus Zoo: Little is known abo

ut the Columbus Zoological Company or the Columbus Zoo. It first appeared in the 1903 City Directory as "Columbus Zoological Gardens, High 2 mile north of city limits."

• On May 28, 1905, the Columbus Zoo held its official grand opening. The zoo occupied 215 acres in Beechwold, and included not only animals, but rides, picnic grounds, merry-go-rounds, billiard halls and a dance pavilion.

• The Columbus Zoo closed on October 7, 1905, just four short months after its official opening. All that remains of the zoo is the Monkey House (now a private residence), Rustic Bridge Road (the kissing bridge) and Elk Drive.

Discussion

• 1) Has the author found a “better way” to explore animal intelligence? If he has, what is it?

• 2) Compared with the experiments designed to teach animals human signs, does the author’s new approach seem more meaningful in the study of the issue? Why or why not?

Cultural Notes

Why do we study animals to learn about their intelligence?

The main purpose of animal intelligence study is to learn about the origins of human's unique intelligence by studying the mental processes of lower species.

• In order to understand how humans became smart we need to understand the processes of association and learning in other animals and how they may have led to our development of art, religion or mathematics.

From the study of animal behavior, knowledge can be gained about the events that constitute a learning experience. The knowledge can be applied to other areas of learning and experience in relation to intelligence. Also, we can distinguish animal learning processes from human.

For example, the way in which a task is presented to a subject may elicit a different response indicating a different kind of intelligence. Finally, we can study learning processes without the use of man's ability to communicate with an elaborate symbol system or language.

Gorilla Largest of the great apes a

nd one of the closest living relatives of the human species. Like chimpanzees, orangutans, and other great apes, gorillas are members of the primate order.

Monkeys and humans also belong to this order. Until recently, accounts of the gorilla have portrayed a ferocious, powerful beast prone to attacking people.

Such descriptions proliferated in various media, a prime

example being the American motion-picture classic King Kong (1933). Only after 1960 did evidence emerge, from the field studies of American zoologists George B. Schaller and Dian Fossey, that the gorilla is a relatively gentle vegetarian who attacks only if directly threatened.