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B
Babies playfully tease others as young as eight months of age. Since language is not required for this behavior, similar kinds of playful teasing might be present in non-human animals.
Now, a new study led by Isabelle Laumer at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior has documented playful teasing in five species of great apes. "Great apes are excellent candidates for playful teasing, as they are closely related to us, engage in social play, show laughter and display relatively sophisticated understandings of others' expectations," Laumer says.
Laumer and her colleagues collected videos of five species of great apes: bonobos, Sumatran orangutans, western and eastern gorillas and chimpanzees. There were a total of 34 apes, all housed in zoos. After examining 75 hours of videos, the team documented 504 social interactions between individuals. Of those, 142 were classified as examples of playful teasing, consisting of 18 behaviors, including poking(戳), hitting, pulling on hair and stealing.
The researchers found that the teaser tended to look at their target's face straight after an action, which suggests that a response was expected. If there wasn't any reaction, the teaser would usually escalate the teasing, for example, by poking their targets even more. And this behavior typically happened in a calm, comfortable setting, which can signify that it was
playful, instead of being aggressive. "And much like play in general, it is also helpful in building relationships between members of a group and even testing out social boundaries," the researchers add.
But the researchers noted that it differed from humans' play in several ways. "Playful teasing in great apes is one-sided, very much coming from the teaser often throughout the entire interaction," explains Laumer. "The animals also rarely use play signals like the primate 'playface', which is similar to what we would call a smile, or 'hold' gestures that signal their intent to play."
"Studying great apes is critical to understanding which features of human cognition and behavior are shared and likely evolved millions of years ago in a common ancestor," says Christopher Krupenye at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. "This study provides exciting evidence that all apes seem to engage in playful teasing behavior and also charts a path for future research in other species."
(
A. What great apes convey through joyful teasing.
B. Why the researchers chose great apes as subjects.
C. What inspired the researchers to conduct the study.
D. Why playful teasing can be independent of language.
(
A. Avoid. B. Increase. C. Enjoy. D. Stop.
(
A. It is an effective way to build trust.
B. It bears a strong similarity to our joking.
C. It often results in fierce fight between them.
D. It is of great help to their social interactions.
(
A. Favorable. B. Unconcerned. C. Disapproving. D. Doubtful.
Babies playfully tease others as young as eight months of age. Since language is not required for this behavior, similar kinds of playful teasing might be present in non-human animals.
Now, a new study led by Isabelle Laumer at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior has documented playful teasing in five species of great apes. "Great apes are excellent candidates for playful teasing, as they are closely related to us, engage in social play, show laughter and display relatively sophisticated understandings of others' expectations," Laumer says.
Laumer and her colleagues collected videos of five species of great apes: bonobos, Sumatran orangutans, western and eastern gorillas and chimpanzees. There were a total of 34 apes, all housed in zoos. After examining 75 hours of videos, the team documented 504 social interactions between individuals. Of those, 142 were classified as examples of playful teasing, consisting of 18 behaviors, including poking(戳), hitting, pulling on hair and stealing.
The researchers found that the teaser tended to look at their target's face straight after an action, which suggests that a response was expected. If there wasn't any reaction, the teaser would usually escalate the teasing, for example, by poking their targets even more. And this behavior typically happened in a calm, comfortable setting, which can signify that it was
playful, instead of being aggressive. "And much like play in general, it is also helpful in building relationships between members of a group and even testing out social boundaries," the researchers add.
But the researchers noted that it differed from humans' play in several ways. "Playful teasing in great apes is one-sided, very much coming from the teaser often throughout the entire interaction," explains Laumer. "The animals also rarely use play signals like the primate 'playface', which is similar to what we would call a smile, or 'hold' gestures that signal their intent to play."
"Studying great apes is critical to understanding which features of human cognition and behavior are shared and likely evolved millions of years ago in a common ancestor," says Christopher Krupenye at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. "This study provides exciting evidence that all apes seem to engage in playful teasing behavior and also charts a path for future research in other species."
(
B
)5. What can we learn from paragraph 2?A. What great apes convey through joyful teasing.
B. Why the researchers chose great apes as subjects.
C. What inspired the researchers to conduct the study.
D. Why playful teasing can be independent of language.
(
B
)6. Which of the following words can best replace the underlined word "escalate" in paragraph 4?A. Avoid. B. Increase. C. Enjoy. D. Stop.
(
D
)7. What do we know about playful teasing among apes from the study?A. It is an effective way to build trust.
B. It bears a strong similarity to our joking.
C. It often results in fierce fight between them.
D. It is of great help to their social interactions.
(
A
)8. What is Christopher Krupenye's attitude towards the study?A. Favorable. B. Unconcerned. C. Disapproving. D. Doubtful.
答案
B
5.B 6.B 7.D 8.A
【语篇解读】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述了一项关于大猩猩嬉戏取乐行为的研究,介绍了其内容、过程、发现和研究的意义。
5. B 解析:细节理解题。根据第二段中Laumer说的话"Great apes are excellent candidates for playful teasing, as they are closely related to us, engage in social play, show laughter and display relatively sophisticated understandings of others' expectations"可知,本段主要解释了为什么研究者选择大猩猩作为研究对象。故选B。
6. B 解析:词义猜测题。根据第四段中的"The researchers found that the teaser tended to look at their target's face straight after an action, which suggests that a response was expected. If there wasn't any reaction, the teaser would usually escalate the teasing, for example, by poking their targets even more."可知,如果没有反应,戏弄者会escalate戏弄,比如更频繁地戳目标。由此推知,画线词escalate意为"升级,加剧",与increase意思相近。故选B。
7. D 解析:细节理解题。根据第四段中的"And this behavior typically happened in a calm, comfortable setting, which can signify that it was playful, instead of being aggressive. 'And much like play in general, it is also helpful in building relationships between members of a group and even testing out social boundaries,' the researchers add."可知,研究发现,嬉戏取乐有助于大猩猩之间的社交互动,建立关系,甚至是测试社交界限。故选D。
8. A 解析:推理判断题。根据最后一段"'Studying great apes is critical to understanding which features of human cognition and behavior are shared and likely evolved millions of years ago in a common ancestor,' says Christopher Krupenye at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. 'This study provides exciting evidence that all apes seem to engage in playful teasing behavior and also charts a path for future research in other species.'"可知,Christopher Krupenye认为这项研究对于理解人类和大猩猩的共同特征很重要,为未来的研究指明了方向,由此可推知,他对这项研究持支持态度。故选A。
5.B 6.B 7.D 8.A
【语篇解读】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述了一项关于大猩猩嬉戏取乐行为的研究,介绍了其内容、过程、发现和研究的意义。
5. B 解析:细节理解题。根据第二段中Laumer说的话"Great apes are excellent candidates for playful teasing, as they are closely related to us, engage in social play, show laughter and display relatively sophisticated understandings of others' expectations"可知,本段主要解释了为什么研究者选择大猩猩作为研究对象。故选B。
6. B 解析:词义猜测题。根据第四段中的"The researchers found that the teaser tended to look at their target's face straight after an action, which suggests that a response was expected. If there wasn't any reaction, the teaser would usually escalate the teasing, for example, by poking their targets even more."可知,如果没有反应,戏弄者会escalate戏弄,比如更频繁地戳目标。由此推知,画线词escalate意为"升级,加剧",与increase意思相近。故选B。
7. D 解析:细节理解题。根据第四段中的"And this behavior typically happened in a calm, comfortable setting, which can signify that it was playful, instead of being aggressive. 'And much like play in general, it is also helpful in building relationships between members of a group and even testing out social boundaries,' the researchers add."可知,研究发现,嬉戏取乐有助于大猩猩之间的社交互动,建立关系,甚至是测试社交界限。故选D。
8. A 解析:推理判断题。根据最后一段"'Studying great apes is critical to understanding which features of human cognition and behavior are shared and likely evolved millions of years ago in a common ancestor,' says Christopher Krupenye at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. 'This study provides exciting evidence that all apes seem to engage in playful teasing behavior and also charts a path for future research in other species.'"可知,Christopher Krupenye认为这项研究对于理解人类和大猩猩的共同特征很重要,为未来的研究指明了方向,由此可推知,他对这项研究持支持态度。故选A。
