動物與人類的相似之處

We humans like to think of ourselves as a special bunch， but it turns out we have plenty in common with other animals. Math？ A monkey can do it. Tool use？ Hey， even birds have mastered that. Culture？ Sorry， folks—chimps1） have it， too. Here's a list of some of the top parallels between humans and animal. You may be surprised at how similar we are to even our distant relations.

我們人類喜歡把自己當做特殊物種，然而事實證明，我們跟其他動物存在很多共同之處。算數？猴子也行。使用工具？嘿，連鳥都會。文化？抱歉，諸位—黑猩猩也有自己的文化。下面列舉了人類和動物相似度最高的幾個方面。你或許會感到驚訝，我們甚至與那些和我們親緣關系很遠的動物都那么相似。

Ears like a Katydid2）

Humans have complex ears to translate sound waves into mechanical vibrations3） our brains can process. So， as it turns out， do katydids. According to the research published Nov. 16， 2012 in the journal Science， katydid ears are arranged very similarly to human ears， with eardrums4）， lever systems to expand vibrations， and a fluid-filled vesicle5） where sensory cells wait to convey information to the nervous system. Katydid ears are a bit simpler than ours， but they can also hear far above the human range.

美洲大螽斯的耳朵

人類的耳朵構造復雜，能將聲波轉換成大腦可以處理的機械振動。事實表明，美洲大螽斯也長著這樣的耳朵。根據《科學》雜志2012年11月16日刊發的一項研究，大螽斯的耳朵與人耳構造極其相似，也有起放大振動作用的鼓膜和杠桿系統，還有一個充滿液體的耳囊，其內部的感覺細胞等待著把聲音信息傳遞給神經系統。大螽斯耳朵的構造略比人耳的要簡單，但其聽力范圍卻遠遠超出人耳。

The Facial Expressions of a Mouse

Do you make weird faces when you're in pain？ So do mice. In 2010， researchers at McGill University and the University of British Columbia in Canada found that mice subjected to moderate pain \"grimace\"， just like humans. The researchers said the results could be used to avoid unnecessary suffering for lab animals by letting researchers know when something hurts the rodents6）.

Brain like a Pigeon

Gamblers in Vegas have something in common with pigeons on the sidewalk， and it's not just a fascination with shiny objects. In fact， pigeons make gambles just like humans， making choices that leave them with less money in the long run for the complicated promise of a big payout.

When given a choice， pigeons will push a button that gives them a big， rare payout rather than one that offers a small reward at regular intervals. This questionable decision may stem from7） the surprise and excitement of the big reward， according to a study published in 2010 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Human gamblers may be similarly lured in by the idea of major loot8）， no matter how long the odds9）.

The Movements of a Brittle Star10）

It'd be hard to imagine an organism less like a human than a brittle star， a starfish-like creature that doesn't even have a central nervous system. And yet these five-armed wonders move with coordination that mirrors11） human movements.

Brittle stars have radial symmetry12）， meaning their bodies can be split into matching halves by drawing imaginary lines through their arms and central axis13）. Humans and other mammals， in comparison， have bilateral symmetry14）： You can split us in half one way， with a line drawn straight through our bodies. Most of the time， animals with radial symmetry move little or move up and down， like a jellyfish that propels itself through the water. Brittle stars， however， move forward， perpendicular15） to their body axis—a skill usually reserved for the bilaterally symmetrical.

老鼠的表情

你疼痛時是不是會做出怪異的表情？老鼠同樣如此。2010年，加拿大的麥吉爾大學和英屬哥倫比亞大學的研究人員發現，老鼠經受中度疼痛時，會像人類一樣做出“怪異的表情”。研究人員表示，這樣他們就可以知道實驗時什么時候嚙齒類動物被弄疼了，這一研究結果可以用于讓實驗室動物免遭不必要的痛苦。

鴿子的大腦

拉斯維加斯的賭徒和人行道上的鴿子都迷戀閃亮的物體，不過，兩者的共同之處還不只這一點。事實上，鴿子也會像人類一樣賭上一把，為了難以預料的高回報而做出從長遠看其實讓它們所剩更少的選擇。

如果給出選擇，鴿子會按下那個能夠一次帶來豐厚回報的按鈕，而不是另一個能夠定期帶來少量回報的按鈕。根據2010年《英國皇家學會學報B輯》刊登的一項研究，鴿子這種不靠譜的選擇可能源于高回報帶來的驚喜和刺激。同樣地，好賭之徒可能也會被大發橫財的想法引誘，而不管其可能性有多小。

海蛇尾會走路

很難想到還有什么生物比形似海星的海蛇尾更不像人類—它們甚至都沒有中樞神經系統。然而，這些長著五條腕的怪物卻能像人類走路那樣協調身體前進。

海蛇尾的身體是徑向對稱的，也就是說，假如沿著它們的腕和身體中軸線畫若干條線的話，可將它們的身體分成對稱的幾半。相比而言，人類和其他哺乳動物的身體則是兩側對稱的：只有沿著身體的中軸線才能將身體分成對稱的兩半。多數情況下，徑向對稱的動物移動很小或是只能上下移動，就像推動自己在水中移動的水母一樣。然而，海蛇尾卻能沿著自身中軸線的垂直方向向前移動—這種本領通常只有兩側對稱的動物才有。

The House-Building Skill of an Octopus

Okay， Frank Lloyd Wright's \"Falling Water\"16） it is not， but a home built by an octopus has the advantage of being mobile.

The veined octopus can make mobile shelters out of coconut shells. When the animal wants to move， all it has to do is pile the shells like bowls， grasp them with firm legs， and waddle17） away along the ocean floor to a new location.

Words like an Elephant

Humans do reign supreme in the arena of language （as far as we know）， but even elephants can figure out how to make the same sounds we do. According to researchers， an Asian elephant living in a South Korean zoo has learned to use its trunk and throat to imitate human words. The elephant can say \"hello\"， \"good\"， \"no\"， \"sit down\" and \"lie down\"， all in Korean， of course.

The elephant doesn't appear to know what these words mean. Scientists think he may have picked up the sounds because he was the only elephant at the zoo from when he was 5 to when he turned 12， leaving him to bond with humans instead.

章魚會建房

好吧，章魚修建的“房子”確實比不上弗蘭克·勞埃德·賴特的“流水別墅”，不過，它們的“房子”有一大優勢：可以移動。

條紋章魚能用椰子殼建造可移動的棲息處。想要搬家時，它們只需像摞碗一樣把椰子殼疊放起來，再用有力的觸手緊緊盤著它們，順著海床搖搖擺擺地搬到一個新的地方就行。

大象會說話

雖然人類在語言領域居于主宰地位（據我們所知），但是甚至連大象都知道如何發出人聲。據研究人員介紹，韓國一家動物園的一頭亞洲象已經學會了用象鼻和喉嚨模仿人類說話。這頭大象會說“你好”“好”“不”“坐下”“躺下”等，當然，說的全是韓語。

這頭大象似乎并不知道這些話的含義。科學家們認為，這頭大象能學會發出這些聲音，可能是因為在它5～12歲的這段時間，它是該動物園唯一的一頭大象，使得它只能與人類親近交流。

1.chimp [t??mp] n. <口>【動】黑猩猩

2.katydid [?ke?t??d?d] n.【昆】美洲大螽斯（具長觸須，雄蟲前翅有發達的摩擦發生器）

3.mechanical vibration： 【力】機械振動

4.eardrum [???dr?m] n. 【解】鼓膜，耳膜

5.vesicle [?ves?kl] n.【解】泡，囊

6.rodent [?r??dnt] n. 嚙齒目動物（如鼠、松鼠、河貍等）

7.stem from： 起源于

8.loot [lu?t] n. <口>錢

9.odds [?dz] [復] n. 機會，可能性。long odds： 極小的可能性

10.brittle star： 【動】海蛇尾

11.mirror [?m?r?（r）] vt. 映照

12.radial symmetry： 【動】徑向對稱

13.axis [??ks?s] n. 軸，軸線，中心線

14.bilateral symmetry： 【動】兩側對稱

15.perpendicular [?p??p?n?d?kj?l?（r）] adj. 垂直的，成直角的

16.Frank Lloyd Wright's \"Falling Water\"： 美國著名建筑師弗蘭克·勞埃德·賴特（1867～1959）設計的流水別墅。它在空間的處理、體量的組合及與環境的結合上均取得了極大的成功，在現代建筑史上占有重要地位。

17.waddle [?w?dl] vi. （似鴨、鵝般地）蹣跚行走，搖搖擺擺地行走