?Gorilla who mastered sign language dies語言天才大猩猩離世

By Harriet/錢大平（譯）

◆語篇導讀

以出色的手語能力而聞名的大猩猩Koko在美國離世，享年46歲。據說Koko有著較高的智商，能夠用手語與人交流。她掌握了超過1000種手語手勢，能理解2000多個英語口語詞匯，她被人們當成猩猩和人類交流的大使。

Koko，the gorilla（大猩猩），who is said to have been able to communicate by using more than 1，000 hand signs，has died in California at the age of 46.Instructors taught her a kind of American Sign Language and said she used it to express thoughts and feelings.

The abilities of the gorilla，who alsoobviouslyunderstood some spoken English，weredocumentedby animalpsychologistFrancine Patterson.Sheadoptedpets，including a cat she called All Ball.

“Koko—the gorilla was known for her ability to use sign language，and as the primaryambassadorfor her endangered species，she passed away in her sleep at the age of 46.”a Gorilla Foundation press release said.

“Koko touched the lives of millions as an ambassador for all gorillas and she was beloved and will be deeply missed.”

The gorilla，who was said to have an IQ of between 75 and 95，could understand 2，000 words of spoken English.TheaverageIQ for humans on many tests is 100，and most people score somewhere between 85 and 115.

She was born at the San Francisco Zoo in 1971.Dr.Patterson began working with Koko the following year and taught her sign language，the Gorilla Foundation said.

Some scientists havedoubton the gorilla'scommunicativeskills.

However，she was the subject of many documentaries and was the cover star for magazines including National Geographic.She also gained public attention for caring for cats.When her tailless cat All Ball escaped and was killed by a car in 1984，Dr.Patterson wrote that she was very sad.

Koko lived most of her life at the Gorilla Foundation in California.She was filmed meeting the late actor Robin Williams in 2001.

◆詞語積淀

obviously/'?bvi?sli/adv.明顯地

document/'d?kjum?nt/vt.用文件證明；記載（詳情）

psychologist/sa?'k?l?d??st/n.心理學家；心理學研究者

adopt/?'d?pt/vt.收養；正式通過

ambassador/?m'b?s?d?（r）/n.大使；使節

average/'?v?r?d? /adj.平常的；平均的；平均數的

doubt/da?t/v.懷疑；不信任

communicative/k?'mju?n?k?t?v/adj.健談的；交際能力的

◆典語賞析

1.Koko，the gorilla，who is said to have been able to communicate by using more than 1，000 hand signs，has died in California at the age of 46.46歲的大猩猩Koko在加利福尼亞州離世，據說她會使用1000多種手語進行交流。

該句是一個含有定語從句的復合句，who用作關系代詞，引導定語從句，修飾先行詞Koko，the gorilla。at the age of...是固定搭配，意為“在……歲時”，有時可與when從句互換。

【即時嘗試】湯姆在十歲時，就喜歡演奏不同類型音樂的音樂家。

2.Koko—the gorilla was known for her ability to use sign language...大猩猩Koko以出色的手語能力而聞名……

be known for是固定詞組搭配，意為“因……出名”；ability是名詞，意為“能力；才能”，其后接的動詞不定式短語to use sign language作名詞ability的后置定語。

【即時嘗試】在我們學校，他因能流利地說英語而出名。

3.She also gained public attention for caring for cats.她也因為照顧小貓而受到公眾的關注。care for是固定詞組，意為“關心；照顧”，此處是介詞for的賓語，因此用動名詞形式。

【即時嘗試】她日夜照顧她年邁的雙親。

譯文助讀

46歲的大猩猩Koko在加利福尼亞州離世，據說她會使用1000多種手語進行交流。教導員教會她一種美國手語，并說她會使用手語來表達思想和感受。

動物心理學家弗朗辛·帕特森記錄了這只大猩猩的能力，她顯然能夠理解一些英語口語。她（大猩猩）還領養了寵物，包括一只名叫All Ball的小貓。

大猩猩基金會的新聞稿稱：“大猩猩Koko以出色的手語能力而聞名，同時她也是大猩猩瀕危物種的首席大使，她在睡夢中離世，享年46歲。”

“作為所有大猩猩的大使，Koko觸動了數百萬人的生命，她深受人們的喜愛，她會被深深地懷念。”

據說這只大猩猩智商在75到95之間，能夠理解2000個英語口語單詞。在許多測試中，人類的平均智商為100，大多數人的得分在85至115之間。

該大猩猩基金會說她于1971年出生在舊金山動物園。帕特森博士在次年開始與Koko一起工作，并教她手語。

一些科學家對這只大猩猩的交流技巧持有懷疑。

然而，她是許多紀錄片的主角，并且是許多雜志的封面明星，包括《國家地理》。她也因為照顧小貓而受到公眾的關注。當她的無尾小貓All Ball在1984年逃跑并被一輛汽車撞死后，帕特森博士寫道，她表現得很悲傷。

Koko大部分時間生活在加利福尼亞州的大猩猩基金會。她曾被拍攝在2001年與已故演員羅賓·威廉姆斯會過面。