Animals Can Be Nice To Others

王秀鳳

動物和人類共同生存在地球上，共同擁有一個家園。動物是人類的朋友，一定不能傷害它們。而且動物和人一樣，也是有情感、有靈性、有愛心的。

We know humans can be nice， but what about animals？

Scientists say that some animals are capable of being nice. Animals that live in groups like foxes， chimpanzees， and elephants — follow rules. They have to follow rules to get along and to survive. However， animals can act nicely， even when they don’t have to. Here are some surprising stories about animal behavior.

Most people usually walk away when someone is unkind to them. Marc Bekoff， a researcher at the University of Colorado， saw a female red fox do just that. The female fox was unhappy because a male fox played roughly with her. When she walked away， the male fox showed her that he wanted to play nicely. He lowered his head and rolled on his back. The female fox gave him another chance， and this time， he played more gently.

Geza Teleki is a scientist who studies chimpanzees in Tanzania. One day， Teleki hiked far away from his campsite. He didn’t have any food. Teleki wanted some fruit from a tree， but the tree was too tall. A young chimpanzee watched him curiously as he tried to get something to eat. The chimpanzee climbed the tree， picked the fruit， and gave it to him！

An elephant in Kenya hurt his trunk. He needed help because he couldn’t put food into his mouth. Researcher Kayhan Ostovar watched silently. He saw the hurt elephant show his sore trunk to a healthy elephant. The healthy elephant didn’t need any more information. He took a bush and put it carefully into his new friend’s mouth.

Hippos and crocodiles are usually good friends. They hang out together in rivers. But Karen Paolillo， a wildlife expert in Zimbabwe， saw something surprising. One day， a crocodile tried to eat a monkey that was next to a river. A hippo ran quickly to the crocodile and chased it away. Why did the hippo attack the crocodile？ Paolillo says hippos sometimes protect other animals from crocodiles.

詞語點撥

capable 有能力的 chimpanzees 大猩猩

survive 生存 female 母的

male 公的 roughly 粗魯地

campsite野營地 curiously好奇地

trunk 象鼻子 Hippos 河馬

chased追趕 attack 攻擊

難句解析

Most people usually walk away when someone is unkind to them.

當有人對己不友善的時候，大部分人選擇走開。

However， animals can act nicely， even when they don’t have to.

然而，動物可以表現得很好，即使它們不需要這樣做。

A hippo ran quickly to the crocodile and chased it away.

一只河馬迅速跑到鱷魚身邊，把它趕走了。