A life's ambition of studying chimpanzees

廣東 涂麗平

被一群野生黑猩猩接受是她花費幾個月耐心等待的回報……

主題語境：與黑猩猩相處 篇幅：365詞 建議用時：7分鐘

1To be accepted by a group of wild chimpan?zees is the result of months of patience.In England,before I started my field study, I met one or two people who had seen chimpanzees in the wild.“You'll never get close to chimps—not unless you're very well hidden,”they told me.

2At first, it seemed they were right, but gra?dually I was able to move nearer the chimpanzees,until at last, I sat among them, enjoying a degree of acceptance that I had hardly dreamed possible.I observed details of their lives never recorded before.I saw chimpanzees in the wild hunt and kill for meat.Most astonishing of all,I saw the chimpanzees use crude tools—the beginning of tool use.This discovery could prove helpful to those studying man's rise to dominance over other primates（靈長目動物）.

3The primary aim of my field study was to discover as much as possible about the way of life of the chimpanzees before it is too late.Knowledge of social traditions and culture of such an animal, studied under natural conditions, could throw new light on the growth and spread of early human cultures.

4During the first two months of my field study, I often despaired.Each dawn I set out alone, following the little streams as I explored the valleys one by one.Sometimes I saw a group of chimpanzees feeding in a tree, but seldom managed to get close before the shy apes moved away.Frequently I heard their noisy calling, but usually they had moved off before I could catch up with them.Disheartened,I walked wearily back to camp each dusk.

5I never attempted to hide, and gradually the animals became used to the strange pale?skinned person.After about six months,most of the chimpanzees would sit and look at me calmly at distances of 100 yards.So, gradually, I began to learn the basic behavior pat?terns of the chimpanzees, and after six months I was able to pick out and name some indi?viduals.When I saw Mike relaxing in the sun, for example, or Count Dracula walking past,it was like meeting a friend.

Reading Check

1.What did the author discover about the chimpanzees during the field study?

A.They kept their distance from the author to show their respect.

B.They were skilled hunters and could use tools.

C.They showed no similarities to humans.

D.They were social animals with simple communication.

2.What was the primary aim of the author's field study?

A.To study the growth and spread of early human cultures.

B.To observe the interactions between different primate species.

C.To understand the migration patterns of the chimpanzees.

D.To investigate the physical characteristics of the chimpanzees.

3.How did the author feel during the early period of the field study?

A.Happy.B.Confident.C.Discouraged.D.Confused.

4.What can be inferred about the author's studying chimpanzees in the wild?

A.The author relied mostly on observation from a distance.

B.The author used tools to communicate with the chimpanzees.

C.The author spent much time gaining the trust of the chimpanzees.

D.The author focused on studying the physical characteristics of the chimpanzees.

Language Study

Ⅰ.日積月累

chimpanzeen.黑猩猩

patiencen.耐心

graduallyadv.逐漸地

acceptancen.接受

observationn.觀察

astonishingadj.驚人的

despairv.絕望

crudeadj.粗陋的

field study 野外研究

behavior pattern 行為模式

Ⅱ.語法填空

Darkness 1.________(fall) swiftly and I climbed to my mountaintop lookout post,opened a tin of beans, and boiled my kettle over a little fire.The moon was 2.________(near) full, and the mountains were beautiful and rather ghostly when I returned 3.________the chimpanzees.I disturbed them as I settled down with my blanket about 50 yards away,and they began to call out loudly,4.________(alert)a troop of baboons (狒狒)sleeping in the valley below.The 5.________(chimpanzee) soon quieted down, but the ba?boons went on barking 6.________a long time.

The chimpanzees slept 7.________(sound) for the rest of the night.As it grew 8.________(light), I gradually made out the dark shape of Mrs Maggs, a mother chimpan?zee, with her daughter Jo curling up beside 9.________(she).Soon Jo sat up and yawned.Mrs Maggs rolled over onto her back, moved out an arm suddenly, 10.________also yawned.Jo jumped onto her chest, leaned forward, and pressed her face against her mother's.