研究称黑猩猩会跟着人类打哈欠

A new report says as chimpanzees(黑猩猩) grow, they increase their ability for empathy(移情) — the ability to recognize emotions in others. Researchers say they learned this by watching some chimps yawn(打哈欠) when they see people yawn. Yawning involves opening the mouth while taking a long, deep breath of air. This is usually done when someone is tired or sleepy.

The lead researcher in the study was Elaine Madsen at Lund University in Sweden. She and her team studied 33 chimpanzees at a wildlife area in the West African nation of Sierra Leone. All of the chimps were between the ages of 13 months old and eight years old.

“It’s a really strange effect. It’s such a small thing, but most of us experience it. When we see or hear others yawn or just think about yawning or read about yawning, then we ourselves begin to yawn. So it’s something that most people are familiar with,” Madsen said. In humans, children begin to yawn when they see other people yawn starting at about the age of four. This shows they are beginning to develop empathy. This yawning response is strongest between people who know each other well.

Elaine Madsen and her team had the chimps watch them as they yawned, opened and closed their mouths in make-believe(假装的) yawns and rubbed their noses. The chimps only responded to the yawn, and only if they were at least five years old. Younger animals showed no sign of yawning response.

“Some people have looked at adult chimps and have shown them cartoons of other chimps’ yawning that sets off their yawning as well. The stimulus(刺激物), the yawn stimulus, can be very simple and still set off a yawn. We seem to have this very strong ability to copy the yawn, whether it’s from a cartoon or whether it’s another human that the animal sees,” Madsen said.

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1.The first paragraph serves as a(n) _________.

A comment

B background

C introduction

D explanation

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。本文第一段总述研究发现的主要内容，从而引出下文要详细介绍的内容——黑猩 猩的移情能力会随着年龄的增长而加强。故选 C。

2.What do we know about the study?

A It was carried out in the USA.

B It was done by Elaine Madsen alone.

C It studied 33 chimpanzees at Lund University.

D It studied young chimpanzees at a wildlife area.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。由第二段可知，Elaine Madsen 领导团队对 33 只 13 个月到 8 岁大的黑猩猩进行 了研究，该研究是在西非国家塞拉利昂的一处野 生动物区进行的。故选 D。

3.We know from the third paragraph that _________.

A most people are fond of yawning

B children usually start to develop empathy at four

C people are likely to yawn while they are alon

D the yawning response is strongest between strangers

解析：选B。B 推理判断题。由第三段的“In humans, children begin to yawn when they see other people yawn starting at about the age of four. This shows they are beginning to develop empathy.”可知，儿童在四岁 左右开始发展移情能力。故选 B。

4.The main purpose of the text is to _________.

A argue

B inform

C compare

D entertain

解析：选B。B 推理判断题。本文主要介绍一项研究结果，即 告知我们一些关于这项研究的信息。故选 B。