大學美語力學教程（上）

01?A.Howtobeasuccessfullanguagelearner?

"Learningalanguageiseasy,evenachildcandoit!”

Mostadultswhoarelearningasecondlanguagewoulddisagreewith

thisstatement.Forthem,learningalanguageisaverydifficulttask.They

needhundredsofhoursofstudyandpractice,andeventhiswillnot

guaranteesuccessforeveryadultlanguagelearner.

Languagelearningisdifferentfromotherkindsoflearning.Some

peoplewhoareveryintelligentandsuccessfulintheirfieldsfindit

difficulttosucceedinlanguagelearning.Conversely,somepeoplewho

aresuccessfullanguagelearnersfinditdifficulttosucceedinotherfields.

Languageteachersoftenofferadvicetolanguagelearners:uReadas

muchasyoucaninthenewlanguage."Practicespeakingthelanguage

everyday.”“Livewithpeoplewhospeakthelanguage.v"Don't

translate-trytothinkinthenewlanguage.”"Learnasachildwouldlearn;

playwiththelanguage.,,

Butwhatdoesasuccessfullanguagelearnerdo?Languagelearning

researchshowsthatsuccessfullanguagelearnersaresimilarinmany

ways.

Firstofall,successfullanguagelearnersareindependentlearners.

Theydonotdependonthebookortheteacher;theydiscovertheirown

waytolearnthelanguage.Insteadofwaitingfortheteachertoexplain,

theytrytofindthepatternsandtherulesforthemselves.Theyaregood

guesserswholookforcluesandformtheirownconclusions.Whenthey

guesswrong,theyguessagain.Theytrytolearnfromtheirmistakes.

Successfullanguagelearningisactivelearning.Therefore,

successfullearnersdonotwaitforachancetousethelanguage;theylook

forsuchachance.Theyfindpeoplewhospeakthelanguageandtheyask

thesepeopletocorrectthemwhentheymakeamistake.Theywilltry

anythingtocommunicate.Theyarenotafraidtorepeatwhattheyhearor

tosaystrangethings;theyarewillingtomakemistakesandtryagain.

Whencommunicationisdifficult,theycanacceptinformationthatis

inexactorincomplete.Itismoreimportantforthemtolearntothinkin

thelanguagethantoknowthemeaningofeveryword.

Finally,successfullanguagelearnersarelearnerswithapurpose.

Theywanttolearnthelanguagebecausetheyareinterestedinthe

languageandthepeoplewhospeakit.Itisnecessaryforthemtolearnthe

languageinordertocommunicatewiththesepeopleandtolearnfrom

them.Theyfinditeasytopracticeusingthelanguageregularlybecause

theywanttolearnwithit.

Whatkindoflanguagelearnerareyou?Ifyouareasuccessful

languagelearner,youhaveprobablybeenlearningindependently,actively,

andpuiposefully.Ontheotherhand,ifyourlanguagelearninghasbeen

lessthansuccessful,youmightdowelltotrysomeofthetechniques

outlinedabove.

01?B.Language

Whenwewanttotellotherpeoplewhatwethink,wecandoitnot

onlywiththehelpofwords,butalsoinmanyotherways.Forinstance,

wesometimesmoveourheadsupanddownwhenwewanttosay'^yes,,

andwemoveourheadsfromsidetosidewhenwewanttosayHno.H

Peoplewhocanneitherhearnorspeak(thatis,deafanddumbpeople)

talktoeachotherwiththehelpoftheirfingers.Peoplewhodonot

understandeachother'slanguagehavetodothesame.Thefollowing

storyshowshowtheysometimesdoit.

AnEnglishmanwhocouldnotspeakItalianwasoncetravelingin

Italy.Onedayheenteredarestaurantandsatdownatatable.Whenthe

waitercame,theEnglishmanopenedhismouth,puthisfingersinit,took

themoutagainandmovedhislips.Inthiswayhemeanttosay,uBring

mesomethingtoeat."Thewaitersoonbroughthimacupoftea.The

Englishmanshookhisheadandthewaiterunderstoodthathedidn'twant

tea,sohetookitawayandbroughthimsomecoffee.TheEnglishman,

whowasveryhungrybythistimeandnotatallthirsty,lookedverysad.

Heshookhisheadeachtimethewaiterbroughthimsomethingtodrink.

Thewaiterbroughthimwine,thenbeenthensoda-water,butthatwasn't

food,ofcourse.Hewasjustgoingtoleavetherestaurantwhenanother

travelercamein.Whenthismansawthewaiter,heputhishandsonhis

stomach.Thatwasenough:inafewminutestherewasalargeplateof

macaroniandmeatonthetablebeforehim.

Asyousee,theprimitivelanguageofsignsisnotalwaysveryclear.

Thelanguageofwordsismuchmoreexact.

Wordsconsistofsounds,buttherearemanysoundswhichhavea

meaningandyetarenotwords.Forexample,wemaysay”Sh-sh-sh”

whenwemean"keepsilent.^^Whenbabieslaugh,weknowtheyare

happy,andwhentheycry,weknowtheyareillorsimplywant

something.

Itisthesamewithanimals.Whenadogsays"G-r-r“oracatsays

weknowtheyareangry.

Butthesesoundsarenotlanguage.Languageconsistsofwords

whichweputtogetherintosentences.Butanimalscannotdothis:adog

cansay"G-r-r“whenhemeansnIamangry,“buthecannotsayfirst,,F,

andthen"am"andthen^^angry.^^Aparrotcantalklikeaman;itcan

repeatwholesentencesandknowswhattheymean.Wemaysaythata

parrottalks,butcannotsaythatitreallyspeaks,becauseitcannotform

newsentencesoutofthewordsitknows.Onlymanhasthepowertodo

this.

02?A.Taxes,Taxes,andMoreTaxes

Americansoftensaythatthereareonlytwothingsapersoncanbe

sureofinlife:deathandtaxes,Americansdonothaveacomeronthe

"death"market,butmanypeoplefeelthattheUnitedStatesleadsthe

worldwiththeworsttaxes.

Taxesconsistofthemoneywhichpeoplepaytosupporttheir

government.TherearegenerallythreelevelsofgovernmentintheUnited

States:federal,state,andcity;therefore,therearethreetypesoftaxes.

Salariedpeoplewhoearnmorethanafewthousanddollarsmustpay

acertainpercentageoftheirsalariestothefederalgovernment.The

percentagevariesfrompersontoperson.Itdependsontheirsalaries.The

federalgovernmenthasagraduatedincometax,thatis,thepercentageof

thetax(14to70percent)increasesasaperson'sincomeincreases.With

thehighcostoftaxes,peoplearenotveryhappyonApril15,whenthe

federaltaxesaredue.

Thesecondtaxisforthestategovernment:NewYork,California,

NorthDakota,oranyoftheotherforty-sevenstates.Somestateshavean

incometaxsimilartothatofthefederalgovernment.Ofcourse,the

percentageforthestatetaxislower.Otherstateshaveasalestax,which

isapercentagechargedtoanyitemwhichyoubuyinthatstate.For

example,apersonmightwanttobuyapacketofcigarettesfor

twenty-fivecents.Ifthereisasalestaxofeightpercentinthatstate,then

thecostofthecigarettesistwenty-sevencents.Thisfigureincludesthe

salestax.Somestatesuseincometaxinadditiontosalestaxtoraisetheir

revenues.Thestatetaxlawsarediverseandconfusing.

Thethirdtaxisforthecity.Thistaxcomesintwoforms:property

tax(peoplewhoownahomehavetopaytaxesonit)andexcisetax,

whichischargedoncarsinacity.Thecitiesusethesefundsforeducation,

policeandfiredepartments,publicworksandmunicipalbuildings.

SinceAmericanspaysuchhightaxes,theyoftenfeelthattheyare

workingonedayeachweekjusttopaytheirtaxes.Peoplealways

complainabouttaxes.Theyoftenprotestthatthegovernmentusestheir

taxdollarsinthewrongway.Theysaythatitspendstoomuchonuseless

andimpracticalprograms.AlthoughAmericanshavedifferentviewson

manyissues,theytendtoagreeononesubject:taxesaretoohigh.

02?B.Advertising

Advertisingisonlypartofthetotalsaleseffort,butitisthepartthat

attractsthemostattention.Thisisnaturalenoughbecauseadvertisingis

designedforjustthatpurpose.Innewspapers,inmagazines,inthemail,

onradioandtelevision,weconstantlyseeandhearthemessagesfor

hundredsofdifferentproductsandservices.Forthemostpart,theyare

thekindsofthingsthatwecanbepersuadedtobuy-foodanddrinks,

carsandtelevisionsets,furnitureandclothing,travelandleisuretime

activities.

Thesimplestkindofadvertisingistheclassifiedad.Everydaythe

newspaperscarryafewpagesoftheseads;inthelargeSundayeditions

theremaybeseveralsectionsofthem.Aclassifiedadisusuallyonlya

fewlineslong.Itisreallyanoticeorannouncementthatsomethingis

available.

Newspapersalsocarryalargeamountofdisplayadvertising.Most

ofitisforstoresorforvariousformsofentertainment.Newspapers

generallyreachanaudienceonlyinalimitedarea.Tobringtheirmessage

toalargeraudience,manywhowanttoputouttheiradsusenational

magazines.Manyofthetechniquesofmodernadvertisingwere

developedinmagazineads.Theuseofbrightcolors,attractivepictures,

andshortmessagesisallcharacteristicofmagazineads.Themost

importantpurposeislocatchtheeye.Themessageitselfisusuallyshort,

oftennomorethanasloganwhichthepublicidentifieswiththe

product.

Thesametechniqueshavebeencarriedoverintotelevision

advertising.Voicesandmusichavebeenaddedtocolorandpicturesto

catchtheearaswellastheeye.Televisionadsareshort-usuallyonly

15,30,or60seconds,buttheyarerepeatedoverandoveragainsothatthe

audienceseesandhearsthemmanytimes.Commercialtelevisionhas

mixedentertainmentandadvertising.Ifyouwanttheentertainment,you

havetoputupwiththeadvertising-andmillionsofpeoplewantthe

entertainment.

Themenandwomeninthesalesdepartmentareresponsibleforthe

company'sadvertising,Theymustdecideontheaudiencetheywantto

reach.Theymustalsodecideonthebestwaytogettheirmessagetotheir

particularaudience.Theyalsomakeanestimateofthecostsbefore

managementapprovestheplan.Inmostlargecompaniesmanagementis

directlyinvolvedinplanningtheadvertising.

03?A.TheAtlanticOcean

TheAtlanticOceanisoneoftheoceansthatseparatetheOldWorld

fromtheNew.ForcenturiesitkepttheAmericasfrombeingdiscovered

bythepeopleofEurope.

ManywrongideasabouttheAtlanticmadeearlysailorsunwillingto

sailfaroutintoit.Oneideawasthatitreachedoutto"theedgeofthe

world.uSailorswereafraidthattheymightsailrightofftheearth.

Anotherideawasthatattheequatortheoceanwouldbeboilinghot.

TheAtlanticOceanisonlyhalfasbigasthePacific,butitisstill

verylarge.Itismorethan4,000miles(6,000km)widewhereColumbus

crossedit.Evenatitsnarrowestitisabout2,000miles(3,200km)wide.

ThisnarrowestplaceisbetweenthebulgeofsouthAmericaandthebulge

ofAfrica.

TwothingsmaketheAtlanticOceanratherunusual.Forsolargean

oceanithasveryfewislands.Also,itistheworld'ssaltiestocean.

ThereissomuchwaterintheAtlanticthatitishardtoimaginehow

muchthereis.Butsupposenomorerainfellintoitandnomorewater

wasbroughttoitbyrivers.Itwouldtaketheoceanabout4,000yearsto

dryup.Ontheaveragethewaterisalittlemorethantwomiles(3.2km)

deep,butinplacesitismuchdeeper.ThedeepestspotisnearPuertoRico.

This"deep"30,246feet-almostsixmiles(9.6km).

Oneofthelongestmountainrangesoftheworldrisesthefloorof

theAtlantic.Thismountainrangerunsnorthandsouthdownthemiddle

oftheocean.Thetopsofafewofthemountainsreachupabovethesea

andmakeislands.TheAzoresarethetopsofpeaksinthemid-Atlantic

mountainrange.

SeveralhundredmileseastwardfromFloridathereisapartofthe

oceancalledtheSargassoSea.Herethewaterisquiet,forthereislittle

wind.Inthedaysofsailingvesselsthecrewwereafraidtheywouldbe

becalmedhere.Sometimestheywere.

Oceancurrentsaresometimecalled"riversinthesea."Oneof

these"river,'intheAtlanticiscalledtheGulfStream.Itisacurrentof

warmwater.AnotheristheLabradorCurrent-coldwatercomingdown

fromtheArctic.Oceancurrentsaffecttheclimatesofthelandsnear

whichtheyflow.

TheAtlanticfurnishesmuchfoodforthepeopleonitsshores.One

ofitsmostfamousfishingregions,theGrandBanks,isnear

Newfoundland.

TodaytheAtlanticisagreathighway.Itisnot,however,alwaysa

smoothandsafeone.Stormssweepacrossitandpileupgreatwaves.

IcebergsfloatdownfromtheFarNorthacrossthepathsofships.

Wenowhavesuchfastwaysoftravelingthatthisbigoceanseems

tohavegrownsmaller.Columbussailedformorethantwomonthsto

crossit.Afastmodernsteamshipcanmakethetripinlessthanfourdays.

AirplanesflyfromNewYorktoLondoninonlyeighthoursandfrom

SouthAmericatoAfricainfour!

03-B.TheMoon

Wefindthatthemoonisabout239,000miles(384,551km)away

fromtheearth,and,towithinafewthousandmiles,itsdistancealways

remainsthesame.Yetaverylittleobservationshowsthatthemoonisnot

standingstill.Itsdistancefromtheearthremainsthesame,butits

directioncontinuallychanges.Wefindthatitistravelinginacircle-or

verynearlyacircle-roundtheearth,goingcompletelyroundoncea

month,or,moreexactly,onceevery271/3days.Itisournearest

neighbourinspace,andlikeourselvesitiskepttiedtotheearthbythe

earth*sgravitationalpull.

Exceptforthesun,themoonlooksthebiggestobjectinthesky.

Actuallyitisoneofthesmallest,andonlylooksbigbecauseitissonear

tous.Itsdiameterisonly2,160miles(3,389km),oralittlemorethana

quarterofthediameteroftheearth.

Onceamonth,or,moreexactly,onceevery291/2days,atthetime

wecallnfullmoon,"itswholedisclooksbright.Atothertimesonlypart

ofitappearsbright,andwealwaysfindthatthisisthepartwhichfaces

towardsthesun,whilethepartfacingawayfromthesunappearsdark.

Artistscouldmaketheirpicturesbetteriftheykeptinmind—onlythose

partsofthemoonwhicharelightedupbythesunarebright.Thisshows

thatthemoongivesnolightofitsown.Itmerelyreflectsthelightofthe

sun,likeahugemirrorhunginthesky.

Yetthedarkpartofthemoon'ssurfaceisnotabsolutelyblack;

generallyitisjustlightenoughforustobeabletoseeitsoutline,sothat

wespeakofseeing"theoldmooninthenewmoon'sarms.1'Thelightby

whichweseetheoldmoondoesnotcomefromthesun,butfromthe

earth,weknowswellhowthesurfaceoftheseaorofsnow,orevenofa

wetroad,mayreflectuncomfortablymuchofthesun'slightontoour

faces.Inthesamewaythesurfaceofthewholeearthreflectsenoughof

thesun'slightontothefaceofthemoonforustobeabletoseetheparts

ofitwhichwouldotherwisebedark.

Iftherewereanyinhabitantsofthemoon,theywouldseeourearth

reflectingthelightofthesun,againlikeahugemirrorhunginthesky.

Theywouldspeakofearthlightjustaswespeakofmoonlight.'Theold

mooninthenewmoon'sarms'1isnothingbutthatpartofthemoon's

surfaceonwhichitisnight,lightedupbyearthlight.Inthesameway,the

lunarinhabitantswouldoccasionallyseepartofourearthinfull

sunlight,andtherestlightedonlybymoonlight;theymightcallthis”the

oldearthinthenewearth'sarms.^^

04?A.InwrovinaYourMemory

Psychologicalresearchhasfocusedonanumberofbasicprinciples

thathelpmemory:meaningfulness,organization,association,and

visualization.Itisusefultoknowhowtheseprincipleswork.

Meaningfulnessaffectsmemoryatalllevels.Informationthatdoes

notmakeanysensetoyouisdifficulttoremember.Thereareseveral

waysinwhichwecanmakematerialmoremeaningful.Manypeople,for

instance,learnarhymetohelpthemremember.Doyouknowtherhyme

“ThirtydayshasSeptember,April,June,andNovember...?”Ithelps

manypeoplerememberwhichmonthsoftheyearhave30days.

Organizationalsomakesadifferenceinourabilitytoremember.

Howusefulwouldalibrarybeifthebookswerekeptinrandomorder?

Materialthatisorganizedisbetterrememberedthanjumbledinformation.

Oneexampleoforganizationischunking.Chunkingconsistsofgrouping

separatebitsofinformation.Forexample,thenumber4671363ismore

easilyrememberedifitischunkedas467,13,63.Categorizingisanother

meansoforganization.Supposeyouareaskedtorememberthefollowing

listofwords:man,bench,dog,desk,woman,horse,child,cat,chair.

Manypeoplewillgroupthewordsintosimilarcategoriesandremember

themasfollows:man,woman,child;cat,dog,horse;bench,chair,desk.

Needlesstosay,thesecondlistcanberememberedmoreeasilythanthe

firstone.

Associationreferstotakingthematerialwewanttorememberand

relatingittosomethingwerememberaccurately.Inmemorizinga

number,youmighttrytoassociateitwithfamiliarnumbersorevents.For

example,theheightofMountFujiinJapan-12,389feet-mightbe

rememberedusingthefollowingassociations:12isthenumberofmonths

intheyear,and389isthenumberofdaysinayear(365)addedtothe

numberofmonthstwice(24).

Thelastprincipleisvisualization.Researchhasshownstriking

improvementsinmanytypesofmemorytaskswhenpeopleareaskedto

visualizetheitemstoberemembered.Inonestudy,subjectsinonegroup

wereaskedtolearnsomewordsusingimagery,whilethesecondgroup

usedrepetitiontolearnthewords.Thoseusingimageryremembered80

to90percentofthewords,comparedwith30to40percentofthewords

forthosewhomemorizedbyrepetition.Thusforminganintegrated

imagewithalltheinformationplacedinasinglementalpicturecanhelp

ustopreserveamemory.

04?B.Short-termMemory

Therearetwokindsofmemory:shore-termandlong-term.

Informationinlong-termmemorycanberecalledatalatertimewhenit

isneeded.Theinformationmaybekeptfordaysorweeks.Sometimes

informationinthelong-termmemoryishardtoremember.Students

takingexamoftenhavethisexperience.Incontrast；,informationin批注［zzgll：相反

shore-termmemoryiskeptforonlyafewseconds,usuallybyrepeating

theinformationoverandover.Forexample,youlookupanumberinthe

telephonebook,andbeforeyoudial,yourepeatthenumberoverandover.

Ifsomeoneinterruptsyou,youwillprobablyforgetthenumber.In

laboratorystudies,subjectsareunabletorememberthreelettersafter

eighteensecondsiftheyarenotallowedtorepeatthelettersto

themselves.

Psychologistsstudymemoryandlearningwithbothanimaland

humansubjects.Thetwoexperimentshereshowhowshort-termmemory

hasbeenstudied.

Dr.Hunterstudiedshort-termmemoryinrats.Heusedaspecial

apparatuswhichhadacagefortheratandthreedoors,Therewasalight

ineachdoor.Firsttheratwasplacedintheclosedcage.Next,oneofthe

lightswasturnedonandthenoff.Therewasfoodfortheratonlyatthis

door.Afterthelightwasturnedoff,therathadtowaitashorttimebefore

itwasreleasedfromitscage.Then,ifitwenttothecorrectdoor,itwas

rewardedwiththefoodthatwasthere.Hunterdidthisexperimentmany

times.Healwaysturnedonthelightsinarandomorder.Therathadto

waitdifferentintervalsbeforeitwasreleasedfromthecage.Hunterfound

thatiftherathadtowaitmorethantenseconds,itcouldnotremember

thecorrectdoor.Hunter'sresultsshowthatratshaveashort-termmemory

ofabouttenseconds.

Later,Dr.HenningstudiedhowstudentswhoarelearningEnglishas

asecondlanguageremembervocabulary.Thesubjectsinhisexperiment

were75studentsat由eUniversityofCaliforniainLosAngeles.They

representedalllevelsofabilityinEnglish;beginning,intermediate,

advanced,andnative-speakingstudents.

Tobegin,thesubjectslistenedtoarecordingofanativespeaker

readingaparagraphinEnglish.Followingtherecording,thesubjectstook

a15-questiontesttoseewhichwordstheyremembered.Eachquestion

hadfourchoices.Thesubjectshadtocirclethewordtheyhadheardin

therecording.Someofthequestionshadfourchoicesthatsoundalike.

Forexample,weather,whether,wither,andwetterarefourwordsthat

soundalike.Someofthequestionshadfourchoicesthathavethesame

meaning.Method,way,manner,andsystemwouldbefourwordswiththe

samemeaning.Someofthemhadfourunrelatedchoices.Forinstance,

weather,method,love,andresultcouldbeusedasfourunrelatedwords.

Finallythesubjectstookalanguageproficiencytest.

HenningfoundthatstudentswithalowerproficiencyinEnglish

mademoreoftheirmistakesonwordsthatsoundalike;studentswitha

higherproficiencymademoreoftheirmistakesonwordsthathavethe

samemeaning.Henning'sresultssuggestthatbeginningstudentsholdthe

soundofwordsintheirshort-termmemory,whileadvancedstudentshold

themeaningofwordsintheirshort-termmemory.

05?A.FallaciesaboutFood

Manyprimitivepeoplesbelievedthatbyeatingananimaltheycould

getsomeofthegoodqualitiesofthatanimalforthemselves.They

thought,forexample,thateatingdeerwouldmakethemrunasfastasthe

deer.Somesavagetribesbelievedthateatingenemiesthathadshown

braveryinbattlewouldmakethembrave.Man-eatingmayhavestarted

becausepeoplewereeagertobecomeasstrongandbraveastheir

enemies.

Amongcivilizedpeopleitwasoncethoughtthatgingerrootby

somemagicalpowercouldimprovethememory.Eggswerethoughtto

makethevoicepretty.Tomatoesalsowerebelievedtohavemagical

powers.Theywerecalledloveapplesandweresupposedtomakepeople

whoatethemfallinlove.

Lateranotherwrongideaabouttomatoesgrewup-theideathatthey

werepoisonous.Howsurprisedthepeoplewhothoughttomatoes

poisonouswouldbeiftheycouldknowthatmillionsofpoundsof

tomatoesweresuppliedtosoldiersoverseasduringWorldWarII.

Eventodaythereareagreatmanywrongideasaboutfood.Someof

themareverywidespread.

Onesuchideaisthatfishisthebestbrainfood.Fishisgoodbrain

foodjustasitisgoodmusclefoodandskinfoodandbonefood.Butno

onehasbeenabletoprovethatfishisanybetterforthebrainthanmany

otherkindsoffood.

Anothersuchideaisthatyoushouldnotdrinkwaterwithmeals.

Washingfooddownwithwaterasasubstituteforchewingisnotagood

idea,butsomewaterwithmealshasbeenfoundtobehelpful.Itmakes

thedigestivejuicesflowmorefreelyandhelpstodigestthefood.

Manyoftheideaswhichscientiststellushavenofoundationhaveto

dowithmixturesoffoods.Afewyearsagothebeliefbecamegeneralthat

orangejuiceandmilkshouldneverbedrunkatthesamemeal.The

reasongivenwasthattheacidintheorangejuicewouldmakethemilk

curdleandbecomeindigestible.Asamatteroffact,milkalwaysmeetsin

thestomachadigestivejuicewhichcurdlesit;thecurdlingofthemilkis

thefirststepinitsdigestion.Asimilarwrongideaisthatfishandice

creamwheneatenatthesamemealformapoisonouscombination.

Stillanotherwrongideaaboutmixingfoodsisthatproteinsand

carbohydratesshouldneverbeeatenatthesamemeal.Manypeoplethink

ofbread,forexample,asacarbohydratefood.Itischieflyacarbohydrate

food,butitalsocontainsproteins.Inthesameway,milk,probablythe

bestsinglefood,containsbothproteinsandcarbohydrates.Itisjustas

foolishtosaythatoneshouldnevereatmeatandpotatoestogetherasitis

tosaythatoneshouldnevereatbreadordrinkmilk.

05BDoAnimalsThink?

Thequestionhasoftenbeenasked,Doanimalsthink?Ibelievethat

someofthemthinkagreatdeal.Manyofthemarelikechildrenintheir

sports.Wenoticethistobetrueveryoftenwithdogsandcats;butitis

truewithotheranimalsaswell.

Somebirdsareverylivelyintheirspoils;andthesameistruewith

someinsects.Theants,hardworkingastheyare,havetheirtimesforplay.

Theyrunraces;theywrestle;andsometimestheyhavemockfights

together.Verybusymustbetheirthoughtswhileengagedinthesesports.

Therearemanyanimals,however,thatneverplay;theirthoughts

seemtobeofthemoresoberkind.Weneverseefrogsengagedinsport.

Theyallthetimeappeartobeverygrave.Thesameistrueoftheowl,

whoalwayslooksasifhewereconsideringsomeimportantquestion.

Animalsthinkmuchwhilebuildingtheirhouses.Thebirdsearches

forwhatitcanuseinbuildingitsnest,andindoingthisitthinks.The

beaversthinkastheybuildtheirdamsandtheirhouses.Theythinkin

gettingtheirmaterials,andalsoinarrangingthem,andinplasteringthem

togetherwithmud.Somespidersbuildhouseswhichcouldscarcelyhave

beenmadeexceptbysomethinkingcreature.

Asanimalsthink,theylearn.Somelearnmorethanothers.The

parrotlearnstotalk,thoughinsomeotherrespectsitisquitestupid.The

mockingbirdlearnstoimitateagreatmanydifferentsounds.Thehorseis

notlonginlearningmanythingsconnectedwiththeworkwhichhehasto

do.Theshepherddogdoesnotknowasmuchaboutmostthingsassome

otherdogs,andyetheunderstandsverywellhowtotakecareofsheep.

Thoughanimalsthinkandlearn,theydonotmakeanyreal

improvementintheirwaysofdoingthings,asmendo.Eachkindofbird

hasitsownwayofbuildinganest,anditisalwaysthesameway.And

soofotheranimals.Theyhavenonewfashions,andlearnnonefrom

eachother.Butmen,asyouknow,arealwaysfindingnewwaysof

buildinghouses,andimprovedmethodsofdoingalmostallkindsof

labor.

Manyofthethingsthatanimalsknowhowtodotheyseemtoknow

eitherwithoutlearning,orinsomewaywhichwecannotunderstand.

Theyaresaidtodosuchthingsbyinstinct;butnoonecantellwhat

instinctis.Itisbythisinstinctthatbirdsbuildtheirnestsandbeavers

theirdamandhuts.Ifthesethingswereallplannedandthoughtoutjust

asmenplannewhouses,therewouldbesomechangesinthefashionsof

them,andsomeimprovements.

1havespokenofthebuildinginstinctofbeavers.AnEnglish

gentlemancaughtayoungoneandput