RE3U10B

RE3U10B

Inside Animal Minds

Before You Read

^{How smart are animals? It’s a question scientist are trying to answer. Birds, such as crows, have shown problem­ solving slots and creativity by using tools such a metal wire to obtain food. Dolphins have demonstrated imitation and self-awareness by copying their trainers' movements. Sheep, and many other animals, demonstrate memory and emotions. They can recognize faces and also know if the person (or sheep) is happy or angry} 

Discussion

Do you think these animals can be called intelligent?

How would you define “intelligence”?

Discussion

Do you think these animals can be called intelligent?

How would you define “intelligence”?

A common definition of intelligence is "a highly developed ability to think logically, to understand the world around you, and to learn things quickly."

Scan

You are going to read about animal intelligence.

Quickly scan the reading to answer the questions below.

Then read again to check your answers.

Questions

• What animals are mentioned in the reading?

• What kinds of "intelligence" does each animal display?

In 1977, Irene Pepperberg, a recent graduate of Harvard University, did something very unusual.

Questions

• What animals are mentioned in the reading?

• What kinds of "intelligence" does each animal display?

^{Pepperberg was interested in learning if animals could think, and the best way to do this, she reasoned, was to talk to them.}

^{To test her theory, she bought an African grey parrot she named Alex and taught him to reproduce the sounds of the English language.}

^{“I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world." she explains.} 

^{When Pepperberg began her research with Alex, very few scientists acknowledged that animals were capable of thought.}

^{The general belief was that animals reacted to things in their environment but lacked the ability to think or feel.}

^{How, then, could a scientist demonstrate that animals might, in fact, possess intelligence’ “That’s why I started my studies with Alex," Pepperberg says.}

Certain skills are considered key signs of higher mental abilities: a good memory, an understanding of symbols, self-awareness, understanding of others' motives, and creativity.

Little by little, researchers have documented these abilities in other species.

Sheep and elephants can recognize faces.

Chimpanzees—who are genetically similar to humans—use a variety of primitive tools for eating, drinking, and hunting; they also laugh when pleased and spit to show disgust with something.

Octopuses in captivity are known to amuse themselves by shooting water at laboratory staff.

They may even exhibit basic emotions by changing color.

^{Alex the parrot was a surprisingly good talker.}

^{He learned how to use his voice to imitate almost 100 English words, including those for foods, colors, shapes, and numbers.}

^{Although imitation was once considered a simple skill, in recent years, cognitive scientists have revealed that it's an extremely difficult ability, it requires the imitator to form a mental image of the other person's body and actions and then adjust his own body parts into the same position.}

It is a behavior that shows an awareness of one's self.

Because Alex had mastered many English words, Pepperberg could ask him questions about a bird s basic understanding of the world.

Alex could count, as well as describe shapes, colors, and sizes for Pepperberg; he even had an elementary understanding of the abstract concept of zero.

Many of Alex's cognitive skills, such as his ability to understand the concepts of same and different, arc generally attributed only to higher mammals, particularly primates such as humans and apes.

But parrots, like great apes (and humans), live a long time in complex societies.

And like primates, these birds must monitor the changing relationships within the group.

This may explain Alex’s ability to learn a human language.

"When we take [parrots] into captivity, what they start to do is treat us as their flock."

explains Pepperberg.

Parrots learn to pronounce and use our words so they can become a part of our group.

Researchers in Germany and Austria have also been studying language ability in dogs.

One named Betsy has shown that she is able to learn and remember words as quickly as a two-year- old child.

She has an extraordinary vocabulary of over 340 words (and counting), knows at least 15 people by name, and can link photographs with the real objects they represent.

Like Alex, she's pretty smart. This is the larger lesson of animal cognition research: It humbles us.

We are not alone in our ability to invent, communicate, demonstrate emotions, or think about ourselves.

Still, humans remain the creative species no other animal has built cities, created music, or made a computer.

In fact, a number of critics dismiss animals’ ability to use tools or understand human language.

They believe animals are just simulating human behavior.

Yet. many researchers say that creativity and language in animals, like other forms of intelligence, have evolved.

“People were surprised to discover that chimpanzees make tools.” says Alex Kacdnik. an animal researcher at Oxford University. 'But people also thought.

’Well, they share our ancestry— of course, they’re smart.’ Now we’re finding these kinds of behaviors in some species of birds.

But we don’t have a recently shared ancestry with birds, it means." Kacelnik continues, “that evolution can invent similar forms of advanced intelligence more than once— that it’s not something reserved only for primates or mammals.”

Multiple Select

What animals are mentioned in the reading?

• grey parrot

• sheep & elephants

• dog

• chimpanzees

• octopuses

Multiple Choice

What kinds of "intelligence" does the grey parrot display?

• words, imitation, counting, zero concept

• face recognition

• making and using tools

• emotions

• linking vocabulary to photographs

Multiple Choice

What kinds of "intelligence" do octopuses display?

• words, imitation, counting, zero concept

• face recognition

• making and using tools

• emotions

• linking vocabulary to photographs

Multiple Choice

What kinds of "intelligence" do sheep and elephants display?

• words, imitation, counting, zero concept

• face recognition

• making and using tools

• emotions

• linking vocabulary to photographs

Multiple Choice

What kinds of "intelligence" do chimpanzees display?

• words, imitation, counting, zero concept

• face recognition

• making and using tools

• emotions

• linking vocabulary to photographs

Multiple Choice

What kinds of "intelligence" does the dog display?

• words, imitation, counting, zero concept

• face recognition

• making and using tools

• emotions

• linking vocabulary to photographs

Multiple Choice

What is this reading mainly about?

• a. ways of teaching animals to become more intelligent

• b. research that shows intelligence is not limited to humans

• c. how animals can communicate with humans

• d. how human and animal intelligence are different

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

• a. how an octopus displays basic emotions

• b. ways in which elephants communicate with each other

• c. how birds and chimps evolved tool •making abilities

• d. the language ability o f dogs

Multiple Choice

What could Alex do that showed self-awareness?

• a. count

• b. learn vocabulary

• c. copy human sounds

• d. understand the concept of zero

Multiple Choice

In line 39. It refers to _______.

• a. counting

• b. talking

• c. imitating

• d. asking questions

Multiple Choice

What do parrots and primates have in common?

• a. They both live a long time in complex societies.

• b. They both learn to use tools while in captivity.

• c. They both teach new human words to their young

• d. Neither likes to participate in or be part of a group

Multiple Choice

In line 67, the word link could be replaced with____.

• a. match

• b. take

• c. count

• d. view

Multiple Choice

Which statement would Alex Kacelnik probably agree with?

• a. Only humans and primates are capable of thought.

• b. Birds share a common ancestry with humans.

• c. Some birds are more intelligent than humans.

• d. We can find intelligence in species we don't

  normally consider intelligent.

Identifying Lexical Cohesion

Lexical cohesion is a feature of cohesive writing. Writers often use different words to avoid repetition and to add variety to a text.  One way to achieve this is to use synonyms. Sometimes, instead of two words being exact synonyms, one word may be a more specific (or a more general) part of, or an example of. another word. Look at the following examples: The aroma in the kitchen got m y attention. The smelt of cookies took me back to my childhood. (Here, aroma and smell refer to the same thing.) I bought flour, sugar, and cocoa After I got the ingredients home. I realized I had no vanilla. (Here, flour, sugar, cocoa, and van ilia are specific examples of ingredients.) 

Multiple Choice

These words are from the reading passage on

page 165-167. Find the pair of synonym for the word "create".

• skill

• talk

• invent

• reproduce

Multiple Choice

These words are from the reading passage on

page 165-167. Find the pair of synonym for the word "ABILITY".

• skill

• talk

• invent

• reproduce

Multiple Choice

These words are from the reading passage on

page 165-167. Find the pair of synonym for the word "communicate".

• skill

• talk

• invent

• reproduce

Multiple Choice

These words are from the reading passage on

page 165-167. Find the pair of synonym for the word "imitate".

• skill

• talk

• invent

• reproduce

Multiple Choice

These words are from the reading passage on

page 165-167. Find the pair of synonym for the word "basic".

• exhibit

• elementary

• behavior

• think

Multiple Choice

These words are from the reading passage on

page 165-167. Find the pair of synonym for the word "show".

• exhibit

• elementary

• behavior

• think

Multiple Choice

These words are from the reading passage on

page 165-167. Find the pair of synonym for the word "action".

• exhibit

• elementary

• behavior

• think

Multiple Choice

These words are from the reading passage on

page 165-167. Find the pair of synonym for the word "reason".

• exhibit

• elementary

• behavior

• think

Multiple Choice

These words are from the reading passage on

page 165-167. Find the pair of synonym for the word "reason".

• exhibit

• elementary

• behavior

• think