胡靜

Do you ever look at your dog， or cat， or a bird flying by the window and wonder： “What exactly are you thinking？”

So many of us treat the animals around us as extensions of ourselves， having long， involved conversations with our furry or feathered friends and assuming they can completely comprehend everything we are saying to them.

But the gulf between human and non-human communication is still vast. But will there ever be a time when， Dr Dolittle style， well be able to talk to animals and they can respond in kind？ While it seems to be the stuff of fiction and fantasy， could AI and new technologies further the cause of animal translation？

Animals communicate by a wide variety of different means—from gestures， colour changes， sounds， chemical release， vibration， thermoreception and touch. The numerous reasons for these varied signals; from attracting mates to providing warnings about predators （or， conversely， alerting others to the location of prey）. Most of this communication is a transfer of information between the same species， but inter-species communication is also abundant， especially between a predator and its prey. Think of an insect or fish changing colour to warn off attackers or alert them to their toxicity. But can these phenomena occur between humans and other animals？

Any dog owner knows that you can convey your emotions and have them understood by your pet. If you scold a dog for some wrongdoing， the dog knows it is being told off and responds accordingly. But there is a danger in thinking that human communication is accessible to animals. As the American philosopher Thomas Nagel argued， the consciousness of animals is inaccessible to human beings because of our own consciousness and specific human experience. The rest of the animal kingdom experiences the world in a way completely alien to us. So， even if we could understand what their squeaks（吱吱的叫聲）， mews and snorts translate as， would we be able to grasp their meaning？

（材料出自BBC Earth，有刪改）

1. According to the passage， which statements is true？

A. It is commonly believed that animal can understand what people say.

B. People generally consider animal share the same Dr Dolittle style.

C. Animal seldom use color to express themselves.

D. As long as you understand their mews， you can grasp their meaning.

2. Why do animals use varied signals？

A. Because they try to use them to communicate with people.

B. Because they want to attract their predators.

C. Because they need to provide warnings for their mates.

D. Because they are afraid of the location of prey known by others.

3. If you criticize a dog， it will ________.

A. communicate with you in a way similar to humans

B. not care about your word and do its own business

C. become a danger to you to some extent

D. know what should be done in this situation

4.The underlined word in the last paragraph probably means ________.

A. weird? ? ? ?B.strange? ? ? ?C.familiar? ? ? ?D.similar

1.A2.C3.D4.B