NEEP-EN2-2020-Text1

英二-2020-Text 1 摘自新科学家（New scientist）2018年11月的文章《Rats can make friends with robot rats and will rescue them when stuck》。
以下为个人解析，非官方公开标准资料，可能有误，仅供参考。（单词解释仅摘出部分词性和意思）

Paragraph 1

1. Rats and other animals need to be highly attuned to social signals from others so they can identify friends to cooperate with and enemies to avoid.

   • 翻译：老鼠和其他动物需要对同伴发出的社交信号有更高的敏感度，以便辨别合作伙伴和避开敌人。
   • 解释：
     • rat n. 老鼠
     • attuned adj. 敏感的、适应的、调和的，attune v. 使适应、使协调，be highly attuned to 高度敏感，表示对外界信号或情况有极其敏锐的感知和反应
     • social adj. 社交的、社会的
     • signal n. 信号
     • identify v. 识别、认出
     • cooperate v. 合作
     • enemies n. 敌人（复数形式），原形 enemy
     • avoid v. 避免，避开

2. To find out if this extends to non-living beings, Laleh Quinn at the University of California, San Diego, and her colleagues tested whether rats can detect social signals from robotic rats.

   • 翻译：为了弄清楚这种特点是否可以拓展到非生命体上，加利福尼亚大学圣迭戈分校的 Laleh Quinn 和她的同事们进行了实验，测试老鼠是否能够从机器鼠身上发现社交信号。
   • 解释：
     • To ... 为了…
     • find out 找出、查明
     • extend n. 拓展
     • non-living adj. 非生命的
     • beings n. 存在
     • colleague n. 同事
     • whether conj. 是否
     • detect v. 发现、查明、洞察
     • robotic adj. 机器的

21） Quinn and her colleagues conducted a test to see if rats can ___.
译：Quinn 和她的同事做了个测试来观察老鼠是否能够？
[A] pick up social signals from non-living rats
译：从没有生命的老鼠身上获得社交信号
[B] distinguish a friendly rat from a hostile one
译：区分友好的和敌对的老鼠
[C] attain sociable traits through special training
译：通过特殊训练获得合群的特质
[D] send out warning messages to their fellows
译：向同伴发出警告信息

Paragraph 2

1. They housed eight adult rats with two types of robotic rat — one social and one asocial — for four days.

   • 翻译：他们把8只成年老鼠和两只机器鼠放在一起 — 一个社交，一个不社交 — 呆了四天。
   • 解释：
     • house v. 安置、提供住处
     • adult adj. 成年的
     • robotic adj. 机器的、呆板的
     • asocial adj. 反社交的，缺乏社交性的
     • 这个实验的目的是观察鼠类对两种不同类型的机器鼠的反应。其中一种机器鼠具有社交特性，具备与其他个体进行交流和互动的能力；而另一种机器鼠则不具备社交特性，不善于与他人进行交流和互动。

2. The robot rats were quite minimalist, resembling a chunkier version of a computer mouse with wheels to move around and colourful markings.

   • 翻译：机器鼠非常简单，看上去像是大号的鼠标，带有轮子以便四处移动，还带有彩色的标志。
   • 解释：
     • quite adv. 非常、相当
     • minimalist n. 极简物
     • resembling v. 看起来像，原形 resemble
     • chunkier adj. 更大块的、更敦实的，chunky 的比较级
     • version n. 版本
     • wheels n. 轮子（复数），原形 wheel

Paragraph 3

1. During the experiment, the social robot rat followed the living rats around, played with the same toys, and opened cage doors to let trapped rats escape.

   • 翻译：在实验期间，社交机器鼠跟在真鼠周围，玩同样的玩具，并且打开门让老鼠门逃走。
   • 解释：
     • during prep. 在…期间
     • experiment n. 实验
     • follow v. 跟随
     • toys n. 玩具
     • cage n. 笼子
     • trapped adj. 被困住的
     • escape v. 逃跑

2. Meanwhile, the asocial robot simply moved forwards and backwards and side to side.

   • 翻译：与此同时，不社交简单机器鼠前前后后左左右右地移动。
   • 解释：
   • forward 向前
   • backward 向后
   • side 一边

22）What did the asocial robot do during the experiment?
译：不社交机器人在实验期间做了什么？
[A] It followed the social robot.
译：它跟着社交机器人。
[B] It played with some toys.
译：它玩了一些玩具。
[C] It set the trapped rats free.
译：它使被困住的老鼠脱困。
[D] It moved around alone.
译：它自己四处移动。

Paragraph 4

1. Next, the researchers trapped the robots in cages and gave the rats the opportunity to release them by pressing a lever.

   • 翻译：接下来，研究者们将机器人困在笼子里，并给了老鼠们通过按下杠杆就能释放机器人的机会。
   • 解释：
     • trap v. 困住、缠住、使陷入困境
     • cage n. 笼子
     • opportunity n. 机会
     • release v. 释放
     • press v. 按、压
     • lever n. 杠杆

2. Across 18 trials each, the living rats were 52 per cent more likely on average to set the social robot free than the asocial one.

   • 翻译：经过18次试验，活鼠平均释放社交鼠的可能性比非社交鼠高了52%。
   • 解释：
     • trial n. 试验
     • each adv. 每一个
     • likely adj. 可能的
     • on average 平均

3. This suggests that the rats perceived the social robot as a genuine social being, says Quinn.

   • 翻译：这表明老鼠将社交机器人视作一个真正的社交对象，Quinn说道。
   • 解释：
     • perceive v. 感知、察觉到
     • genuine adj. 真正的

4. The rats may have bonded more with the social robot because it displayed behaviours like communal exploring and playing.

   • 翻译：老鼠可能与社交鼠建立更多的信任，因为它展示的行为像是在共同探索和玩耍。
   • 解释：
     • bond v. 建立互信、紧密结合
     • display v. 展示、表现、扮演
     • communal adj. 公共的、共享的
     • explore v. 探索
     • playing v. 玩耍

5. This could lead to the rats better remembering having freed it earlier, and wanting the robot to return the favour when they get trapped, she says.

   • 翻译：这可能导致老鼠更容易记得早点释放社交鼠，并且想让社交鼠在自己被困住时报答它们，她说。
   • 解释：
     • lead v. 引导
     • better 更加
     • remember v. 记起
     • favour n. 恩情、恩惠
     • earlier adj. 更早的

23）According to Quinn, the rats released the social robot because they ____?
译：根据Quinn，老鼠们释放机器鼠是因为它们___？
[A] tried to practise a means of escape
译：尝试练习逃跑的意识
[B] expected it to do the same in return
译：希望它做同样的回报
[C] wanted to display their intelligence
译：想展现它们的智力
[D] considered that an interesting game
译：思考一个有趣的游戏

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1. “Rats have been shown to engage in multiple forms of reciprocal help and cooperation, including what is referred to as direct reciprocity where a rat will help another rat that has previously helped them,” says Quinn.
   • 翻译：“老鼠们展示出了多种形式的互相帮助和合作，包括直接的互惠，比如一只老鼠会帮助先前帮助过它的另一只老鼠”，Quinn说道。
   • 解释：
     • engage v. 从事
     • reciprocal adj. 互惠的，reciprocity n. 互惠
     • cooperation n. 合作
     • direct adj. 直接的
     • previously adv. 先前的

Paragraph 6

1. The readiness of the rats to befriend the social robot was surprising given its minimal design.

   • 翻译：令人惊讶的是老鼠愿意和设计如此简单的社交机器人成为朋友。
   • 解释：
     • readiness n. 愿意、乐意、准备就绪
     • surprising adj. 令人惊讶的、令人吃惊的
     • minimal adj. 简约的

2. The robot was the same size as a regular rat but resembled a simple plastic box on wheels.

   • 翻译：机器人有着与普通老鼠一样的体型，看上去像是一个装着轮子的简单塑料盒子。
   • 解释：
     • regular adj. 常规的
     • resemble v. 看起来像
     • simple adj. 简单的
     • plastic adj. 塑料的
     • wheel n. 轮子

3. “We’d assumed we’d have to give it a moving head and tail, facial features, and put a scent on it to make it smell like a real rat, but that wasn’t necessary,” says Janet Wiles at the University of Queensland in Australia, who helped with the research.

   • 翻译：“我们原以为我们需要给它安一个能够移动的头部和尾巴，面部特征，并给它涂抹气味，使其闻起来像真正的鼠类，但这并不是必要的，”来自澳大利亚昆士兰大学的Janet Wiles在研究中给出了帮助。
   • 解释：
     • We'd assumed <=> we had assumed
     • we'd have <=> we would have
     • assume v. 假设
     • tail n. 尾巴
     • facial adj. 面部的
     • feature n. 特点、特征
     • scent n. 气味
     • necessary adj. 必要的

24）Janet Wiles notes that rats ____?
译：Janet Wiles 提醒，老鼠___？
[A] can remember other rats’ facial features
译：能够记起其他老鼠的面部特征
[B] differentiate smells better than sizes
译：分辨气味比分辨体型更厉害
[C] respond more to actions than to looks
译：相比外观，有更多的行为上的响应
[D] can be scared by a plastic box on wheels
译：会被轮子上的塑料盒子吓到

Paragraph 7

1. The finding shows how sensitive rats are to social cues, even when they come from basic robots, says Wiles.

   • 翻译：这个发现显示了老鼠对社交信号有多敏感，甚至它们来自于基础的机器人，Wiles说道。
   • 解释：
     • cue n. 信号、暗示

2. Similarly, children tend to treat robots as if they are fellow beings, even when they display only simple social signals.

   • 翻译：类似地，孩子往往将机器人当作玩伴，甚至当机器人们只表现出简单的社交信号。
   • 解释：
     • similarly adv. 相似地
     • tend to 往往
     • treat v. 对待
     • fellow n. 同伴

3. "We humans seem to be fascinated by robots, and it turns out other animals are too,” says Wiles.

   • 翻译：Wiles 说道：“我们人类似乎对机器人很着迷，而其他动物也是如此。”
   • 解释：
     • seem to 似乎
     • fascinated adj. 着迷的
     • turn out 结果是，事实证明

25）It can be learned from the text that rats ____?
译：从文中我们可以知道老鼠？
[A] appear to be adaptable to new surroundings
译：似乎能适应新环境
[B] are more socially active than other animals
译：比其他动物更活跃
[C] behave differently from children in socializing
译：社交行为与孩子不同
[D] are more sensitive to social cues than expected
译：对社交线索比预期更敏感