精美英文欣赏:黑猩猩

Chimpanzee

The most striking single fact about chimpanzees is the flexibility¹ of their social life, the lack of any rigid² form of organization. It represents about as far a departure from the baboon³ type of organization as one can find among the higher primates⁵, and serves to emphasize the great variety of primate⁴ adaptations. Chimpanzees are more human than baboons⁶, or rather they jibe⁷ better with the way we like to picture ourselves, as free-wheeling individuals who tend to be unpredictable, do not take readily to any form of regimentation⁸, and are frequently charming.

(Charm is relatively⁹ rare among baboons.) Two researchers have described what they found during more than eight months spent among chimpanzees in their natural habitat the forest:"We were quite surprised to observe that there is no single distinct social unit in chimpanzee society. Not only is there no 'family' or 'harem' organization; neither is there a 'troop' organization - that is to say, no particular chimpanzees keep permanently¹⁰ together. On the contrary, individuals move about at will, alone or in small groups best described as bands, which sometimes form into large aggregations¹¹.

They leave their associates if they want to, and join up with new ones without conflict. " The general practice is best described as "easy come, easy go", although there are certain group-forming tendencies. As a rule himpanzees move about in one of four types of band: adult males only; mothers and offspring and occasionally a few other females; adults and adolescents of both sexes, but no mothers with young and representatives of all categories mixed together. The composition of bands may change a number of times during the course of a day as individuals wander off and groups split or combine with other groups. On the other hand, certain individuals prefer one another's company. One of the researchers observed that four males often roamed together over a four-month period, and mothers often associated with their older offsprings.

黑猩猩

黑猩猩最突出的一个特征是它们社会生活的灵活性，即缺乏固定的组织形式。 它的这一特征与狒狒的那种组织形态间的差别，在灵长动物中最为突出。 由此可见灵长类动物中适应性变化的多样性。 黑猩猩比狒狒更接近人类，或者说它与我们心愿的自我形象更为接近：自由自在，不落窠臼，不喜欢任何形式的约束并且往往魅力十足(在狒狒中魅力比较罕见)。 通过在黑猩猩的自然栖息地森林中对它们进行了 8 个月的观察，两名研究人员得出这样结论："我们注意到在黑猩猩的社会中似乎没有任何一种独立的社会基本单位，这一点令我们很吃惊。 它们不仅没有'家庭'或'妻妾'组织，也没有'团队'组织，也就是说黑猩猩没有固定地生活在一起。 相反，每只黑猩猩随意流动，或是独自一人，或是作为最好称之为团伙的一员。 团伙有时会与其它团伙合并成大的聚合体。 它们可以随意离开同伴，并与其它黑猩猩组成新的团伙而不会产生任何纠纷。"把黑猩猩这一总的特性称之为"来得容易去得快" 是最恰当不过了。 但它们也有一定的群体倾向性。 通常，黑猩猩群的构成有以下4 种：仅有成年雄性； 母猩猩及其子女而且偶尔有几只其它的雌性猩猩； 雄性和雌性的成年和未成年黑猩猩但不包括有子女的雌性黑猩猩； 以及各种类型混杂在一起。一天之中一个团伙的组成可能变化好几次，因为有的成员可能离开，而且群体可能会与其它群体合并。 另一方面，有些黑猩猩有自己喜欢的伙伴。 一名研究人员发现四只雄性黑猩猩在4 个月中常常共同游荡，还有母亲们常与她们较年长的子女们在一起。

1 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

2 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

3 baboon   

n.狒狒

参考例句：

• A baboon is a large monkey that lives in Africa.狒狒是一种生活在非洲的大猴子。
• As long as the baboon holds on to what it wants,it's trapped.只要狒狒紧抓住想要的东西不放手，它就会被牢牢困住。

4 primate   

n.灵长类（目）动物，首席主教；adj.首要的

参考例句：

• 14 percent of primate species are highly endangered.14%的灵长类物种处于高度濒危状态。
• The woolly spider monkey is the largest primate in the Americas.绒毛蛛猴是美洲最大的灵长类动物。

5 primates   

primate的复数

参考例句：

• Primates are alert, inquisitive animals. 灵长目动物是机灵、好奇的动物。
• Consciousness or cerebration has been said to have emerged in the evolution of higher primates. 据说意识或思考在较高级灵长类的进化中已出现。

6 baboons   

n.狒狒( baboon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Baboons could break branches and leaders. 狒狒会折断侧枝和顶梢。 来自辞典例句
• And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类，就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

7 jibe   

v.嘲笑，与...一致，使转向；n.嘲笑，嘲弄

参考例句：

• Perhaps I should withdraw my jibe about hot air.或许我应当收回对热火朝天的嘲笑。
• What he says does not jibe with what others say.他所说的与其他人说的不一致。

8 regimentation   

n.编组团队；系统化，组织化

参考例句：

• They don't want equality and regimentation.他们不要一律平等和严密的组织。
• Discipline without regimentation was Miss Bulstrode's motto.既注意纪律，又不造成一律化，这就是布尔斯特罗德小姐的座右铭。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

11 aggregations   

n.聚集( aggregation的名词复数 )；集成；集结；聚集体

参考例句：

• A pattern of overlapping aggregations is usually found. 通常可发现一种叠聚集现象。 来自辞典例句
• The atoms of the different chemical elements are different aggregations of atoms of the same kind. 不同化学元素的原子是同类原子的不同聚合物。 来自辞典例句