智慧的鹦鹉(之二)

- She asks Alex the Parrot while holding up a large, purple key and a small, green key, "Can you tell me what's different?" he answers correctly: "color." Pepperberg continues, "What color is smaller?" and the parrot answers, "green."

Is the bird actually thinking, in the way that people do? Nobody can say -and there are many skeptics[1] - but the question is very tantalizing[2].

1. skeptics:这主要指人--怀疑者、持怀疑态度者。skeptical则是形容词，表示"怀疑的、惯于不相信的"，一般的用法是be skeptical of(about)，比如：I am rather skeptical about their professed sympathy for the poor. 我对他们公然宣称同情贫民表示相当怀疑。另外还有一个同根词：skepticism则是指"怀疑态度"。
2. tantalizing：逗引性的，挑逗性的，使倍尝可望不可及之苦的，比如：一个引人入胜的故事a tantalizing story，挑逗的微笑a tantalizing smile。tantalize则是它的动词原形，比如：He was tantalized by her beauty, but lacked the courage to speak to her.他被她的美貌弄得心荡神驰，可缺乏勇气向她表白。

Alex is not unique[3]. At 24, which is young for a parrot, he's being used to train younger colleagues.

3．unique：独一无二的，独特的。比如人类独有的能力（the unique human ability）是言语(speech)。在口语中它还表示"罕有的，极不寻常的，极好的"，比如"一个千载难逢的机会"，可以说成a unique opportunity。

"What Alex does is way beyond what anyone thought a parrot could do," says Pepperberg, "and that's really exciting, and we don't know the limits."

Once again, the line blurs[4] between humans and animals. The one remaining distinction, in the end, may be that humans are better at things, but it is still surprising what a bird with a walnut-sized brain can learn.

4．blurs：（使）界线、感觉、视线、形状模糊不清。这里是指人类与动物之间的界线（人类有言语能力）不再清晰可辨，因为it has turned out that dolphins make certain sounds for certain things and gorillas can learn sign language. （见"智慧的鹦鹉之一__与鹦鹉交谈"）这个词我们也会经常用到，比如：泪水模糊了我的视线--Tears blurred my vision. 大雾弥漫，群山隐隐--Mist blurred the hills. 当时的记忆已模糊不清了--My memory of that time is blurred.

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