鸟脑袋聪明？！
THE BETTER BIRDBRAIN

New Caledonia, off northeast Australia, is home to some smart crows. While humans, chimpanzees and some other animals have used tools, the crows in this case showed greater sophistication than any birds heretofore observed.

*crow：乌鸦。
*chimpanzee：黑猩猩。这一类的动物还有：monkey(猴子)，orang(猩猩)，gorilla(大猩猩)。
*sophistication：老练，富于经验。比如：a sophistication in design（设计技巧的高超）。文中说，当人类、黑猩猩和其他动物已经使用工具时，乌鸦在这方面也显露出比其他鸟类超长的能力。
*heretofore：迄今为止，直到此时。比如：I tell you now what we have heretofore kept secret from you.（我现在把我们迄今瞒着你们的事告诉你们。）

The creatures used twigs or leaves to make tools for snagging insects, worms and other things. These leaves and twigs were modified by the birds for use in holes and crevices. Gavin R. Hunt, an ecologist of Massey University in New Zealand, related in the Nature issue of January 18, 1996 an account of his watching the bird's tool-use and tool-making.

*twig：嫩枝，小枝，末梢。
*snagging：绊住，绞缠。乌鸦用小树枝或树叶做成捕猎的工具。
*crevice：（墙壁、岩石等的）裂缝。
*account：这里是“描述；书面或口头报告”的意思。比如：Give us an account of what happened.（把事情发生的经过告诉我们。）“Account”有丰富的含义，比如你的银行帐户就叫“bank account”。

Pigeons may not be as stupid as they look, either. The September New Scientist featured a letters page of reports from riders of the London subway who observed pigeons getting on, riding, and getting off the cars with an apparent sense of purpose--and of their destination.

*apparent：显然的，明白的。文中说，在伦敦地铁里有人看到鸽子搭乘地铁，而且明显带有目的性。