Ever wondered if dogs can learn new words? Yes, say researchers as they have found that talented dogs may have the ability to learn new words after hearing them only four times.
While previous evidence(以前的证据)seems to show that most dogs do not learn words, unless very well trained, a few individuals(个体) have shown some extraordinary(不一般的) abilities, according to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports.
“We wanted to know under which conditions the talented dogs may learn new words,” said researcher xuekw Claudia Fugazza from the Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary(匈牙利). For the study, the team involved(包含)two gifted dogs, Whisky and Vicky Nina. The team exposed(暴露)the dogs to the new words in two different conditions.
In the exclusion-based(基于排除的)task, presented with seven known toys and one new toy, the dogs were able to select(选择)the new toy when presented with a new name. Researchers say this proves that dogs can choose by exclusion(排除)when faced with a new word, they selected the only toy which did not have a known name.
However, this was not the way they would learn the name of the toy. In fact, when they were presented with one more equally(同等地)new name to test their ability to recognize the toy by its name, the dogs got totally confused and failed.
The other condition, the social one, where the dogs played with their owners who pronounced the name of the toy while playing with the dog, proved to be the successful way to learn the name of the toy, even after hearing it only 4 times. “The rapid learning that we observed seems to equal children’s ability to learn many new words at a fast velocity around the age of 18 months,” Fugazza says. “But we do not know whether the learning mechanisms(机制)behind this learning are the same for humans and dogs. ”
To test whether most dogs would learn words this way, 20 other dogs were tested in the same condition, but none of them showed any evidence of learning the toy names, confirming(确认)that the ability to learn words rapidly in the absence(缺乏)of formal training is very rare(少) and is only present in a few talented dogs.
8. What was the purpose of the study published in Scientific Reports?
A.To better train dogs’ ability to learn new words. |
B.To further make sure of previous evidence about dogs. |
C.To confirm the dogs can learn words. |
D.To find out suitable conditions for gifted dogs’ new-word learning. |
9. How did the dogs react(反应) when exposed to two new names in the first condition?
A.Slow to understand. | B.Quick to learn. |
C.In puzzlement. | D.In surprise. |
10. What was found about dogs’ new-word learning in the social condition?
A.Learning through playing applied to most dogs. |
B.The social condition helped dogs learn new words. |
C.Dogs’ new-word learning turned out to be less effective. |
D.Dogs shared similar learning mechanisms with children. |
11. The underlined word “
velocity” has the same meaning as ________ .
A.speed | B.quality |
C.time | D.journey |