题型：阅读理解 题类：常考题 难易度：普通
黑龙江省鹤岗市第一中学2018-2019学年高二上学期英语期末考试试卷（音频暂未更新）
A killer whale(虎鲸) that can copy words such as “hello” and “bye-bye” is thought to be the first of its kind to copy human speech.
The female killer whale learned to “speak” some human words by copying a trainer at a park in France. The animal's ability includes speaking the name “Amy” and “one, two, three”.
Whales and dolphins are among the few animals except humans that can learn to produce a sound just by hearing it. “It is not often seen,” said Dr Josep Call, a co-researcher on the study. “Humans are good at it…Interestingly, the animals that can do best are marine mammals(海洋哺乳动物).” The researchers start to find out whether killer whales could learn new words by copying others. They studied a female named Wikie at Marineland Aquarium in Antibes, France. She was taught to speak human words.
Dr Jose Abramson, a co-researcher on the study, said basic “conversations” with Wikie may one day be possible. He said,” It has been done before with a famous grey parrot and dolphins using American sign language(手势语).” However, he said they have to be careful about introducing human ideas on animals, as there is more to learn by trying to understand the natural way each kind communicates in its own environment. Wikie made sounds in water, which may be quite different.
Dr Alex Thornton, senior speaker at the University of Exeter, said they still don't fully understand why some animals learn to copy. Some animals copy sounds to attract possible partners, while others copy sounds to become a member of a group. “Some whales, for example, learn their calls from one another to mark them out as members of their social group,” said Dr Thornton, who doesn't join in the research.
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