Dr Irene Pepperberg, a {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(science)at a university, has worked with Alex for many years.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(teach)Alex to speak and understand wasn't easy at first. He had to learn one word at a time. Irene and an assistant(助手)would teach Alex by {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(show)him the meaning of a word. Irene would hold up an object, saying, "What's this? "Her assistant would give the word "candy". It took Alex many weeks {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(learn)his first word. After that, each new {#blank#}5{#/blank#}became easier and easier for him. Why did Irene spend so much time {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(get)a parrot to talk? Scientists like Irene are interested {#blank#}7{#/blank#}discovering how intelligent animals are and how their brains work. But studying animal intelligence has always been difficult, partly because animals haven't been able to communicate {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(clear)with humans. Teaching Alex to speak words that he understands has let Irene {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(talk)to him directly. She can ask him questions, and he can answer them in English. In this way, Irene is finding {#blank#}10{#/blank#}things Alex can do. She has found out that parrots are much smarter than scientists used to think.