题型：阅读理解 题类：常考题 难易度：普通
江苏省海安市2020-2021学年高二上学期英语期中考试试卷
All animals play. Runing, rolling and wrestling with each other is a way for them to have fun, of course. But it also seems to be how they communicate and strengthen bonds with each other.
When a dog comes up to another dog, front legs bowed and his tail high, his buddy knows he wants to play. But new research shows that this play behavior is surprisingly similar when horses and dogs play.
To study interspecies communication, Elisabetta Palagi and her colleagues from the University of Pisa found 20 YouTube videos of dogs and horses playing where their interactions lasted at least 30 seconds. They analyzed the videos, looking for specific pattern of play.
They found that while playing, both dogs and horses often had relaxed, open mouths-which is common playful facial expression in mammals. Some also copied each other's movements, like pretending to bite, playing with an object, or rolling on their backs on the ground. A 2,000-pound horse can play with a relatively tiny dog because the two are able to communicate their intentions.
"It's an important study because it shows how two animals who look and behave so differently can nevertheless manage to negotiate how to play in a way that's comfortable for both," Barbara Smuts, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Michigan, told National Geographic.
It's even more noteworthy given the large size difference between horses and dogs. The dog is vulnerable (易受伤的) to injury by the horse, and the horse has a deeply rooted tendency to fear animals that look like wolves."
Next up, the researchers write, is exploring the development and shaping of interspecies communication that “can be at the basis of a universal language of play".
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