蜜蜂很聪明，它们会数数，还能互相学习技能。最新的科学研究发现，蜜蜂还会做简单的加减法。
Honeybees can do simple math
by George Dvorsky
A new study suggests honeybees may understand the rudiments of addition and subtraction, a finding that highlights the remarkable cognitive abilities among even the tiniest of creatures.
suggest /səˈdʒest/ v. 提出、表明
honeybee /ˈhʌnibiː/ n. 蜜蜂（由honey和bee组成）
the rudiments /ˈruːdɪmənts/ 入门知识
addition /əˈdɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 加法
subtraction /səbˈtrækʃ(ə)n/ n. 减法
highlight /ˈhaɪlaɪt/ v. 突出、突显
remarkable /rɪˈmɑːkəb(ə)l/ adj. 不寻常的、引人注目的
cognitive /ˈkɒɡnətɪv/ adj. 认知的
tiny /ˈtaɪni/ adj. 微小的
Bees have shown their smarts in several other areas, demonstrating the ability to understand concepts like "same" and "different," counting, and to learn skills from other bees. With this in mind, scientists at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, devised an experiment to see if bees can process numbers in the form of addition and subtraction.
smarts /smɑːts/ n. 智力
demonstrate /ˈdemənstreɪt/ v. 展示
concept /ˈkɒnsept/ n. 概念
Melbourne /ˈmelbən/ n. 墨尔本（澳大利亚城市）
devise /dɪˈvaɪz/ v. 发明、想出
process /ˈprəʊses/ v. 处理
form /fɔːm/ n. 形式
For the experiment, honeybees were exposed to a simple Y-shaped maze, where one path led to a sweet treat in the form of sugar water (positive reinforcement) and the other path led to a bitter quinine solution (negative reinforcement).
be exposed to something 被放在某种环境下
-shaped /ʃeɪpt/ 后缀，意思是“具有某种形状”
maze /meɪz/ n. 迷宫
treat /triːt/ n. 乐事、喜欢的东西
positive /ˈpɒzətɪv/ adj. 正面的、正的
reinforcement /ˌriːɪnˈfɔːsmənt/ n. 强化（由reinforce加后缀-ment变成名词）
bitter /ˈbɪtə(r)/ adj. 苦的
quinine /ˈkwɪniːn/ n. 一种药物，音译为奎宁
solution /səˈluːʃ(ə)n/ n. 溶液
negative /ˈneɡətɪv/ adj. 负面的、负的
At the entrance to this maze, the bees were presented with a visual cue, or stimulus, consisting of anywhere from one to five shapes. The shapes were either blue or yellow, in which blue signified the need to add and yellow meant subtraction. These elements were changed randomly throughout the experiment.
present /prɪˈzent/ v. 呈现、展示
visual /ˈvɪʒuəl/ adj. 视觉的
cue /kjuː/ n. 信号
stimulus /ˈstɪmjuləs/ n. 刺激、刺激物
consist /kənˈsɪst/ of 由…组成
signify /ˈsɪɡnɪfaɪ/ v. 表示、意味着
element /ˈelɪmənt/ n. 元素、组成部分
randomly /ˈrændəmli/ adv. 随机地（由random加后缀-ly变成副词）
throughout /θruːˈaʊt/ prep. 从…的开始到结束
After observing the display at the entrance, the honeybees entered into a decision chamber, where they were simultaneously presented with two more visual elements. In some cases, the number of shapes matched the one at the entrance, and in other cases the number of shapes was either one more or one less than the display out front. To get the correct answer, and thus access the sugar water, the bees had to learn that blue meant adding one shape to the element, and yellow meant subtracting one.
observe /əbˈzɜːv/ v. 观察
chamber /ˈtʃeɪmbə(r)/ n. 室、腔
simultaneously /ˌsɪm(ə)lˈteɪniəsli/ adv. 同时地、同时发生地
match /mætʃ/ v. 匹配、跟…一致
out front 在前面（这里指之前看到的）
thus /ðʌs/ adv. 因此、从而
access /ˈækses/ v. 到达、使用
subtract /səbˈtrækt/ v. 减、减去
Sounds like a daunting task for a bee to learn, but they figured it out. After 100 learning trials, all 14 honeybees involved in the experiment learned what blue and yellow meant. The bees then appeared to use this acquired knowledge to do the required math inside the decision chamber to reach the reward.
daunting /ˈdɔːntɪŋ/ adj. 令人畏惧的、使人退缩的
task /tɑːsk/ n. 任务、工作任务
figure out 弄明白、解决
trial /ˈtraɪəl/ n. 试验、尝试（由try加后缀-al变成名词）
acquire /əˈkwaɪə(r)/ v. 获得
require /rɪˈkwaɪə(r)/ v. 需要、要求
The bees weren't perfect, failing about 20 to 30 percent of the time after training, but they "performed at a level that was significantly different from chance," the authors wrote in the study.
level /ˈlev(ə)l/ n. 水平、层次
significantly /sɪɡˈnɪfɪk(ə)ntli/ adv. 显著地（由significant加后缀-ly变成副词）
chance /tʃɑːns/ n. 巧合、碰巧
RMIT entomologist（昆虫学家） Adrian Dyer said that the study was "designed to formally test addition and subtraction," and that "a wide range of stimuli shapes and elements" were used to exclude other possible explanations. "We are very confident in the result," he said.
formally /ˈfɔːməli/ adv. 正式地（由formal加后缀-ly变成副词）
stimuli /ˈstɪmjʊlaɪ/ 是stimulus的复数
exclude /ɪkˈskluːd/ v. 排除在外
explanation /ˌekspləˈneɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 解释
confident /ˈkɒnfɪd(ə)nt/ adj. 有信心的
An exciting prospect, to be sure. But more work needs to be done to solidify the claim that honeybees can actually do arithmetic（算术）. There's little question that it'll be to our benefit to learn as much about these extraordinary insects as possible.
prospect /ˈprɒspekt/ n. 前景
to be sure = certainly
solidify /səˈlɪdɪfaɪ/ v. 巩固（由solid加后缀-ify变成动词）
claim /kleɪm/ n. 声称、声称的内容
insect /ˈɪnsekt/ n. 昆虫
（如果您使用的是火狐浏览器，可能会发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，这是简书系统的Bug，换成Chrome或其他浏览器就能正常显示了。）
网友评论