到今天，認爲人類是由猴子進化而來的理論基本成爲人們的認知，那麼，人類與猩猩有哪些相似之處呢?下面，我們一起去探討一下。
I know that humans and chimps share something like 98 percent of our DNA. But what does this really mean? At least on the surface, humans and chimps seem very different we live in houses, they live in trees. We use complex language, they use hoots and grunts.
我知道人類和猩猩有許多共同之處，比如我們有98%相同的DNA。但是，這究竟意味着什麼呢?至少從表面上看來，人類和猩猩大有不同，人類居住在房子裏，而猩猩卻居住在樹上;人類使用複雜的語言交流，而猩猩卻用尖叫聲和咕嚕聲進行交流。
Well, according to a slew of studies, humans and apes and monkeys are much more alike than they are different.
根據大量的研究顯示，人類、類人猿以及猴子之間的相似之處遠多於不同之處。
For example, one thing that seems to make us unique is our ability to think ahead and to be aware of what other people may be thinking. But chimps do this, too.
例如，一個使得我們看起來獨一無二的能力是，人類有能力事先考慮和意識到其他人的想法。但是，猩猩也有這樣的能力。
In zoos they’ve been seen collecting rocks to use as weapons, and hiding them under haystacks to fool their enemies. In one experiment, chimps that were able to see some hidden food could realize that other chimps were not aware of the food and used that information against them.
在動物園裏，他們會收集石塊作爲武器，而且會藏身在乾草垛裏來愚弄敵人。一項實驗發現猩猩能夠看到一些隱藏的食物，並且能發覺其他猩猩沒有發現這些食物，於是它會利用它所得到的信息來對付其它猩猩。
Another supposedly uniquely human trait is self awareness. But dolphins and elephants can recognize themselves in a mirror. And when it comes to memory, some apes are far better than humans at memorizing images and strings of numbers.
另一個被認爲是人類獨特特性的是——自我意識。但是海豚和大象也能夠認出在鏡中的自己。就記憶而言，一些猿類在記憶圖片和一串數字的時候遠比人類要強得多。
None of this means that monkeys and apes are the same as people. There are still important differences. While some apes can recognize that certain letter combinations form words, they still can’t read and understand what words mean. And the way apes and monkeys communicate is much simpler and more primitive than human language.
以上並不表明猴子、猿類跟人類是一樣的。他們之間仍存在着許多重要的不同。雖然一些猩猩能夠認出一些字母組成的單詞，但是他們不會讀也不能明白單詞的`意思。此外，猩猩和猴子交流的方式比人類語言更加簡單和原始。
附：學會精聽與泛聽
一、如何精聽?我不贊成無論聽什麼都在聽懂了後再根據錄音默寫一遍。至少不贊成聽每一篇聽力材料都聽寫。原因之一是聽力有時候更多注重 "量"。你沒有聽過的東西即使是漢語你也大概不會懂吧。我的建議是：挑選認爲典型的材料再聽寫。那麼精聽要精到什麼程度呢?聽一句複述一句，或者就跟着錄音一起讀。(當然是不能看着文本啦。)這樣效果不比聽寫差，所費時間要省得多。
二、如何泛聽?看電影是泛聽。聽實時廣播是泛聽，看電視是泛聽，儘可能接觸更多正常的原始音頻。你可以反反覆覆聽同一盒磁帶，直到興味索然。只要不停頓就是泛聽。泛聽過程中，你也可以將錄音就轉爲精聽。並沒有嚴格的界限。只是要記得，泛聽的目的是讓自己習慣正常的語速，或者說，習慣外國人的正常的交流是怎樣的。關注的是語速、連讀、略音等等只有連續說話纔會有的東西。
