大学英语阅读与写作(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)

作者：薄锐利,李庆林

出版社：航空工业出版社

格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT

大学英语阅读与写作试读：

阅读理解是语言学习中最重要的技能之一，阅读是获取语言最直接、最有效的方法，阅读能力则是衡量掌握语言综合能力的一项重要标志。学习阅读，学会阅读，提高阅读能力，是最终掌握英语、提高整体英语水平的必由之路，是提高听、说、读、写、译能力的基础，阅读能力位于语言学习各项基本技能之首。1999年修订的《大学英语教学大纲》指出，大学英语教学的目的是培养学生具有较强阅读能力和一定的听、说、写、译能力，使他们能以英语为工具交流信息。大纲认为阅读能力是大部分大学生今后工作所需的主要技能，并把阅读列为第一层次的要求，强调在大学英语教学中应始终注重阅读能力的提高。《大学英语教学大纲》规定大学英语基础阶段（即大学英语四级水平）阅读能力的基本要求是：能顺利阅读语言难度中等的一般性题材的文章，掌握中心大意以及说明中心大意的事实和细节，并能进行一定的分析、推理和判断，领会作者的观点和态度，阅读速度达到每分钟70词；在阅读篇幅较长、难度略低、生词不超过总词数3%的材料时，能掌握中心大意，抓住主要事实和有关细节，阅读速度达到每分钟100词。

随着我国高等教育近几年的迅速发展和变化，为深化教学改革，提高教学质量，满足新时期国家对人才培养的需要，2004年教育部颁布了新的《大学英语课程教学要求（试行）》。新《大学英语课程教学要求（试行）》强调加强英语综合应用能力的培养，要求全面发展和提高学生的综合性应用能力。阅读能力的培养和提高仍然被列为第一层次的教学目标。阅读能力的提高在大学英语教学中仍然占重要的地位。2004年颁布的《大学英语课程教学要求（试行）》对阅读理解能力的要求是：能基本读懂一般性题材的英文文章，阅读速度达到每分钟70词；在快速阅读篇幅较长、难度略低的材料时，阅读速度达到每分钟100词；能基本读懂国内英文报刊，掌握中心意思，理解主要事实和有关细节；能读懂工作、生活中常见的应用文体的材料。

大纲要求的大学英语基础阶段的阅读理解文章题材广泛，包括人物传记、社会、文化、日常知识和科普知识等，一般的四级考试试题都集中在社会文化、经济生活和科普知识三个方面。体裁多为议论文、说明文等，偶尔出现记叙文的文体。为提高阅读能力，学生应有计划、有目的地进行大量的阅读实践。通过大量的阅读，建立良好的语感，掌握正确的阅读方法，提高阅读技能。同时，还应有意识地扩大阅读面，多看有关英、美等国社会文化背景方面的材料和科普读物。

在阅读中，困扰学生最大的往往是阅读速度的问题，这也是四级阅读理解得高分的关键。要提高阅读速度，必须从平时就养成良好的阅读习惯，努力克服阅读过程中一些不好的习惯性做法。有的学生习惯译读，即在阅读过程中，不断地进行逐字逐句的翻译，通过翻译成母语来帮助理解。还有的学生习惯轻声或无声的逐字阅读。朗读是加强语感、提高语言应用能力的有效途径，但在阅读理解中，无声的“朗读”就会大大减慢阅读速度，无法在有限的时间里完成阅读任务。另一种常见的习惯性做法是重复阅读。由于精力不集中或遇到单词障碍，有的学生往往就文中个别字词或句子来回读几遍，越读越急，越急越弄不懂含义。这就要求我们在平时的阅读中不要过分依赖字典，一遇到生词就查字典，而要尽量通过分析构词法和上下文猜测词义。在平常的训练中，要尝试精读、泛读搭配，快慢结合的练习，尽力扩展视幅（eye span ），即单位时间进入眼睛的阅读量。不是逐词阅读，而是按意群扫视、连贯阅读；不是拘泥于个别词句的理解，而是力求融会贯通、掌握通篇的中心思想；不是通过翻译来理解，而是使英文在大脑里直接产生意义。在平时的训练中，要把握好测试的时间，根据自己目前的阅读速度，设定阅读一篇文章的时间限制，并逐步提高阅读速度。在考试中，考生必须保持平和的心态，全神贯注，学会抵抗各种干扰，避免由于分神造成的重复阅读而影响阅读速度。

考生阅读理解的分数不高，除了阅读速度问题之外，还有其他一些消极因素影响：1．对生词有畏惧心理；2．缺乏对语言的整体把握；3．综合概括能力不够；4．不熟悉题型、命题形式和解题方法；5．在个别题项上耗时太多。

备考四级考试阅读理解过程中，应注意以下复习要点：1．全面掌握基本语法点，掌握常用习惯用法和词组；2．注意在阅读中，在语篇层次上培养语感，提高准确率；3．练习时应逐步培养快速阅读的能力，在单位时间内限定阅读量，循序渐进，提高阅读速度；4．研究以往考试试题，多做练习，熟悉不同题型的做题思路和技巧。第二节 大学英语四级考试新题型简介

全国大学英语四级考试（College English Test Band 4， 简称CET—4）是由国家教育部组织的一项大规模标准化考试，自1987年9月首次举行以来，一直受到各级教育主管部门和各高校的高度重视，参加考试的人数从最初的每年10 万人左右上升到现在的每年数百万人。为进一步深化大学英语课程教学改革，提高大学英语的教学质量，2006年12月，大学英语在全国全面实施新题型四级考试。新的四级考试总分为710分，题型由四部分构成：听力理解、阅读理解、综合测试和写作测试。听力理解部分的分值占总分的35%，其中听力对话占总分的15%，听力短文占总分的20%。听力对话部分包括短对话和长对话的听力理解；听力短文部分包括短文听写和选择题型的短文理解；听力题材选用对话、讲座、广播电视节目等材料。阅读理解部分占总分值的35%，其中仔细阅读部分（reading in depth）占总分的25%，快速阅读部分（skimming and scanning）占总分的10%。阅读理解部分包含3个题型：快速阅读理解、篇章词汇理解（或称选词填空）和传统的篇章阅读理解。综合测试占总分的15%，由两部分组成：第一部分为完形填空或改错，占总分的10%；第二部分为短句问答或翻译，占总分的5%。写作测试的分值比例为15%，体裁包括议论文、说明文、应用文等。

CET-4新题型考试时间为125分钟。答题顺序分为6个部分：写作测试、快速阅读理解、听力理解、仔细阅读理解、综合测试。考试的前30分钟写作文，30分钟后，监考员发试题册，学生用15分钟做完快速阅读理解部分，然后，即考试进行45分钟后，监考员收上写有作文和快速阅读的答题卡1。接下来进行听力部分的测试，测试时间为35分钟。然后是仔细阅读部分，用时25分钟。剩下的20分钟完成试卷的其他部分，自听力部分开始，答案均写在答题卡2上。

CET-4新题型采用新的记分体制，不设及格线，取消证书，改发成绩报告单。报告的总分满分为710分，各单项分之和等于总分。对总分在220分以上（含220分）的考生发放成绩报告单，总分在220分以下者（包括缺考者和作弊违纪者），其单项分和总分均记为0分，不发成绩报告单。

CET-4记分体制改革后，不设固定的六级报考资格线。考委会将根据前一次四级考试的总体情况，在420-480分区间确定一个分值，作为当次报考六级的资格。大学英语四、六级考试委员会根据2006年6月的考试结果，确定425分（含425分）并修完大学英语六级为报考2006年12月大学英语六级考试（CET-6）的报名资格，确定2006年6月CET-4成绩为550分（含550分）为报考2006年11月的大学英语四级考试口语考试的报名资格。第三节 阅读理解新题型介绍

新题型的阅读理解测试分快速阅读（skimming and scanning）和仔细阅读（reading in depth）两个部分，分值分别占10%和25%。题型共有3种：快速阅读理解、篇章词汇理解（或称选词填空）和传统的篇章阅读理解。新题型与旧题型相比，形式更加多样，对阅读速度控制更加严格，并且考查的范围更加广泛，题量也略有增加，旧题型中的4篇阅读短文现改为一篇较长的快速阅读短文、一篇留有10个空缺的短文和2篇传统的篇章阅读短文，后两篇的篇幅与旧题型的短文篇幅相似。

一、快速阅读

快速阅读是四级考试改革后新出现的一种阅读题型。它要求在15分钟内阅读一篇1200词左右的文章，完成10道题。快速阅读的10个题目中，前7道为正误判断题，答题形式为在[Y ]、 [N ]、 [N G ]中选其一。Y（Yes）表示与文章内容相符，N（No）表示与文章内容相悖，NG（Not Given）表示文中未提及。后3道为填空题或其他形式的题目，一般要求根据文章填入恰当的词语，把3个句子补充完整。快速阅读部分测试考生的速读能力，考查学生判断识别文章所提供信息的能力。

二、篇章词汇阅读（或称选词填空）

此题型也是新四级考试增加的新题型。其考查方式为：从一篇250词左右的文章中留出10个空格，从给出的15个备选单词中选出10个填入文中相应的位置，每个单词只能使用一次，且不需要改变单词的词性。这部分主要考查考生的词汇水平和阅读理解能力。

三、篇章阅读理解

此题型与旧题型的阅读理解在形式上完全一样，只是由原来的4篇文章20道题目变为2篇文章10道题目。每篇文章篇幅都在300词左右，每篇文后提出5个问题，根据文章内容，在A、B、C、D 4个选项中选出一个最佳答案。第二章 快速阅读理解（Skimming and Scanning）第一节 阅读方法与策略

快速阅读在四级考试新题型中处于第二部分，紧随写作之后。考生用30分钟完成作文考试之后，监考员才发试题册，考生要在15分钟内阅读一篇1200词左右的文章，完成10道题。快速阅读试题由两部分组成。前7题为判断正误题，题目在试题册上，而选择项在答题卡1上，要求在答题卡1上答题。如果题中叙述与文章内容一致，在[Y]上画一条横线；如果题中叙述与文章内容相反，在[N]上画线；如果题中叙述文章未提及，在[NG]上画线。后3题为填空题，试题与解答均在答题卡1上。快速阅读理解的篇幅较长，题材多样，一般都有标题，并常有若干个副标题，以便考生在短时间内查阅文章内容。

由于快速阅读理解的文章篇幅较长，很多考生心理上会产生畏难情绪，感觉无从下手。但是，我们不必感到恐惧，而应调整心态、沉着应战。因为快速阅读主要考查的是考生的阅读速度，文章一般不会很难，语言结构也较简单。但解答快速阅读需要一定的技巧和策略，只要掌握了正确的阅读方法和熟练的解题技巧，就可以提高阅读的速度和效率。而做好这种题，关键在于要学会Skimming（浏览法）和Scanning（查阅法）这两种基本的阅读技巧。

一、浏览阅读法（Skimming）

浏览阅读又称跳读（reading and skipping），是指以尽可能快的速度浏览全文，有选择地获取文章的大意与信息，某些部分可以跳过不读。浏览阅读的速度通常是普通阅读速度的2倍，理解的准确率不应低于60%。

浏览阅读的重点是抓住主题句（topic sentence）和一些重要的细节。抓住主题句就等于抓住了段落大意。主题句多见于每段的起首，有时出现于段尾或段中。除了主题句，还要注意转折词和序列词，如：however， moreover， first， finally等，把握文章的整体逻辑。常用的逻辑关系的连接词有：

顺序：first， second， third， in addition， at last， finally；

因果：because， therefore， as a result， consequently， since；

转折：however， but， although， on the contrary， on the other hand；

举例：for example， for instance

二、查读（Scanning）

查读也称扫描式阅读，是指快速扫视文章，查找某一具体事实或某一特定信息，与所查信息无关的内容可一掠而过。查读有一定的目的性，是带着问题寻找答案的阅读方法。例如，查找时刻表、节目表、各种手册、索引等都可以运用查读法。

查读时，我们首先要了解需要回答的问题。可先在问题中找出关键词语，然后到文章中迅速扫描，以确定答案可能所在的区域，最后将文章中与之相应的部分找出，确定正确答案。查读时，应特别注意题目中体现的所查信息的特点，如：问题或填空的句子中涉及人名、地名，就要寻找首字母大写的单词；有关日期、数目的问题，则主要查找具体数字；有关某个事件、观点等，就要寻找与此相关的关键词，而与所查信息无关的内容可一掠而过，以节省大量的时间。

快速阅读理解的题目，大都属于主旨题和细节题。主旨类试题的目的在于考查学生对文章的主题、中心思想的理解和区别主要信息和次要信息的能力。所谓主旨是作者在文章中要表达的主要内容，是贯穿全文的核心。其表现形式因体裁和论证方式的不同而有所不同。作者在文章中努力通过各种细节来阐明文章的中心。因此，把握主要思想对于全文理解具有重要意义，主旨题也就成了阅读理解考查必要内容。

在文章中，作者总是要通过许多具体内容（details）来说明、解释、证明或分析文章的主题思想。在四级阅读理解测试中，尤其是快速阅读部分，细节题占的比重是最大的。一般来说，阅读理解测试中要求找出主要事实或特定细节的问题，在文章中均可找到回答，但有的问题的表达常常不是文章中的原话，而是使用同义的词语来提问。因此，在回答此类问题时，首先要认真审题，看清问题提问的究竟是什么。然后，根据所涉及到的问题，快速扫视到文章中相应的部分，找到与答题内容相关的关键词或短语。有一点必须牢记：每一题都必须能在原文中找到出处，也就是能够证明该题正确答案的依据，切勿脱离文中内容而根据自己的主观想象或其他来源地知识来猜测答案。

快速阅读部分文章篇幅较长，没有时间反复读文章，只有经过大量有意识的练习，掌握浏览阅读和查读法，培养快速阅读的能力，才能有效地应对该部分的测试，取得满意的成绩。要培养良好的阅读习惯，阅读的目的是获取知识和信息，了解他人对有关问题的态度和看法，所以阅读时我们应培养对知识和信息自觉地敏锐感，能正确分辨文章中哪些是作者的观点，哪些是事实和论据。第二节 例文分析

一、考试样题

Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension（Skimming and Scanning）（15 minutes）

Directions： In this part， you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1．

For questions 1-7， mark

Y（for YES）if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage；

N（for NO）if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage；

NG（for NOT GIVEN）if the information is not given in the passage．

For questions 8-10， complete the sentences with the information given in the passage．

Landfills

You have just finished your meal at a fast food restaurant and you throw your uneaten food， food wrappers， drink cups， utensils and napkins into the trash can．You don’t think about that waste again．On trash pickup day in your neighborhood， you push your can out to the curb， and workers dump the contents into a big truck and haul it away．You don’t have to think about that waste again， either．But maybe you have wondered， as you watch the trash truck pull away， just where that garbage ends up．

Americans generate trash at an astonishing rate of four pounds per day per person， which translates to 600，000 tons per day or 210 million tons per year！ This is almost twice as much trash per person as most other major countries．What happens to this trash？ Some get recycles（回收利用）or recovered and some is burned， but the majority is buried in landfills．

How Much Trash is Generated？

Of the 210 million tons of trash， or solid waste， generated in the United States annually， about 56 million tons， or 27 percent， is either recycled（glass， paper products， plastic， metals）or composted（做成肥料）（yard waste）．The remaining trash， which is mostly un-recyclable， is discarded．

How is Trash Disposed of？

The trash production in the United States has almost tripled since 1960．This trash is handled in various ways．About 27 percent of the trash is recycled or composted， 16 percent is burned and 57 percent is buried in landfills．The amount of trash buried in landfills has doubled since 1960．The United States ranks somewhere in the middle of the major countries（the United Kingdom， Canada， Germany， France and Japan）in landfill disposal．The United Kingdom ranks highest， burying about 90 percent of its solid waste in landfills．

What is a Landfill？

There are two ways to bury trash：

Dump — an open hole in the ground where trash is buried and that is full of various animals（rats， mice， birds）．（This is most people’s ideas of a landfill！）

Landfill — carefully designed structure build into or on top of the ground in which trash is isolated from the surrounding environment（groundwater， air， rain）．This isolation is accomplished with a bottom liner and daily covering of soil．

Sanitary Landfill — landfill that uses a clay liner to isolate the trash from the environment．

Municipal solid waste（MSW）landfill — landfill that uses a synthetic（plastic）liner to isolate the trash from the environment．

The purpose of a landfill is to bury the trash in such a way that it will be isolated from groundwater， will be kept dry and will not be in contact with air．Under these conditions， trash will not decompose（腐烂）much．A landfill is not like a compost pile， where the purpose is to bury trash in such a way that it will decompose quickly．

Proposing the Landfill

For a landfill to be built， the operators have to make sure that they follow certain steps．In most parts of the world， there are regulations that govern where a landfill can be placed and how it can operate．The whole process begins with someone proposing the landfill．

In the United States， taking care of trash and building landfills are local government responsibilities．Before a city or other authority can build a landfill， an environment impact study must be done on the proposed site to determine：

· the area of land necessary for the landfill

· the composition of the underlying soil and bedrock

· the flow of surface water over the site

· the impact of the proposed landfill on the local environment and wild life

· the historical value of the proposed site

Building the landfill

Once the environment impact study is complete， the permits are granted and the funds have been raised， then construction begins．First， access roads to the landfill site must be built if they do not already exist．These roads will be used by construction equipment， sanitation（环卫）services and the general public．After roads have been built， digging can begin．In the North Wake County Landfill， the landfill began 10 feet below the road surface．

What Happens to Trash in a Landfill？

Trash put in a landfill will stay there for a very long time．Inside a landfill， there is little oxygen and little moisture．Under these conditions， trash doesn’t break down very rapidly．In fact， when old landfills have been dug up or sampled， 40-year-old newspapers have been found with easily readable print．Landfills are not designed to break down trash， merely to bury it．When a landfill closes， the site， especially the groundwater， must be monitored and maintained for up to 30 years！

How is a Landfill Operated？

A landfill， such as the North Wake County Landfill， must be open and available every day．Customers are typically municipalities and constructions companies， although residents may also use the landfill．

Near the entrance of the landfill is a recycling center where residents can drop off recyclable materials（aluminum cans， glass bottles， newspapers and paper products）．This helps to reduce the amount of material in the landfill．Some of these materials are banned from landfills by law because they can be recycled．

As customers enter the site， their trucks are weighed at the scale house．Customers are charged tipping fees for using the site．The tipping fees vary from $10 to $40 per ton．These fees are used to pay for using the site．The North Wake County Landfill has an operating budget of approximately $4．5 million， and part of that comes from tipping fees．

Along the site， there are drop-off stations for materials that are not wanted or legally banned by the landfill．A multi-material drop-off station is used for tires， motor oil， and lead-acid batteries．Some of these materials can be recycled．

In addition， there is a household hazardous waste drop-off station for chemicals（paints， pesticides， other chemicals）that are banned from the landfill．These chemicals are disposed of by private companies．Some paints can be recycled and some organic chemicals can be burned in furnace or power plants．

Other structures alongside the landfill are the borrowed area that supplies the soil for the landfill， the runoff collections pond and methane（甲烷）station．

Landfills are complicated structures that， when properly designed and managed， serve an important purpose．In the future， new technologies called bioreactors will be used to speed the breakdown of trash in landfills and produce more methane．

1．The passage gives a general description of the use of a landfill．

2．Most of the trash that Americans generate ends in landfills．

3．Compared with other major industrialized countries， America buries a much higher percentage of its solid waste in landfills．

4．Landfills are like compost piles in that they speed up decomposition of the buried trash．

5．In most other countries the selection of a landfill site is governed by rules and regulations．

6．In the United States the building of landfills is the job of both federal and local governments．

7．Hazardous wastes have to be treated before being dumped into landfills．

8．Typical customers of a landfill are ________．

9．To dispose a ton of trash in a landfill， customers have to pay a tipping fee of ________．

10．Materials that are not permitted to be buried in landfills should be dumped at ________．

二、样题分析

本文标题是Landfills，文中有几个小标题。如果对landfill一词感到陌生，不必担心，因为小标题What is a Landfill？清晰地提醒在此段落有详细的解释。通过各个段落标题可以看出本文是关于废品的处理和回收的。

1．Y  主旨题。整篇文章的内容讲的就是landfill的构成和使用。故为正确。

2．Y  细节题。从文章第二段末句：Some get recycled or recovered and some is buried in landfills．可知本题符合原文。

3．N  细节题。由bury一词可定位第四段末句：The United States ranks somewhere in the middle of the major countries（United Kingdom， Canada， Germany， France and Japan）in landfill disposal．The United Kingdom ranks highest， burying about 90 percent of its solid waste in landfills．可知此题与文章内容相反，此题错误。

4．N  细节题。对于有些考生，compost一词可能比较陌生。但即使不知词义，只要对照副标题What is a landfill？段落中句子A landfill is not like a compost pile， where the purpose is to bury trash in such a way that it will decompose quickly．即可得知此题与文意相反。同时，compost 还可帮助考生迅速找到答案在文中的位置。

5．Y  细节题。这句话的关键词是is governed by，而且这句话涉及的内容是对于landfill的管理，故答案应在副标题 Proposing the Landfill 段落。从句子：In most parts of the world， there are regulations that govern where a landfill can be placed and how it can operate．可知此题符合文意。

6．N  细节题。看到句中的building landfills，考生容易把答案定位在Building the landfill段落中。但快速扫读后发现没有相关内容，这时应根据关键词定位building landfills，从第5题答案位置继续向下找，就会发现Proposing the Landfill 段落中In the United States， taking care of trash and building landfills are local government responsibilities．一句并未提到federal government。故此题错误。

7．NG  细节题。由Hazardous waste定位文章倒数第三段：In addition， there is a household hazardous waste drop-off station for chemicals（paints， pesticides， other chemicals）that are banned from the landfill．并未提及是否事先处理。

8．municipalities and constructions companies

细节题。由customers定位副标题How is a Landfill Operated？首段句子：Customers are typically municipalities and constructions companies， although residents may also use the landfill．可知答案。

9．$10 to $40

细节题。由a tipping fee扫读定位副标题How is a Landfill Operated？第三段句子：The tipping fees vary from $10 to $40 per ton．

10．drop-off stations

细节题。见副标题How is a Landfill Operated？部分第四段首句：Along the site， there are drop-off stations for materials that are not wanted or legally banned by the landfill．

三、题型分析

快速阅读题目一共有10个，前7个为是非判断题，每道题有三个答案可选。

分别为Y，N，NG。通过样卷我们发现，前7道题的设置有一定特点，即题目总体分两类：主旨题和细节题。样卷中有一道主旨题，其余均为细节题。通过样题分析，我们发现，这三个选项有一定特点：

1）Yes的几种情况：

题目为原文的同义转化（同义词替换或者近义词替换）；

题目为原文的某一部分的归纳或总结推断。

2）No的几种情况：

① 题目与原文意思相反（not， little， never， seldom， few等否定前缀）；

② 题目使用了与原文不一致的频率词、范围词和可能性词，如always变为sometimes， all变为many， unlikely变为impossibly。

③ 原文中含有appear， feel， it is predicated，强调主观臆断或一种感觉，而题目中却用prove， fact， reality等词强调为事实。

④ 原文为多个条件，题目中减少了条件或无条件。

3）Not Given的几种情况：

① 找不到依据，不知是对是错。

② 有个别关键词，但是题目的内容与文章无关，无法判断对错。

③ 原文为原级，题目却是比较级，无法判断对错。第三节 单项训练

一、Passage 1

Animal Language

Some people say that human beings are the only animals that have language．Is this true？ It is a very difficult question to answer．A person must have a good definition of “language”．Different kinds of animals must be studied．Some animals certainly seem to have a communication system．That system may or may not be a language．For example， the bee has ways of telling other bees about food．The dolphin， a kind of fish， has ways of giving information to other dolphins．The monkey， an animal that is similar to humans in many ways， can use a human language system．Does this mean animals have language？ We will study each of these animals to try to answer this question．

BEES

Bees do two kinds of dances to tell other bees of their discovery of food．First， there is a round dance．In this dance， the bee moves in a circle inside the hive．The round dance is used when food is close by．The food must not be more than ten meters away．If a bee comes back and does a round dance， other bees know they must go out and look nearby for food．The bees also smell the bee that has found the food．The smell tells them what kind of flower to look for．After watching the round dance and smelling the bee that has found the food， the other bees can find the food source．

A second kind of dance done by the bees is a tail-wagging dance．In this dance， the bee wiggles the end of its body as it moves in a straight line．The tail-wagging dance is used when the food is more than ten meters away．The bees know from the speed of the tail-wagging dance just how far away the food source is．The line the bee dances on shows the direction that the bees must fly in to find the food．In the tail-wagging dance， the bees also smell the bee that has found the food．The smell tells them what kind of flower to look for．After watching the tail-waging dance and smelling the bee that has found the food， the other bees know three things．They know how far to fly， what direction to fly in， and what kinds of flowers to look for．

The bees’ communication system is extremely interesting．Each bee can tell all the other bees where to look for food．The bees can also tell one another if the food is especially good and how much of it there is．Karl Von Frisch did an experiment with bees．He put a food source very high above the bee hive， and put a bee into the food．The bee returned to the hive and did the round dance， but none of the other bees could find the food．This suggests that bees do not really have a language．One bee could not tell the other bees the height of the food．One bee could not communicate this new information to the others．

DOLPHINS

Dolphins， like bees， have been studied to see if they have a language．Although scientists have not studied the dolphin as carefully as they have studied the bee， they have made interesting discoveries．Many observations have been made．A few experiments with dolphins have been done．The dolphin has been studied because its general behavior is much like that of humans．For communication， however， the dolphin’s system is much more limited than a person’s．The dolphin has three kinds of calls or noises to tell other dolphins about food， danger， or other things．

MONKEYS

·Monkey Viki

It seems that bees and dolphins communicate， but that they do not have language．It is much more difficult to decide whether monkeys have language．Monkeys are very intelligent and similar to humans．Because of this similarity， some scientists in the late 1940’s tried to teach a monkey named Viki to talk．

After a year， Viki could only say a few words．Part of the problem with this experiment is that monkeys do not have the same kind of mouth and throat as humans．They are not really able to make human speech sounds．As a result， the experiment with Viki did not work well．

·Monkey Washoe

In the mid-1960’s， other scientists tried to teach a monkey named Washoe to use a sign language．In a sign language， words are not spoken．Instead， signs are made with the hands．Many people who cannot speak or hear use this sign language．It seemed to be a better kind of language to teach to a monkey．After two years， Washoe could make thirty-four signs with her hands．For example， she could also do two other things．First， she combined signs to make sentences．Second， she used one sign for all things of one kind， generalizing her use of the sign．The ability to combine and to generalize is important in language use．

·Monkey Lana

A third group of scientists have been working with a monkey

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