原文已被隐藏，你可用 快捷键 - 或点击 显示原文 按钮来查看原文
第一段
1 .Listen to part of a lecture in a psychology class.
听一段物心理上的演讲
第二段
1 .We've been talking about animal cognition - the study of animal intelligence.
我们要讨论动物的认知能力--对动物的智力的研究。
2 .Now, much of the research in this area is motivated by the search for animal analogues, or parallels to human cognitive processes.
当今，该领域的很多研究是或是出于寻找哺乳动物的类似物的动机，或者研究是平行于人类认知进程的
3 .And one of the processes we've been investigating is metacognition.
。但是，我们所调查的进程是一种元认知。
第三段
1 .What is metacognition? Well, it's being aware of what one knows or feels, uh, um... having an awareness of one's state of mind.
什么是元认知？嗯，这是一种意识，一种知道一个人都知道了什么，有什么样的感觉的意识，呃，呃。。
2 .And making decisions about behavior based on what one knows.
能够了解一个人的精神状态。然后基于这些了解作出进一步的行动决定。
3 .Researchers have long been interested in whether animals possess this capability, but... but couldn't test it because animals aren't able to report their feelings.
研究人员们对于动物是否具有这种能力已经产生了很长时间的兴趣，但是。。。但是研究人员无法测试出来，因为动物不会报告它们的各种感觉。
第四段
1 .But recently one group of researchers found a way to solve this problem.
但是最近一个调查小组找到了解决这个问题的方法。
2 .They did studies with... with monkeys and dolphins that provide evidence that these animals have the ability to feel uncertainty, to feel unsure about something and... and... well, to know that they are uncertain.
它们通过对猴子和海豚的研究提供了证据证明这些动物具备感知一些它们也不确定的东西的能力。
第五段
1 .So how could these researchers figure out if an animal feels uncertainty.
所以这些研究人员是怎样弄清楚动物是否能够感知不确定因素的呢？
2 .Well, it began with a study one of them did on a dolphin, who had been trained to recognize a particular high-pitched tone.
好吧，他们通过对一只海豚的研究开始有了发现，这是海豚已经被训练的能够识别特殊的高音。
3 .The dolphin was taught to press one of two paddles depending on whether it heard the high tone or one that was lower.
这只海豚学会了根据听到的是高音还是低一些的音调而按压不同的两个桨中一个
4 .Food was a reward for a correct response.
食物就是对于回答正确的奖励。
5 .But if the wrong paddle was pressed, the dolphin had to wait several seconds before it could try again.
但如果按压了错误的桨，海豚在再一次选择之前就不得不等几秒。
6 .The task varied in difficulty according to the pitch of the second tone.
任务的难度变化取决于第二个音调的音高。
7 .The closer it came in pitch to the first one, the harder it became for the dolphin to correctly identify it as low.
二个音的音高越接近第一个音，对于海豚正确的判断出哪个音低就越困难。
8 .And the researcher noted that the dolphin was quite eager to press the paddle when it was sure of the answer, but exhibited hesitation during difficult trials.
同时研究者注意到当海豚对于答案十分确定的时候，他会非常渴望去按桨，但是如果识别有些困难他就会显示出犹豫不决。
第六段
1 .Next the researcher introduced a third option, a third paddle that would initiate a new trial, giving the dolphin the choice of passing on difficult trials.
接下来研究者给海豚了第三个选择，第三个桨意味着一种新的实验，它给了海豚一个可以跳过较为困难的测试的选择。
2 .Once the dolphin figured out the result of pressing this new paddle, it did choose it frequently when the trial was difficult.
一旦海豚知道了按这个新桨的结果，当它遇到比较困难的测试时它会非常频繁的选择新桨。
3 .The researcher took that as an indication that the animal wanted to pass because it didn't know the answer and knew it didn't know.
研究人员认为这是一种暗示，说明动物想要跳过因为他不知道答案，或者他不知道答案。
第七段
1 .But there was a problem.
但是又出现了一个问题。
2 .Other researchers protested that the... the opt-out response was simply a learned or conditioned response.
有一些研究人员反对，他们认为这种退出的反应只是一个学习或条件反应。
3 .You remember intro to psychology, right?
大家还记得介绍心理学，对吧？
4 .In other words, by pressing the pass paddle, the dolphin avoided having to wait and hasten the possibility of a full reward by moving directly to the next trial.
换句话说，通过按“跳过”桨，海豚能够避免等待或者增加得到奖励的可能性，因为这样直接进入下一轮测试
5 .So the experiment didn't necessarily indicate that the dolphin had knowledge of its own uncertainty, just that it wanted to avoid negative consequences.
所以，这个实验并不能证明海豚能够知晓他自己的不确定，这只是他想避免消极后果。
第八段
1 .So more recently, our researcher and his colleagues devised a new study, this time using monkeys.
所以最近，我们的研究人员以及他们的同事进行了一个新的实验，这次他们利用的是猴子。
2 .In this experiment, the monkeys had to identify certain patterns displayed on a computer screen.
在此次实验中，猴子必须识别出电脑屏幕上出现的图案
3 .These patterns were analogous to the tones used in the dolphin study.
这些图案和海豚实验中的音调的作用是一样的。
4 .One type of pattern was of a specific density and was to be classified as dense, while the second type of pattern could vary in density, but was always less dense than the first one.
。每种图案都有特定的密度，并且他们按照密度被分类，第二种图案的密度是变化的，但是第二种图案的密度总是低于第一种。
5 .And the monkeys' task was to identify this second type as sparse.
而猴子的任务就是辨别第二种图案的稀疏。
6 .So the denser the second type of pattern was, the more difficult the task became.
所以，第二种图案乐密集任务的难度越大。
第九段
1 .And as in a previous study, the monkeys were given a third choice that would allow them to pass on to a new trial.
然后在上一个实验的基础上，给猴子第三种选择，就是允许他们跳过这道题
2 .But unlike in the dolphin experiment, the monkeys had to complete four trials before they got any feedback.
这就成为了一种新的实验。但是，与海豚实验不同的是，在猴子得到相应的回报之前，他们必须完成四道题。
3 .They didn't know if they responded correctly or incorrectly after each trial because there was no reward or punishment.
他们并不知道自己的回答是否正确，因为每道题之后并不会有相应的奖励或者是惩罚。
4 .At the end of four trials, feedback was given.
在四道题结束之后才会有反馈
5 .The monkeys received a full reward for each correct response.
回答正确猴子会得到奖励
6 .And a time-out during which a buzzer was sounded for each incorrect response.
回答错误就会在休息时间听到蜂鸣
7 .But the monkeys had no way to tell which reward or punishment was associated with which response.
但是猴子们无法将这些奖励或是惩罚和那些答案一一联系起来。
8 .And they didn't get either reward or punishment for choosing the pass option, the... um... the uncertainty response.
并且在他们选择了“跳过”这个不确定的选项后，不会得到奖励或是惩罚。
9 .But nevertheless they still chose this option in the appropriate circumstances when the trial was particularly difficult.
但是无论怎样在适当的时候—测试特别难的时候，他们仍然会选择“跳过”。
10 .And this is evidence that it wasn't simply a conditioned response, because that response didn't guarantee a faster reward.
这就证明了这不是一种条件反射，因为这种回答不会保证能更快的得到奖励。
第十段
1 .So what does all this tell us about animal consciousness or animals' awareness of themselves and their state of mind?
所以，对于动物的意识或者动物对于他们自己或者他们精神状态的认识方面，我们所做的一切能告诉我们什么呢？
2 .Can we really know what's going on in the minds of animals?
我们真的能知道现在动物们的脑子里正想什么呢吗？
3 .No. Of course not.
不，当然不能。
4 .But exploring the metacognitive capacity of animals could become an important criterion in highlighting the similarities and differences between human and animal minds.
但是，对动物元认知能力的探索可能会成为突出人类和动物之间异同一个重要的标准