主题：【译文擂台】“金山词霸·译文擂台”2008年第5期开始征集译稿 　点击：184 回复：20

　　本期译文擂台，我们选取了一篇动物行为学的文章。

　　参加译文擂台的读者，请在2008年6月10日之前，将译文通过电子邮件发送到cnsciam@gmail.com，在邮件主题中注明“金山词霸2008年第5期译文擂台”，并在邮件中留下真实姓名、QQ、MSN、地址和联系电话，方便及时联系。评审委员会将选出5位优秀译者，公布在《环球科学》2008年第5期上，每位优秀译者将获得《金山词霸2007》软件一套及最新一期《环球科学》一本。

　　英文原稿
　Monkey See，Monkey Ignore

　When a person's behavior is out of control, people might say he is "going ape." It appears, however, that our closest relatives can behave themselves better than we thought. New research in chimpanzees and monkeys could reveal clues about how self-control originated in humans.

　Even children know that resisting instant gratification can lead to greater rewards. Past research showed that to cope with such delays kids can distract themselves by playing. Now psychologists Theodore Evans and Michael Beran of Georgia State University find that chimpanzees can also employ diversions to control themselves.

　The scientists tested chimps with a candy dispenser that delivered a treat every 30 seconds. As soon as the apes reached for the accrued sweets, no more candy came—so if the chimps exercised restraint, they earned a greater reward. Sometimes the chimpanzees were given toys, such as magazines or toothbrushes. Evans and Beran found that the apes could resist temptation about 50 percent longer when they could amuse themselves with playthings, racking up 17 candies on average with toys and only 11 without toys.

　Evans's other work has revealed self-control among more distantly related primates as well. For instance, tufted capuchin monkeys can show enough restraint to use celery stalks andpretzel rods to scrape peanut butter out of a cylinder, rather than devouring the edible sticks immediately.

　The evolution of more sophisticated degrees of self-control might have been key to our ancestors’ developing time- and labor-intensive faculties such as tool making, Evans says. Further comparisons between humans and other primates could help us understand when and how our self-control became as complex as it did.

　—Charles Q. Choi


　　上期获奖名单：http://sl.iciba.com/viewthread-107-442854-1.shtml