动物会思考吗？较之与人类的思想，动物在某些时候或场合虽然会表现出出人意料的智慧，然而这却和人类的思考有很大不同。动物对于自己视野之外的事物一无所知，因为没有认知，它们的头脑恐怕也分辨不出真伪与对错。
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The question has often been asked.Do animals think？I believe that some of them think a great deal.Many of them are like children in their sports.We notice this to be true very often with dogs and cats；but it is true with other animals as well.
Some birds are very lively in their sports；and the same is true with some insects.The ants，hardworking as they are，have their times for play.They run races；they wrestIe；and sometimes they have mock flghts together.[A]Very busy must be their thoughts while engaged in these sports.
There are many animals，however，that never play；their thoughts seem to be of the more sober kind.We never see frogs engaged in sport.They all the time appear to be very grave.The same is true of the owl，who always looks as if he were considering some important question.
As animals think，they learn.Some learn more than others.The parrot learns to talk，though in some other respects it is quite stupid.The mocking bird learns to imitate a great many different sounds.The horse is not long in learning many things connected with the word which he has to do.The shepherd dog does not know as much about most things as some other dogs，and yet he understands very well how to take care of sheep.
Many of the things that animals know how to do they seem to know either without learning，or in some way which we cannot understand.They are said to do such things by instinct；but no one can tell what instinct is.It is by this instinct that birds build their nests and beavers their dams and huts.
[B]It is pIain that，while animals learn about things by their senses as we do，they do not think nearly as much about what they learn，and this is the reason why they do not improve more rapidly.Even the wisest of them，as the elephant and the dog，do not think very much about what they see and hear.[C]Nor is this all.There are some things that we understand，but about which animals know nothing.They have no knowledge of anything that happens outside of their own observation.Their minds are so much unlike ours that they do not know the difference between right and wrong.
难点重点，一目了然！
长难句解析 Sentence Structures
A Very busy must be their thoughts while engaged in these sports.
在蚂蚁从事这些活动的时候，他的思想肯定很活跃。
be engaged in忙于；从事。例如：He be engaged in research into the packaging of the new product line.他从事于新产品系列包装的研究。另外，表语very busy提前表示强调。
B It is plain that，while animals learn about things by their senses as we do，they do not think nearly as much about what they learn，and this is the reason why they do not improve more rapidIy.
道理很明显，当动物像我们人一样在凭各种感官学习事物时，动物对所学的事物几乎不多加考虑，这就是之所以动物不能较迅速地提高的原因。
It is plain that……显而易见。例如：It is plain that everybody in our delegation is deeply moved.我们代表团的每一个人都深受感动，这是显而易见的。
C Nor is this all.
这也不是全部。
nor后句子部分倒装。nor（表示强调或增加信息）也不，其后要部分倒装。
The Remembrance of Lilacs 紫丁香的回忆
Track 004.MP3
朗读指数：★★★☆☆
背诵指数：★★★☆☆
难度指数：★★★☆☆
总词汇量：0400词汇
每个好故事都有灵魂！
今日关键语导读 Today's Key Points
母亲节到了，母亲在电话里向身处异地的女儿提起满园的紫丁香，勾起了女儿深深的怀念，一家人便到山顶去摘紫丁香。回归途中偶然看到了一位孤独的老人，这位年轻的女人将手中花儿送给了老人。比紫丁香更美的是老人幸福的微笑，比微笑更美的是女人善良的心灵。
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The family had just moved to Rhode Island，and the young woman was feeling a little meIanchoIy on that Sunday in May.[A]After all，it was Mother's Day-and 800 miles separated her from her parents in Ohio.
She had called her mother that morning to wish her a happy Mother's Day，and her mother had mentioned the colorful yard filled with purple IiIacs.
[B]Later，when she mentioned to her husband how she missed those lilacs，he popped up from his chair."I know where we can find all you want，"he said，"Get the kids and come on."
So off they went.Before they got halfway up the hill，the fragrance of the lilacs drifted down to them，and the kids started running.
There were the towering lilac bushes，so Iaden with the huge flower cIusters.Carefully，the young woman chose a sprig here，another one there.
Finally，they returned to their car for the trip home.
When they were within three miles of home，she suddenly shouted to her husband，"Stop the car.Stop right here！"
The man sIammed on the brakes.The woman went out of the car and hurried up a nearby grassy sIope with the lilacs still in her arms.At the top of the hill was a nursing home and the patients were outdoors strolling with relatives or sitting on the porch.
[C]The young woman went to the end of the porch，where an elderly patient was sitting in her wheelchair，alone，head bowed.Across the porch railing went the flowers，into the lap of the old woman.She lifted her head and smiled.For a few moments，the two women chatted，both aglow with happiness，and then the young woman turned and ran back to her family.
"Mom，"the kids asked，"who was that？Why did you give her our flowers？"The mother said she didn't know the old woman.But it was Mother's Day and she seemed so alone，so she needed those flowers more.
The next day the husband purchased half a dozen young lilac bushes and planted them around their yard.
I was that man.The young mother was，and is，my wife.Now，every Mother's Day our kids gather purple bouquets.And every year I remember that smile on a lonely old woman's face，and the kindness that put the smile there.
难点重点，一目了然！
长难句解析 Sentence Structures
A After all，it was Mother's Day-and 800 miIes separated her from her parents in Ohio.
毕竟，这一天是母亲节，而她却与俄亥俄州的父母相距800英里。
separate……from从……分开，隔开。例如：Breaking the rule separated me from winning the match.犯了规使我无法赢得这场比赛。
B Later，when she mentioned to her husband how she missed those IiIacs，he popped up from his chair.
过后，她向丈夫说起她是如何怀念那些紫丁香，他突然从椅子上跃起来。
mention to提到，向……提及。例如：But one I should mention to you is Big Jim.但我得跟你提起的一个是大个子吉姆。