Animals Can Be Nice To Others

王秀凤

动物和人类共同生存在地球上，共同拥有一个家园。动物是人类的朋友，一定不能伤害它们。而且动物和人一样，也是有情感、有灵性、有爱心的。

We know humans can be nice， but what about animals？

Scientists say that some animals are capable of being nice. Animals that live in groups like foxes， chimpanzees， and elephants — follow rules. They have to follow rules to get along and to survive. However， animals can act nicely， even when they don’t have to. Here are some surprising stories about animal behavior.

Most people usually walk away when someone is unkind to them. Marc Bekoff， a researcher at the University of Colorado， saw a female red fox do just that. The female fox was unhappy because a male fox played roughly with her. When she walked away， the male fox showed her that he wanted to play nicely. He lowered his head and rolled on his back. The female fox gave him another chance， and this time， he played more gently.

Geza Teleki is a scientist who studies chimpanzees in Tanzania. One day， Teleki hiked far away from his campsite. He didn’t have any food. Teleki wanted some fruit from a tree， but the tree was too tall. A young chimpanzee watched him curiously as he tried to get something to eat. The chimpanzee climbed the tree， picked the fruit， and gave it to him！

An elephant in Kenya hurt his trunk. He needed help because he couldn’t put food into his mouth. Researcher Kayhan Ostovar watched silently. He saw the hurt elephant show his sore trunk to a healthy elephant. The healthy elephant didn’t need any more information. He took a bush and put it carefully into his new friend’s mouth.

Hippos and crocodiles are usually good friends. They hang out together in rivers. But Karen Paolillo， a wildlife expert in Zimbabwe， saw something surprising. One day， a crocodile tried to eat a monkey that was next to a river. A hippo ran quickly to the crocodile and chased it away. Why did the hippo attack the crocodile？ Paolillo says hippos sometimes protect other animals from crocodiles.

詞语点拨

capable 有能力的 chimpanzees 大猩猩

survive 生存 female 母的

male 公的 roughly 粗鲁地

campsite野营地 curiously好奇地

trunk 象鼻子 Hippos 河马

chased追赶 attack 攻击

难句解析

Most people usually walk away when someone is unkind to them.

当有人对己不友善的时候，大部分人选择走开。

However， animals can act nicely， even when they don’t have to.

然而，动物可以表现得很好，即使它们不需要这样做。

A hippo ran quickly to the crocodile and chased it away.

一只河马迅速跑到鳄鱼身边，把它赶走了。