VOA慢速英語：猴子可以像人類一樣嫉恨

Monkeys do not like it when others get more food than they do, according to a new study.

根據(jù)一項(xiàng)新的研究，猴子們并不喜歡別的猴子比它們得到更多的食物。

Researchers from Yale and Harvard universities found Capuchin monkeys punish monkeys that get more food.

Capuchin monkeys can show 'spiteful' behavior.

耶魯和哈佛大學(xué)的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，卷尾猴會懲罰比它得到更多食物的猴子。

"This sort of, ‘If I can't have it, no one can' response is consistent with psychological spite, and it was previously thought unique to humans," said Kristin Leimgruber of Harvard University. She is a co-author of the research study.

哈佛大學(xué)的Leimgruber稱：“這種，如果我不能擁有，別人也不能的的反應(yīng)是與心理嫉恨相一致的。而這一點(diǎn)，在以前被認(rèn)為是人類所獨(dú)有的。”她是該研究的作者之一。

The researchers watched as some Capuchin monkeys were given more food than others. They found that monkeys getting the smaller share pulled a rope to collapse a table holding the other monkey's bigger share.

研究人員們觀察當(dāng)一些卷尾猴被給予比其他卷尾猴更多食物時(shí)的表現(xiàn)。得到較小份額食物的猴子將會用一根繩子拽翻放著其他猴子的較大份額食物的桌子。

Another lead researcher, Yale University psychologist Laurie Santos, explained over email.

另一位首席研究員，耶魯大學(xué)的心理學(xué)家勞里·桑托斯，通過電子郵件來解釋這一現(xiàn)象。

"I think that we can conclude about humans is that some of our more embarrassing tendencies (e.g., not liking it when others get more than us in some situations) have relatively deep roots."

“我認(rèn)為我們可以從人類得出結(jié)論，我們的一些比較尷尬的傾向(在一些情況下，當(dāng)別人得到的比我們更多時(shí)，我們會不喜歡)擁有相對深厚的根基。

Santos said the spiteful response was not present with another member of the ape species – chimpanzees. Visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

桑托斯表示，嫉恨反應(yīng)在猿猴種類另一個(gè)成員——黑猩猩身上是不存在的。

An earlier study, she said, showed chimpanzees would collapse the table of other chimpanzees who took or stole food from them.

她說早先的研究中表明黑猩猩會破壞其他拿走或偷走它們食物的黑猩猩的桌子。

But they would not collapse the table of chimpanzees who just happened to have more food, Santos said. In other words, it was fine if another chimpanzee had more food -- as long as they did not steal it.

桑托斯說但是它們不會破壞那些恰巧比它們擁有更多食物的黑猩猩的桌子。 換句話說如果另一只黑猩猩擁有更多的食物，它是無所謂的，只要它們沒有偷走它的食物。

I'm Caty Weaver.

我是凱迪韋弗。

Bruce Alpert reported and researched this story for VOA Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.

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Words in This Story

spite – n. a desire to harm another person because you feel that you have been treated wrongly or unfairly

previously – adv. happening at an earlier time

unique – adj. used to say that something or someone is unlike anything or anyone else

embarrassing – adj. to make (someone) feel confused and foolish in front of other people

tendency – n. a quality that makes something likely to happen or that makes someone likely to think or behave in a particular way

relatively – adv. when compared to other