Don’t Call Them Bird-Brained 四肢發達頭腦卻不簡單的禿鼻鴉 These rooks are some real smarty-pants. 這些禿鼻鴉真的很愛耍小聰明。
Did you know that rooks are among the most intelligent birds in the world? They come from the same intelligent family of birds that includes ravens▼, crows, and magpies▼. Rooks’ brains are very large relativeto their size, so they can learn how to perform tasks very quickly. One test with rooks showed that they could quickly choose the right tool to lift a bucket and finally get the food they wanted. At a history-themed amusement park in France, workers were disappointed that people kept dropping trash all over the grounds, so they gave rooks a special task. When someone drops a small piece of garbage, the rooks are trained to go pick it up. The workers came up with a clever way to train the rooks. They use a special box that gives out food each time a rook deposits a piece of trash. This means that the rooks are rewarded for their work. Sometimes, however, these smart rooks will try to drop things like small pieces of wood into the box, just to get a treat. Cheating at this task shows just how truly intelligent the rooks actually are.
1. intelligent a. 聰明的；有智慧的 Jude was the most intelligent student Professor Blake ever had. 裘德是布萊克教授教過最聰明的學生。
2. relative to... 相比／較於……；按……的比例 The study shows that girls care a lot more about how they look on social media relative to boys. 這項研究顯示相較於男孩，女孩更加在乎她們在社群媒體上的模樣。
3. task n. 任務；工作 The task of service dogs is to help those with disabilities. 服務犬的任務是幫助身心障礙人士。 * disability n.（身心上的）缺陷，殘障
4. N-themed a. 以某事物為主題的 The superhero-themed party has Marty all excited. 這場以超級英雄為主題的派對讓馬蒂超興奮。
5. amusement n. 娛樂活動；樂趣 Jerry often practiced origami for amusement in his childhood. 傑瑞兒時常摺紙自娛。 * origami n.（日本的）摺紙藝術；摺紙手工
6. clever a. 巧妙的；聰穎的 Holly came up with a clever idea to avoid answering her parents’ question about why she was forty and still single. 荷莉想出了一個妙點子來避免回答父母對於她為何四十歲了還單身的問題。
7. deposit vt. 將某物置於某處；（將錢或貴重物品）存入（銀行） You can deposit wet towels in the basket by the door. 你可以把濕毛巾放在門邊的籃子裡。
8. cheat vi. & vt. 作弊；詐騙；（於感情中）劈腿（與介詞 on 並用） Jennifer was caught cheating on the exam and failed the class. 珍妮佛考試作弊被抓到然後那門課被當了。
▼bird-brained a. 笨的；愚蠢的 ▼ rook n. 禿鼻（烏）鴉 ▼ raven n. 渡鴉 ▼ magpie n.（喜）鵲
