A little social support from your best friends goes a long way, whether you‘re a human or a chimp ( 黑猩猩 ). A new study that followed a chimp community in the forests of Uganda has found that quality time with close companions significantly decreased stress hormone ( 荷尔蒙 ) levels—whether they were resting, cleaning or facing off against enemies.

Researchers have long known that stress can worsen health and raise the risk of early death in humans as well as other social mammals. “It can have effects on immune function, cognition, and even your mood,” said study co-author Kevin Langergraber, a scientist at Arizona State University.

Maintaining close social bonds can help these animals reduce some of that stress, potentially reducing some health risks. But scientists have yet to work out how. “Social bonds make you survive and produce better—but how do they do that ？ ”Langergraber said.

To find out, the international team of researchers studied members of a chimp community in Uganda‘s Budongo Forest, a group of 15 males, 35 females and 28 young chimps. Like humans, chimps tend to have besties—bond partners with whom they appear to feel close. The researchers wanted to see whether interactions with these bond partners led to lower stress levels during particularly stressful situations, such as when fighting enemies, or whether time spent with friends helped lower stress levels more generally, throughout the day.

The scientists observed the chimps perform three types of activities: resting, cleaning or fighting with other groups of chimps. The researchers kept track of whether the chimps were doing any of these three things with their bond partners or with other chimps in their group.

A team of up to six observers watched the chimps and followed them around to collect urine( 尿液 ) samples. The samples, collected from nine adult male and eight adult female chimps, were tested to see how much of the stress hormone they contained.

The scientists found that chimps‘ levels were 23% lower, on average, during the activities when they were with their bond partner. This was especially true for stressful activities, such as the intergroup rivalries, where any chimp on the front line might face physical harm or even death.

The findings in chimps, some of our closest living relatives, could shed light on the role such close social relationships play in human health too, he said. Such friendships may be just as important during good times as bad—though more research needs to be done before any conclusions can be drawn.

1 ． How did the scientists carry out their research?

A ． By interacting with chimps.

B ． By studying a chimp community.

C ． By analyzing previous studies on chimps.

D ． By comparing chimps’ three types of activities.

2 ． What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 6 refer to?

A ． Observers. B ． Chimps.

C ． Bond partners. D ． Urine samples.

3 ． What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A ． To emphasize the bad effects of stress on health.

B ． To show us how chimps control their stress level.

C ． To inform us friendships benefit both chimps and humans.

D ． To urge scientists to further study the benefits of friendships.

答案

1 ． B

2 ． D

3 ． C

【解析】

【导语】

本文是一篇说明文。主要介绍了一项对黑猩猩群体进行跟踪的新研究发现，无论是在休息、打扫卫生还是面对敌人时，与亲密伙伴共度的美好时光都能显著降低它们的应激激素水平，研究人员在黑猩猩身上的发现可能会让人们更清楚地了解这种密切的社会关系对人类健康所起的作用。

1 ．

细节理解题。根据文章第一段 “A new study that followed a chimp community in the forests of Uganda has found that quality time with close companions significantly decreased stress hormone ( 荷尔蒙 ) levels—whether they were resting, cleaning or facing off against enemies. （一项对乌干达森林中的黑猩猩群体进行跟踪的新研究发现，无论是在休息、打扫卫生还是面对敌人时，与亲密伙伴共度的美好时光都能显著降低它们的应激激素水平） ” 可知科学家们通过研究黑猩猩群体来进行研究。故选 B 。

2 ．

词义猜测题。根据文章第六段 “A team of up to six observers watched the chimps and followed them around to collect urine( 尿液 ) samples. （由多达六名观察员组成的团队观看了黑猩猩并且跟着他们来收集尿液样本） ” 以及 “The samples, collected from nine adult male and eight adult female chimps, were tested… （这些样本采集自 9 只成年雄性黑猩猩和 8 只成年雌性黑猩猩，并进行了测试） ” 可知 “they” 指代 “the urine( 尿液 ) samples” 。故选 D 。

3 ．

推理判断题。根据文章最后一段 “The findings in chimps, some of our closest living relatives, could shed light on the role such close social relationships play in human health too, he said. Such friendships may be just as important during good times as bad （他说，黑猩猩是人类现存的近亲，研究人员在黑猩猩身上的发现可能会让人们更清楚地了解这种密切的社会关系对人类健康所起的作用。无论是在顺境还是逆境，这样的友谊都同样重要） ” 可知作者写文章的目的是告诉我们，友谊对黑猩猩和人类都有益。故选 C 。