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  3. A fundamental problem for understanding the evolution of human language has been the lack of significant parallels among nonhuma

A fundamental problem for understanding the evolution of human language has been the lack of significant parallels among nonhuma

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问题    A fundamental problem for understanding the evolution of human language has been the lack of significant parallels among nonhuman primates. Several studies found that nonhuman primates do not have a vocal tract. However, such points have been challenged by recent research, suggesting that nonhuman primates may after all be valuable models for understanding the evolution of speech and language.
   The main animal model for vocal learning has been birdsong acquisition. However, there are crucial differences between birdsong acquisition and human language learning. And given some severe limitations, for example, birds have two vocal organs and do not have the flexible supralaryn-geal structures that facilitate speech, of birdsong as a model of speech, there is value in seeking other appropriate parallels among mammals.
   Recent studies on macaques and baboons have shown that the vocal tracts of these monkeys can produce a full range of human-like vowels. Turn-taking is a key to fluent human conversation and has been thought to be unique to humans. One study found that captive chimpanzees increasingly share resources when resources are diminished. Collaborative turn-taking for food has been seen in other primates. These recent studies show that there is value in looking for the evolutionary origins of speech and language in nonhuman primates.
   Human speech and language are highly complex systems with multiple components. Thus, to fully explain language origins, researchers must seek multiple models that represent both diverging and converging evolutionary processes. There may also be differences among primate species in the developmental processes that parallel human language acquisition. However, no studies have yet described vowel-like sounds in these monkeys, so marmosets and tamarins may be useful primarily for developmental studies.
   It is probable that early humans faced evolutionary pressures that differed from those encountered by other primates and that have made our complex communication system adaptive. Language may have been important for coordinating activities in large cooperative groups. If individuals can thrive without complex vocal signaling, there would be little motivation to push the communication further. Different sensory and motor systems may be important. We tend to evaluate language through a vocal / auditory system, whereas research on apes is beginning to illustrate the complexity of gestural communication.
   Nonhuman primates do not talk, but we should not expect them to. Each species has its own adaptations for communication. Nevertheless, there is much about language evolution that we can learn from nonhuman primates, provided that we study a variety of species and consider the multiple components of speech and language.
We can infer from Paragraph 4 that_____.
选项 A、nonhuman primates are of great significance in studying the fountain of speech
B、the relationship between human speech and language is extremely complicated
C、fluent human conversation has no relationship with turn-taking
D、the vocal tracts of the mammals can produce human-like vowels
答案B
解析 根据题干关键词定位到文章第四段。作者在该段中提出自己的观点，指出语言系统是非常复杂的，然后进一步阐释，故B项“人类言语和语言之间的关系是极其复杂的” 符合题意。A项“非人灵长类动物在研究语言的来源方面具有重要的意义”、C项“流利的人际对话与人的交谈没有任何关系”和D项“哺乳动物的声带可以产生类似人类的元音”均不是作者在第四段中表达的内容，故选B。
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