2026年7月托福机经套卷(第1套) - Read an Academic Passage Q1

Language in Primates Language has traditionally been considered a uniquely human trait; however, this assumption has been increasingly challenged. Research involving chimpanzees and bonobos reveals rudimentary linguistic abilities: symbolic communication, basic grammar, and even sentence formation. Kanzi, a bonobo, famously used lexigrams (symbols that stand for specific concepts) to convey desires and even to learn to comprehend grammar, suggesting a grasp of syntactic rules. Yet, such abilities in nonhuman primates emerge only through intensive training and do not naturally evolve in primate communities. This distinction underscores a critical contrast: while humans spontaneously develop intricate language systems, other primates' communication remains tethered to immediate needs and lacks the generative structure necessary for producing novel sentences and ideas. Some theorists propose that individual cognitive capacities are what constrains language development; others argue that social complexity plays a pivotal role. Language, they contend, may have coevolved with the demands of maintaining social hierarchies and alliances. While all primates, including humans, are social creatures, the fact remains that no known communication system among nonhuman primates rivals human language. Comparative linguistic studies may blur the boundaries between species, but they ultimately reaffirm the singularity of human linguistic capacity.