上篇背景知識我們主要是總結(jié)整理了考生的回憶內(nèi)容，把文章的大致結(jié)構(gòu)和內(nèi)容架構(gòu)出來了，因此在中篇和下篇中，朗閣海外考試研究中心的專家將重點放到一些相似的英語背景材料分析上，仔細來看看是通過怎樣的實驗來了解鳥類學習唱歌這個過程的。

　　BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION

　　Songbirds include those birds from the order Passeriformes, commonly called passerines. There are approximately 5,400 different species of passerines. The suborder Oscine includes those birds that we tend to think of as your typical songbird, those birds that have complex songs as adults. In the majority of Oscines, the male is the one with the complex singing ability, and there is much diversity among males of different species in the length and complexity of their songs.

　　Song needs to be developed, just like any other characteristic of songbird behavior. Singing the correct song for that species is not an instinctual process. The need to sing is instinctual, however what song to sing has been found to be learned. When and where young songbirds learn their songs has long been studied. Just as songbirds differ in their songs, they also differ in their song learning process, though some basic principles seem to be the same. Many species learn their song only during the first few months, though a few can learn songs their entire lives. Also differing between species is from who the songs are learned, and how much of the songs are accurately imitated.

　　Some species may exactly copy the songs they are exposed to. On the other hand, many will not exactly imitate the song or songs that they have been exposed to. Instead they will take bits and pieces of it and invent their own song, though usually similar in construction to that which the species normally sings.

　　重點詞匯：

　　Passerine：雀形目的，雀形鳥

　　Oscine：鳴禽類的，鳴禽類的鳥

　　Instinctual：本能的

　　Principles：原則

　　Imitate：模仿，效仿

　　exposed to：曝露于，公開揭露

　　bits and pieces：曲子的部分調(diào)子或小節(jié)

　　點撥迷津：

　　重點內(nèi)容是在第二段和第三段，告訴我們鳴禽類唱歌是一種本能，但是如何去學會唱歌的是實驗所要研究的問題。雖然每種不同的鳴禽有不同的學習過程，但是有一些基本的原則是相同的，例如大部分的鳥都是在出生的前幾個月學習唱歌。另外一個要關(guān)注的問題就是鳥類是不是準確地模仿到了自己所聽到的歌聲。