Orangutan treats wound with medicinal plant, captures scientific interest

admin 2024年5月23日

Beginner

science & technology, science & technology - beginner

Pre-reading questions:

I will read each question. Then, please answer them.

講師がそれぞれの質問を読むので答えましょう。

Have you ever seen an orangutan in person?
Do you think humans and animals have similar problem-solving abilities?

Vocabulary:

I will read the words, meanings, and sample sentences. Then, repeat after me.

単語、意味、例文を読みます。講師に続いて音読しましょう。

rainforest /REYN-fawr-ist/

[noun] – a forest in a tropical area that receives a lot of rain
The Amazon rainforest is home to a vast array of wildlife and plants.

property /PROP-er-tee/

[noun] – special qualities or characteristics of something
The soap has moisturizing properties that keep the skin soft and smooth.

publish /PUHB-lish/

[verb] – to make information available to people, especially in a book, magazine, or newspaper, or to produce and sell a book, magazine, or newspaper
The author will publish her new novel next month.

smart /smahrt/

[adjective] – intelligent, or able to think quickly or intelligently in difficult situations
She’s always been smart, acing all her exams with little effort.

suggest /suhg-JEST/

[verb] – to imply or indicate something indirectly or to make someone think about a possibility
The presence of fresh footprints suggests that someone was here recently.

Article reading:

Please read the whole article. Then, I will check your pronunciation and intonation.

記事を音読しましょう。講師はあなたの発音とイントネーションを確認します。

In an amazing example of animal cleverness, Rakus, a male Sumatran orangutan, used natural medicine to heal a wound from a fight with another orangutan in June 2022. This happened in Indonesia, in a protected rainforest where Sumatran orangutans live. Rakus hurt his face below his right eye and used leaves from the Akar Kuning plant, which is not usually eaten by orangutans but has healing properties. He chewed the leaves to get their juice and put it on his wound, also eating some leaves. Isabelle Laumer and Caroline Schuppli from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior published a study in the Scientific Reports journal. They explained that Rakus’ treatment was careful, focusing only on the hurt part. He kept doing it until his wound healed completely in five days. This shows how smart orangutans are and suggests their problem-solving abilities. Researchers believe Rakus may have learned this behavior from other orangutans or figured it out by chance.

True or False:

Read the sentences and identify if they are true or false based on the article.

文章を読んで、記事に基づいて正誤を答えましょう。

The incident with Rakus happened in Brazil.
The study about Rakus’ behavior was published in the Scientific Reports journal.
Rakus, a male Sumatran orangutan, used modern medicine to heal a wound.
Researchers believe Rakus learned his behavior from humans.
The Akar Kuning plant is commonly eaten by orangutans.

Fill in the blanks:

Choose the correct word from the table then fill in the blanks.

適切な言葉を選んで空欄を埋めましょう。

rainforest

property

publish

smart

suggest

The rapid growth in sales __________ that the new marketing strategy is working effectively.
The Sumatran __________ is known for its rich biodiversity and dense vegetation.
He’s __________ and witty, which makes him great at solving complex puzzles.
The scientist plans to __________ his research findings in a peer-reviewed journal.
The herb is known for its medicinal __________, which help alleviate headaches.