Ejercicio B.3 · Inglés PAU Madrid Ordinaria 2024

TEXTO B

Jane Goodall Transformed our Understanding of Chimpanzees

Jane Goodall, whose research on chimpanzees in Tanzania revolutionised our understanding of these primates, challenged some deep-set ideas of what it means to be human. She turned from scientist to activist, campaigning for a kinder attitude towards animals and the environment.

During her first years in the field, Goodall named an individual David Greybeard, who showed her a side to chimpanzees nobody had ever documented before. She watched David from a distance as he chewed a freshly killed pig – an observation that opposed the theory that chimps were strict vegetarians.

Some days later, Goodall witnessed David making and using a tool to feed on ants. After seeing this behaviour repeatedly, Goodall went to Professor Leakey, her colleague, with the discovery. At that point, most people believed humans were the only species capable of making and using tools. In response, Leakey declared: “Now we must redefine ‘tool’, redefine ‘man’, or accept chimpanzees as humans.”

Despite Leakey’s excitement over Goodall’s findings, not everyone was ready to embrace them. The unfair treatment Goodall received from her male colleagues hardly encouraged her to conduct research. She was criticised for giving her study-animals names and personalities. “I didn’t give them personalities, I only described their personalities,” she explains. As for Goodall’s discovery that chimps used tools: “Some scientists actually said I must have taught them,” she laughs. “That would have been fabulous if I could have done that.”

She simply knew that she was right and her critics were wrong. “My mother always taught us that if people don’t agree with you, it is important to listen to them. But if you’ve listened to them carefully and you still think that you’re right, then you must have the courage to defend your convictions.”

Adapted from “Primatologist Jane Goodall, turning 80 this week, tells Henry Nicholls the inside story on how she transformed our understanding of chimpanzees, what it means to be human, and the controversy and condescension she faced in her influential career”, bbc.com, April 1, 2014. <https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140331-the-woman-who-redefined-mankind>

B.3.- Find the words in the text that mean: [Puntuación máxima: 1 punto]

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