Dogs may not know exactly what you are doing especially when you’re trying to figure out a square root or diagram a sentence. But according to a new study, dogs can understand what we’re thinking and feeling by reading our facial expressions and body language and following our eyes.
Researchers studied 29 dogs. The dogs were shown a movie where a woman looked directly at them and said “Hi dog!” Then, the woman looked at a flowerpot sitting next to her. The researchers found that when the woman looked at and spoke directly to a dog, the dog usually followed her eyes to the flowerpot. It proved that the dogs knew that the woman was thinking about the flowerpot.
“By following the eye movements of dogs, we were able to get a first-hand look at how their minds are actually working,” said Jozsef, the senior researcher.
Later in the movie, the woman said “Hi dogs” in a low voice and didn’t look at the dog before looking at the flowerpot. In that situation, the dogs didn’t seem to understand what the woman was thinking. There was no eye contact, and the woman didn’t appear to speak to the dogs directly.
That comes as no surprise to dog trainer Jones. “Dogs normally speak through nonverbal signals. It’s more natural to them,” she said. “If you’ve ever watched dogs at a dog park, you’ve seen it. Within 30 seconds they enter the park, much information has passed between the new dog and the ones already in the park. They’re exchanging looks, observing eyes and body posture. On the other hand, when you speak to a dog, they are learning a foreign language.”
Picking up your nonverbal signals seems more natural. So, if you were hoping that all this means your dog could help you solve your math problems, you’re probably out of luck. But he or she might be a lot more in tune with what you’re thinking than you previously thought.
小题1:How could the researchers find that the dogs understood the woman’s intention?
A．By speaking to them directly.
B．By reading their eye movements.
C．By following their facial expressions.
D．By asking the dog trainer questions.小题2:According to the text, Jones finds that ______.
A．dogs usually speak through verbal signals
B．dogs learn a great deal more at a dog park
C．dogs can understand humans’ words easily
D．dogs speak through eyes and body language小题3:It is implied in the text that dogs can read your emotions only if ______.
A．you manage to get their attention
B．you like making friends with them
C．you are familiar with their behavior
D．you can pick up their verbal signals小题4:What does the underlined phrase “be in tune with” in the last paragraph mean?
A．refuse
B．approve
C．understand
D．love
