salaams.The mutes of great nobles understand each other and understand everything that is said to them by means of signs,just as well as one can understand anything said in discourse.M.Pereyra and those like him who not only consider that mutes speak,but claim to understand what they are saying,had to learn another language,as complicated as our own,in order to understand them. Chardin says that in India,traders would take each other by the hand,varying their grip in a way that on one could see,thus transacting all their business publicly yet secretly,without a single word being uttered.If these traders had been blind,deaf,and mute,this would not hinder their understanding of each other,which shows that of the two senses by which we act,one alone will suffice to form a language. Para.13:It appears again,by the same observations,that the invention of the art of communicating our ideas depends less upon the organs we use in such communication than it does upon a power proper to man,according to which he uses his organs in this way,and which,if he lacked these,would lead him to use others to the same end.Give man a structure [organically]as crude as you please:doubtless he will acquire fewer ideas,but if only he has some means of contact with his fellow men,by means of which one can act and another can sense,he will finally succeed in communicating whatever ideas he might have. Para.14:Animals have a more than adequate structure for such communication,but none of them has ever made use of it.This seems to me a quite characteristic difference.That those animals which live and work in common,such as beavers,ants,bees,have some natural language for communicating among themselves,I would not question.Still,the speech of beavers and ants is apparently by gesture;i.e.,it is only visual.If so,such languages are natural,not acquired.The animals that speak them possess them a-borning:they all have them,and they are everywhere the same.They are entirely unchanging and make not the slightest progress.Conventional language is characteristic of man alone.That is why man makes progress,whether for good or ill,and animals do not.That single distinction would seem to be far-reaching.It is said to be explicable by organic differences.I would be curious to witness this explanation. Vocabulary: l.Antedate:to be formed at an earlier date早于，先于建成 2.Sentient:able to see or feel things through the senses有感知能力的：sensate 3.Gesticulate:to move your hands and arms about in order to attract attention or make sb. understand what you are saying做手势，用手势表达 e.g.:He gesticulated wildly at the clock. 4.pantomime:a type of play with music,dancing and jokes that is based on a fairy tale..童话剧； the use of movement and the expression of your face to communicate sth.or to tell a story 剧：形体动作 e.g.:communicate in pantomime He pantomimed an exit instruction to the nurse. 5.Promenade:a public place for walking,usually a wide path beside the sea公共散步场所，滨 海步行大道：to walk up and down in a relaxed way by the sea or in a public park散步 6.Circumlocution:using more words than are necessary迂▣曲折的说法 7.Herald:a person who carried messages from a ruler传令官，使者 8.Harangue:a long loud angry speech that criticizes sb.义愤填膺的谴责，慷慨激昂的劝说 9.Feign:to pretend that you have a particular feeling or that you are illsalaams. The mutes of great nobles understand each other and understand everything that is said to them by means of signs, just as well as one can understand anything said in discourse. M. Pereyra and those like him who not only consider that mutes speak, but claim to understand what they are saying, had to learn another language, as complicated as our own, in order to understand them. Chardin says that in India, traders would take each other by the hand, varying their grip in a way that on one could see, thus transacting all their business publicly yet secretly, without a single word being uttered. If these traders had been blind, deaf, and mute, this would not hinder their understanding of each other; which shows that of the two senses by which we act, one alone will suffice to form a language. Para.13: It appears again, by the same observations, that the invention of the art of communicating our ideas depends less upon the organs we use in such communication than it does upon a power proper to man, according to which he uses his organs in this way, and which, if he lacked these, would lead him to use others to the same end. Give man a structure [organically] as crude as you please: doubtless he will acquire fewer ideas, but if only he has some means of contact with his fellow men, by means of which one can act and another can sense, he will finally succeed in communicating whatever ideas he might have. Para.14: Animals have a more than adequate structure for such communication, but none of them has ever made use of it. This seems to me a quite characteristic difference. That those animals which live and work in common, such as beavers, ants, bees, have some natural language for communicating among themselves, I would not question. Still, the speech of beavers and ants is apparently by gesture; i.e., it is only visual. If so, such languages are natural, not acquired. The animals that speak them possess them a-borning: they all have them, and they are everywhere the same. They are entirely unchanging and make not the slightest progress. Conventional language is characteristic of man alone. That is why man makes progress, whether for good or ill, and animals do not. That single distinction would seem to be far-reaching. It is said to be explicable by organic differences. I would be curious to witness this explanation. Vocabulary: 1. Antedate: to be formed at an earlier date 早于，先于…建成 2. Sentient: able to see or feel things through the senses 有感知能力的；sensate 3. Gesticulate: to move your hands and arms about in order to attract attention or make sb. understand what you are saying 做手势，用手势表达 e.g.: He gesticulated wildly at the clock. 4. pantomime: a type of play with music, dancing and jokes that is based on a fairy tale.童话剧； the use of movement and the expression of your face to communicate sth. or to tell a story 哑 剧；形体动作 e.g.: communicate in pantomime He pantomimed an exit instruction to the nurse. 5. Promenade: a public place for walking, usually a wide path beside the sea 公共散步场所，滨 海步行大道； to walk up and down in a relaxed way by the sea or in a public park 散步 6. Circumlocution: using more words than are necessary 迂回曲折的说法 7. Herald：a person who carried messages from a ruler 传令官，使者 8. Harangue：a long loud angry speech that criticizes sb.义愤填膺的谴责，慷慨激昂的劝说 9. Feign：to pretend that you have a particular feeling or that you are ill 假装