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The behavioral breakthrough that's reshaping what we know about great apes  February 11, 2026

 

Hey everyone, today is Wednesday, February 11th. I'm Meena Duerson, in for Coy Wire, and I'm so excited to fill in for him while he travels to Italy for the Olympics. Today is your word Wednesday, so listen up and see if the vocabulary word you submitted helped us write today's show.

 

We begin with a landmark trialthat could have big implications in the world of social media. The trial, which kicked off Monday, centers on accusations that social media giants, namely YouTube and Facebook parent company Meta, are intentionally addicting teens and harming their mental health. Our Claire Duffy has more on how it could reshape the way social media lawsuits are resolved.

 

Yes, opening statements kicked off with the plaintiff's lawyer, Mark Lanier, referring to these social media platforms as digital slot machines for children.

 

plaintiff [ˈplеntɪf] n.【律】起诉人，原告

slot machine 吃角子老虎机

 

The plaintiff in this case is a 20 year old woman known as Kaylee, who says she started using Instagram and YouTube as a young child and accuses the platforms of intentionally developing addictive features, things like their endlessly scrolling feeds and late night notifications. And she says those features caused her to develop mental health challenges, including anxiety, body dysmorphia.

 

dysmorphia [dɪsˈmɔrfiə] n. 身体畸形恐惧症

 

Now, we also expect during opening statements to get a sense of how the companies Meta and YouTube will form their arguments in this case.

 

And the companies have said that they reject this idea that their platforms cause young people mental health challenges. They also indicated during jury selection that they plan to argue that Kaylee's difficult childhood and abusive father were responsible for her mental health challenges rather than these platforms.

 

I'll also read to you what a Meta and YouTube spokesperson told us about this lawsuit. A Meta spokesperson said, we strongly disagree with these allegations and we are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.

 

longstanding [ˈlɔŋˈstændɪŋ] adj. 存在已久的，长年的

 

A YouTube spokesperson told me providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work.

 

The allegations in these complaints are simply not true. But this case is really a significant moment for the parents, the families, the advocates who for years have been asking for more accountability and more guardrails from these platforms.

 

guardrail [ˈɡɑrdˌrеl] n. 护栏

 

This is just the first of hundreds of lawsuits against these companies.

 

And it really could have significant ramifications in terms of how those other cases are resolved. If Kaylee wins this case, we could see the tech companies on the hook for monetary damages and requirements to make changes to their platforms.

 

ramification [ˌræmǝfǝˈkеʃǝn] n. 延伸性影响

on the hook for 承担...义务（通常指债务或麻烦）」; 卡住了/脫不了身

 

So something that we'll be watching very closely as this trial plays out.

 

It is expected to last through the end of March. And we also expect to hear from executives from these companies, including Meta CEO in the coming weeks. Back to you.

 

Now to a quick update on one of the biggest storiesout of this year's Olympics, the frightening crash that ended skiing legend Lindsey Vonn's comeback bid. Vonn, who was airlifted to the hospital after that crash, took to social media to provide an update on her injuries, along with a heartfelt message to her fans. Our Scout Richards has more.

 

heartfelt [ˈhɑrtˌfɛlt] adj. 衷心的，真诚的

 

Lindsey Vonn has spoken out about her crash at the Winter Olympics. She says she'll need multiple surgeries. There had been speculation that Vonn was not fit to race after she tore her ACL ahead of the competition.

 

But in a statement on her Instagram, Vonn said she had, quote, no regrets and that her, quote, ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever. She also said that she sustained a fractured tibia. Despite her injury, Vonn remained optimistic, saying, I tried, I dreamt, I jumped.

 

tibia [ˈtɪbɪǝ] n.【解】脛骨

 

I hope if you take away anything from my journey, it's that you all have the courage to dare greatly.

 

Researchers in Chinahave reportedly developed a humanoid robot that uses AI to help diagnose and treat autism in children. According to state media, the robot is fitted with a non-invasive wearable brainwave sensor embedded in a headband.

 

That sensor picks up on electrical signals within the human brain, converts those patterns into commands for the robot and generates data that can then be analyzed and interpreted by clinicians.

 

clinician [klɪˈnɪʃǝn] n. 临床医生

 

Researchers say the robot can adjust how it interacts to suit each child's unique needs and can even change its voice tone, giving the robot some verisimilitude.

 

verisimilitude [ˌvɛrǝsǝˈmɪlǝˌtjud] n. 貌似真实

 

When a child struggles to respond to certain questions, the robot can guide them more flexibly and quickly towards the correct answer.

 

It also provides therapists with precise baseline data, making it easier for them to work together with the parents to develop personalized treatment plans for the child's next stage of therapy.

 

baseline data 基线数据

 

More than 13 million people in China live with autism. The robot is already being used in collaboration with hospitals and autism rehabilitation centers.

 

autism [ˈɔ tɪzǝm] n. 自閉症

 

Have you ever played make-believe? Well, it turns out this skill is not unique to humans, and some of our closest evolutionary relatives do it too.

 

make-believe 想象情境; 假装;假扮, 虚幻，假想

 

A new study from Johns Hopkins University has documented the remarkable cognitive skill in bonobos, a species of great ape that share nearly 99% of our DNA.

 

cognitive [ˈkɑɡnǝtɪv] adj. 认知的

bonobo [bəˈnobo] n. 倭黑猩猩

great ape 类人猿（包括大猩猩，红猩猩，黑猩猩等）

 

The researchers took part in a series of tea party experiments with Kanzi, a 44-year-old bonobo renowned for his in-depth understanding of the English language.

 

in-depth 深入的

 

Here's how it worked. They poured juice into one of two empty bottles and asked Kanzi to pick which one contained the juice, something he got right every time.

 

Then they poured imaginary juice into both bottles, but they also poured one of them back into the pitcher.

 

pitcher [ˈpɪtʃɚ] n. 有耳陶罐；壶

 

Kanzi was able to identify which bottle had the imaginary juice a remarkable 68% of the time, higher than if he'd picked at random.

 

The researchers were able to replicate the study with an imaginary grape, which Kanzi passed with flying colors.

 

with flying colors 成绩优异地；出色地

 

The behavioral breakthrough has led them to conclude that this capacity for pretend play is not uniquely human, paving the way for it to be studied in other great apes.

 

And it's time for 10-second trivia.

 

Who was the first solo act to headline the Super Bowl halftime show?

 

Was it Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, or Beyonce?

 

If you said Michael Jackson, you are bad to the bone. The king of pop made his debut on the Super Bowl stage in 1993.

 

to the bone 到极点

 

His record-setting performance drew higher ratings than the game itself.

 

rating [ˈrеtɪŋ] n. 收视率; 收听率

 

If you saw the Bushes moving during Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show, you weren't imagining things. They were performers.

 

CNN's Zane Heinlein spoke with one of the volunteer actors about blending in during one of the most watched events of the year.

 

40,000 people are rumored to have applied for the Super Bowl halftime job. The gig, be a Bush.

 

gig [ɡɪɡ] n.【口】（爵士乐、摇滚乐等）演奏，公演

 

But not just any Bush. One in Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show. Like, this is just the arm piece.

 

Like, this is just what goes on my arm here. There's another arm piece that we get, and then there's a head piece and a backpack and a tunic and a shoulder. Like, there's, it's a whole, whole process.

 

tunic [ˈtjunɪk] n.（无袖）宽松外衣，长袍

 

Iththeists flew around 2,500 miles from Philadelphia to San Francisco for the job. The requirements were you had to be between 5'7 and 6', no bigger, no smaller.

 

And you had to be somewhat athletic and marching band experience, which I kind of had.

 

And also comfortable with wearing a 45-pound costume and not claustrophobic.

 

claustrophobic [ˌklɑstrǝˈfobɪk] adj. 患幽闭恐怖症的；导致幽闭恐怖症的

 

Iththeists says organizers opted to use people instead of carts with props, since there's a limit to how many can be on the field at once. But one of the hardest parts, he says, was keeping the gig a secret.

 

It was a very serious NBA. They dropped, like, 40 people from this because there were people that shared stuff on TikTok.

 

While he didn't get to personally meet Bad Bunny, he says just playing a small part in the show was more than enough.

 

As a Jamaican, you know, being surrounded by, you know, people of all these different cultures and ethnicities and, you know, a Puerto Rican superstar that is, you know, on a global scale, you know, we all feel like, you know, we're Puerto Rican, you know, last night. But at the same time, we all felt human. We all felt like we were people of the same planet.

 

ethnicity [ɛθˈnɪsɪtɪ] n. 种族地位；种族特点；种族渊源

 

Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10, five history-making young men who are just getting started in making a difference. These five students from Scouting America Troops 500 and 190 became the largest group of African-American Eagle Scouts inducted together in South Carolina history.

 

induct [ɪnˈdʌkt] v. 吸收……為會員；徵召……入伍

 

Not a lot of individuals get to achieve this rank. It's a very small percentage, and being amongst a few, especially as young black men, it holds a lot, you know.

 

The five teenagers earned Scouting's highest rank, and to achieve this, had to master at least 21 merit badges, serve in leadership roles, and complete service projects with the intention of creating a lasting impact on the community.

 

They hope their journey encourages others to take the same path. Across the country, only around six percent of Scouts reach Eagle, a rank earned through years of commitment and service.

 

These Scouts say they plan to keep paying it forward.

 

You know, it's my home church, so I plan to come back and help out with the younger generation. We have people that are former Eagle Scouts that come back and help us, so I just want to return the favor and help out somebody else.

 

Their Scoutmaster says this milestone is only the beginning.

 

scoutmaster [ˈskaʊtˌmæstɚ] n. 童子军团长

 

This is just a monumental occasion that's going on, because these young men, I've been with them for a long time, so I know what they're capable of doing and that what they will do in the future.

 

All right, superstars, congratulations to our Your Word Wednesday winner, Talcott Homeschool in Durham, New Hampshire, who submitted verisimilitude, a noun which means the appearance of being true or real. Thank you for making us a little bit smarter today. And I have two shout outs for you today.

 

This first one is going to Miss Smith at Burton ISD in Burton, Texas. Go Panthers! And Mr. Hammer's fifth grade class at Pleasant Ridge Elementary School in Glenview, Illinois. Thank you for including us in your classroom.

 

Hope you all have a great day. I'll be back with you tomorrow. I'm Meena Duerson, and this is CNN 10.