2019年经济学人 猫猫狗狗统治“铲屎官”(2)

 

The pet business is growing even faster than pet numbers, because people are spending more and more money on them. No longer are they food-waste-recyclers, fed with the scraps¹ that fall from their masters’ tables. Pet-food shelves groan² with delicacies³ crafted to satisfy a range of appetites, including ice cream for dogs and foods for pets that are old, diabetic or suffer from sensitive digestion⁴; a number of internet services offer bespoke⁵ food, tailored to the pet’s individual tastes.

宠物行业的增长速度甚至比宠物数量还快，因为人们在宠物身上花的钱越来越多。宠物不再是食物垃圾的回收者，不再吃主人桌子上掉下来的残羹剩饭。宠物食品货架上摆满了精心制作的美味佳肴，以满足各种各样的食欲，包括为狗狗准备的冰淇淋，以及为年老、患有糖尿病或消化不良的宠物准备的食物；许多互联网服务提供定制的食物，以适应宠物的个人口味。

In the business this is called “pet humanisation”—the tendency of pet owners to treat their pets as part of the family. This is evident in the names given to dogs, which have evolved from Fido, Rex and Spot to—in America—Bella, Lucy and Max. It is evident in the growing market for pet clothing, pet grooming⁶ and pet hotels. It is evident in the demand for breeds such as the French bulldog, which, tellingly, looks a bit like a human baby.

在商业领域，这被称为“宠物人类化”——宠物主人倾向于将宠物视为家庭的一部分。从狗的名字就可以看出这一点，在美国，狗的名字从Fido, Rex和Spot变到Bella, Lucy和Max。这在不断增长的宠物服装、宠物美容和宠物旅店市场上是显而易见的。从对法国斗牛犬等品种的需求中就可以明显看出这一点。很明显，法国斗牛犬看起来有点像人类的婴儿。

People still assume that pets must be working for humanity in some way, perhaps making people healthier or less anxious. But the evidence for that is weak. Rather, new research suggests that canines⁷ have evolved those irresistible⁸ “puppy-dog eyes” precisely⁹ to manipulate human emotions. It has worked. The species that once enslaved others now toils¹⁰ to pay for the care of its pets, which lounge on the sofa waiting to be taken to the grooming salon¹¹. Sentimental¹² Americans often refer to themselves not as cat-owners but as the cat’s “mommy” or “daddy”. South Koreans go one further, describing themselves as cat “butlers”, pandering¹³ to every feline¹⁴ whim¹⁵. Watch a hapless dog-walker trailing “his” hound, plastic bag in hand to pick up its mess, and you have to wonder: who’s in charge now?

人们仍然认为宠物一定在以某种方式为人类服务，或许是让人们更健康，或许是减轻了焦虑。但这方面的证据并不充分。相反，新的研究表明，狗狗进化出了那些令人难以抗拒的“小狗眼睛”，正是为了控制人类的情绪。这的确奏效了。曾经奴役其他物种的人类现在要辛苦地支付照顾宠物的费用，这些宠物懒洋洋地躺在沙发上，等着被带到美容沙龙。多愁善感的美国人常常称自己为猫的“妈妈”或“爸爸”，而不是猫的主人。韩国人则更甚，他们自称为猫的“管家”，迎合猫的每一个奇想。看着一个倒霉的遛狗人牵着“他的”狗，手里拿着塑料袋捡狗粪，你一定会心生疑问：现在谁是老大？

1 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

2 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。

3 delicacies   

n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到

参考例句：

• Its flesh has exceptional delicacies. 它的肉异常鲜美。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• After these delicacies, the trappers were ready for their feast. 在享用了这些美食之后，狩猎者开始其大餐。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗

4 digestion   

n.消化，吸收

参考例句：

• This kind of tea acts as an aid to digestion.这种茶可助消化。
• This food is easy of digestion.这食物容易消化。

5 bespoke   

adj.（产品）订做的；专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求

参考例句：

• His style of dressing bespoke great self-confidence. 他的衣着风格显得十分自信。
• The haberdasher presented a cap, saying,"Here is the cap your worship bespoke." 帽匠拿出一顶帽子来说：“这就是老爷您定做的那顶。” 来自辞典例句

6 grooming   

n. 修饰, 美容，（动物）梳理毛发

参考例句：

• You should always pay attention to personal grooming. 你应随时注意个人仪容。
• We watched two apes grooming each other. 我们看两只猩猩在互相理毛。

7 canines   

n.犬齿( canine的名词复数 )；犬牙；犬科动物

参考例句：

• For example, the teeth are more primitive. There are large canines and unusually shaped incisors. 譬如，牙齿更为原始，有大的犬齿和非常合适的门齿。 来自辞典例句
• Well-to-canines can attend doggy daycare centers while their owners work. 富人家的狗在主人上班的时候可以去狗狗托管中心。 来自互联网

8 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

9 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

10 toils   

网

参考例句：

• It did not declare him to be still in Mrs. Dorset's toils. 这并不表明他仍陷于多赛特夫人的情网。
• The thief was caught in the toils of law. 这个贼陷入了法网。

11 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

12 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

13 pandering   

v.迎合（他人的低级趣味或淫欲）( pander的现在分词 )；纵容某人；迁就某事物

参考例句：

• This magazine is criticized for pandering to the vulgar taste of some readers. 这家杂志因迎合某些读者的低级趣味而遭到批评。 来自辞典例句
• We're four points up there; we don't need to get hit for pandering. 我们在那儿领先四个百分点；我们不必为了迎合一些选民而遭受批评。 来自电影对白

14 feline   

adj.猫科的

参考例句：

• As a result,humans have learned to respect feline independence.结果是人们已经学会尊重猫的独立性。
• The awakening was almost feline in its stealthiness.这种醒觉，简直和猫的脚步一样地轻悄。

15 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。