纪录片《猫的秘密》 第26期 捕猎者

We gave them food and shelter,

我们给他们提供食物和庇护

in return for keeping mice and rats at bay.

作为回报他们替我们抓老鼠

It's the same reason these cats

这也是这些猫得以生活在

live on David Hicks's Oxfordshire farm today.

戴维·希克斯牛津郡农场的原因

We were just overrun with rats and the poison wasn't working.

我们鼠患成灾 捕鼠器也没什么作用

They were burrowing¹ under the floors of the buildings,

他们在建筑的地板下打洞

undermining² the floor so the floor collapsed³,

破坏地板导致地板塌陷

making holes in the bags of food,

在粮食袋子上嗑洞

and mucking and peeing in the food,

在粮食里大小便

making it inedible⁴ for the animals.

弄得动物们都不吃

We had such a rat problem,

鼠患十分严重

in the end, a friend suggested we got some cats

后来 一个朋友建议我们养些猫

because they sorted his rat problem out.

因为他们会解决老鼠的问题

We're three, four years on now,

这方法已经用了三四年了

we've got lots of cats but no rats.

猫多了 老鼠少了

This relationship explains why it was beneficial

这段关系解释了为什么猫保持野性

for cats to hold on to their wild side.

是有益处的

Cats like these must live much in the same way

这样的猫的生存方式

as we imagine cats must have lived right at the beginning of domestication⁵,

差不多跟刚被驯化时期的猫猫们一样

when cats were first beginning to associate themselves with man.

当猫与人类开始建立联系的时候

These cats are really here as hunters,

这些猫作为捕猎者

they are here to keep the rats and mice down on this farm.

他们在此保证了老鼠们远离农田

1 burrowing   

v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的现在分词 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• What are you burrowing around in my drawer for? 你在我抽屉里乱翻什么？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The forepaws are also used for burrowing and for dragging heavier logs. 它们的前爪还可以用来打洞和拖拽较重的树干。 来自辞典例句

2 undermining   

在某物下挖洞或挖通道( undermine的现在分词 )； 侵蚀…的基础； 暗中破坏； 逐渐削弱

参考例句：

• Far from undermining this chivalry of age, the Chinese people have reinforced it. 对于老年人应受尊敬这一问题，中国人远非贬损它，而是强调它。
• The party is accused of undermining the secular state. 这个党被控损害土耳其的世俗性质。

3 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

4 inedible   

adj.不能吃的，不宜食用的

参考例句：

• The food was totally inedible.食物完全无法下咽。
• These chemicals make the fruit inedible.这些化学品使这种水果不宜食用。

5 domestication   

n.驯养，驯化

参考例句：

• The first was the domestication of animals. 第一个阶段是驯养动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In northwestern China, there is no evidence for endemic domestication of any animals. 在中国西北，没有任何当地动物驯化的迹象。 来自辞典例句