时差N小时 养宠物可以减压?(上)

It's time to go again to the A Moment of Science mail bag.

欢迎回到阅读《科学一刻》栏目来时间了。

A listener writes:

一位听众来信表示：

Dear A Moment of Science, I've heard that owning a dog or cat can be a good way to deal with stress and ward¹ off depression.

亲爱的《科学一刻》栏目组，我听说养狗或养猫是对待压力和预防抑郁的好方法。

So I was wondering–is it interacting² with actual pets that's beneficial, or would just looking at pictures of cats and dogs work to curb³ stress?

所以我一直想知道，有益的是与真实的宠物互动吗?或是只是看看猫猫狗狗的图片就可以减少压力呢?

Interesting question! Actually owning a pet is different from merely looking at pictures of cute puppies⁴ and kittens, certainly.

这是个有趣的问题。实际上，拥有宠物当然有别于只是看看可爱小狗或猫咪的图片。

Stress relief has a lot to do with the companionship that real pets provide.

减压与真实的宠物给我们的陪伴有很大关联。

But one study showed that watching videos of animals can help reduce stress.

但是，一项研究显示观看动物视频可以帮助人们减压。

And according to the study by researchers in Japan, looking at pictures of cute animals does appear to help us focus and concentrate.

而且根据日本学者的这项研究，看可爱动物的图片似乎可以帮助我们集中精神。

1 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

2 interacting   

adj.相互影响的；相互作用的

参考例句：

• The interacting surfaces were lubricated with a mineral oil. 相互作用表面是用矿物油润滑的。
• Proteins which have two separate but interacting sites are called allosteric proteins. 这种具有两个不同而又相互作用位置的蛋白质叫做变构蛋白质。

3 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

4 puppies   

n.（常指不满一岁的）小狗(puppy的复数)；小狗，幼犬( puppy的名词复数 )；浅薄自负的年轻男子

参考例句：

• a litter of puppies 一窝小狗
• The bitch bore six puppies. 母狗生了六只小狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》