华盛顿大学的麦伦·谢凯尔博士认为，《星球大战》中的尤达原型是眼镜猴，因为它们都有着大眼睛、小身体，说着神秘的语言。

　　It's a question that sparks endless debate among Star Wars fans; who exactly was the inspiration behind the legendary Yoda?

　　这一话题在《星球大战》粉丝中引发争论不断，尤达的创作灵感究竟从何而来？

　　Some believe the Jedi master was modeled on Albert Einstein, while others suggest the character's creator, Stuart Freeborn, designed Yoda based on himself.

　　有人认为绝地武士的原型是阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦，也有人认为尤达这个角色是设计者斯图尔特·福利伯恩以自己为原型设计的。

　　《星球大战》中尤达的原型是眼镜猴？

　　Now one biologist is arguing that Yoda was in fact based on a tiny, wide-eyed creature, named the tarsier, which can be found in the trees of Indonesia, Philippines and Borneo.

　　如今，一位生物学家认为，尤达的形象取自体形小、眼睛大的生物，叫作眼镜猴，它们在印度尼西亚、菲律宾和婆罗洲的森林中很常见。

　　And it's easy to see why. They some of the biggest eyes relative to body size in the animal kingdom. They are incredibly small in size and have mysterious form of communication.

　　原因显而易见。眼镜猴是眼睛占身体比例最大的动物，它们的身体非常小，交流方式也很神秘。

　　According to Matt Simon at Wired, one of the world's experts on the creature, Myron Shekell, from Washington University believes the similarities between Yoda and the tarsier are striking.

　　据美国《连线》杂志马特·西蒙的文章称，世界眼镜猴专家、华盛顿大学的麦伦博士认为，尤达和眼镜猴有着惊人的相似之处。

　　'I work closely with a guy who knows Harrison Ford, and Harrison Ford of course knows Lucas, so we've been trying to get the actual answer for a while,' he told Wired.

　　他向《连线》杂志透露：“我与一位认识哈里森·福特的人合作密切，而哈里森·福特当然认识卢卡斯，所以我们一直希望得到真正的答案。”

　　'But we don't have it really confirmed.'

　　“但我们目前并不十分确定。”

　　There are believed to be around 10 species of tarsier. Growing to just 15.2 cm (6 inches) in length and weighing less than an average wristwatch, the tarsier is one of the smallest primates in the world.

　　世界上现有眼镜猴约十种。它们的体长只有152厘米（六英寸），体重不到一块普通手表的分量，是世界上最小的灵长类动物之一。

　　It also has long hind limbs and its feet have extremely elongated tarsus bones, hence his name.

　　眼镜猴后肢很长，踝骨细长，因此又名跗猴。

　　After dark, it can jump more than 40 times its own body length in a surprising display of agility.

　　天黑后，它们跳跃高度可达体长的40倍以上，弹跳力惊人。

　　The casual mammal is often seen in inquisitive mode, caught with one eye closed as if in cahoots with the photographer.

　　眼镜猴常常表现出好奇的样子，闭上一只眼睛好像在跟摄影师串通好了一样。

　　While they are famous for not saying much at all, research several years ago found that they are real chatterbox' – in ultrasound.

　　它们也以“寡言少语”著称，不过几年前的一项调查却发现它们实际上是“话匣子”，只不过是用超声波交流而已。

　　Researchers from Humboldt State University in California in fact found that the 'minimum frequency' of its call is 67 kHz - higher than any land-based animal bar rodents and some bats – and occasionally rising to 70 kHz.

　　加利福尼亚洪堡州立大学的研究人员发现，它们叫声的最低频率是67千赫，有时甚至能达到70千赫，高于除啮齿动物和蝙蝠外的任何陆地生物。

　　Anything above 20 kHz is inaudible to a human, with dogs able to detect sounds pitched up to 23 kHz.

　　人类听不到20千赫以上的声音，而狗可以察觉到高达23千赫的声音。

　　This means that the creatures effectively have a secret language that they can use to warn each other of predators.

　　这意味着动物们具有有效的秘密语言，可以用来相互警告，以躲避捕食者。

　　Vocabulary

　　biologist: 生物学家

　　wristwatch: 手表

　　primate: 灵长类动物

　　elongate: 伸长的

　　agility: 灵活

　　inquisitive: 好奇的

　　chatterbox: 话匣子

　　ultrasound: 超声

　　rodent: 啮齿动物

　　inaudible: 听不见的

　　predator: 捕食者