读者文摘:宠物们在想什么(2)

7 Your nervousness might set me up for a fight too.

你的紧张可能会让我们打一架。

When an insecure dog owner approaches an unfamiliar¹ dog, the owner might pull back on the leash², causing the dog's front legs to leave the ground.

当一只缺乏安全感的狗主人接近一个不熟悉的狗时，他可能会向后拉绳子，使狗的前腿离开地面。

This stance is threatening to other dogs, which is why many react with hostility³.

这种姿态对其他狗来说是一种威胁，这就是为什么许多狗会做出敌意的反应。

Over time, an overly restrained dog will come to expect these reactions from the dogs she meets, and she'll approach them with aggression⁴ herself.

久而久之，过度拘谨的狗会预料到她遇到的狗会有这些反应，她自己也会用攻击的方式接近它们。

8 I may have a mood disorder⁵.

我可能又情绪障碍。

Eight percent of dog owners and 6 percent of cat owners have given their pets medicine for anxiety and other mood disorders⁶, according to a study by the market research firm Packaged Facts.

根据市场调查公司Packaged Facts的一项研究，8%的狗主人和6%的猫主人给他们的宠物服用过治疗焦虑和其他情绪障碍的药物。

The FDA has approved pet variations of human medicines for separation anxiety, noise aversion, and cognitive⁷ dysfunction, the Washington Post reports.

据《华盛顿邮报》报道，美国食品和药物管理局批准了用于治疗分离焦虑、厌恶噪音和认知功能障碍的人类药物的宠物品种。

9 I can be compulsive. Dogs chase their tails for lots of reasons:

我可能会有强迫症。《犬类杂志》表示，狗会因很多的原因来追逐它的尾巴：

They're itchy or have bowel⁸ irritation⁹, they are indulging their predatory nature, or they're just bored, according to Canine¹⁰ Journal.

他们发痒或者出现了肠道刺激，他们纵容自己的捕食本性，或者他们只是觉得无聊。

In certain cases, though, tail chasing can be a sign of canine compulsive disorder.

但是，在某些情况下，追逐尾巴可能是一个犬强迫症的表现。

The condition can develop when a dog is frequently stressed or frustrated¹¹, veterinarian Stephanie Liff told petmd.com.

兽医斯蒂芬妮·里夫告诉petmd.com网站，当狗狗经常感到压力或沮丧时，就会出现这种情况。

Once the stressor is removed, the dog will likely stop his odd behavior.

一旦紧张性刺激消除了，狗就可能会停止他的奇怪行为。

10 I don't feel guilty—ever. Like their intelligence, dogs' emotional maturity¹³ is similar to that of toddlers.

我从不会感到内疚。就像他们的智力，狗的情感成熟度与幼儿相似。

"The average two-to-three-year-old has all the basic emotions, like joy and sadness and fear and anger and disgust and surprise," Coren says.

“一般两到三岁的狗都有基本的情感，比如快乐，悲伤，恐惧，生气，厌恶和惊讶。”科伦说。

"But they don't have complex social emotions like guilt¹², shame, and pride."

“但是他们没有复杂的社会情感，比如内疚，羞耻和自豪。”

When you come home to find that your dog has made a mess and she tucks her tail and looks ashamed, she's really just afraid of your anger.

当你回家发现你的狗弄得一团糟，她摇着尾巴，看起来有些羞耻时，她只是害怕你生气。

She's smart enough to associate the mess with your being upset, but guilt isn't part of her repertoire¹⁴.

她足够聪明，知道弄一团糟会让你生气，但是她不会感到内疚。

11 But I do get jealous. Did your dog snap at you when you petted another pooch at the park? He could be jealous.

我有时会嫉妒。你去公园溜其他的杂种狗时，你的狗会朝你猛咬吗？他可能嫉妒了。

Researchers compared how dogs reacted when their owners were paying attention either to a stuffed dog or to another inanimate object such as a pail or a book.

研究人员让狗主人关注一只填充玩具狗或者一个静物，比如一个提桶或者一本书，并比较了狗的反应。

Nearly three quarters of the dogs exhibited jealous behavior about the fake canine,

近四分之三的狗对这只假狗表现出嫉妒行为，

but only 42 percent and 22 percent reacted badly to the pail and book, respectively.

但只有42%和22%的人对提桶和书反应糟糕。

Scientists suspect that canine jealousy¹⁵ dates back to the days when dogs competed for food and other resources.

科学家表示，犬类嫉妒可追溯到狗为食物和资源竞争的岁月。

12 My hearing may be worse if I have light-colored fur.

如果我有浅色皮毛的话，我的听力可能会更差。

Dogs that have predominantly white coats have a higher chance of being born deaf in at least one ear.

主要是白色皮毛的狗有更高的几率在出生时至少有一只耳朵是聋的。

In fact, 30 percent of dalmatians are born with this condition, according to Coren.

实际上，有30%的达尔马西亚狗出生时都有这种情况，科伦表示。

The gene¹⁶ that causes a dog to have a white coat just happens to be associated with deafness- as well as with blue eyes.

导致狗有白色皮毛的基因碰巧和耳聋有关-还和蓝色眼睛有关。

1 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

2 leash   

n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住

参考例句：

• I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳，但被狗挡住了路。
• The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带，想挣脱开去。

3 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

4 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

5 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

6 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

8 bowel   

n.肠(尤指人肠)；内部，深处

参考例句：

• Irritable bowel syndrome seems to affect more women than men.女性比男性更易患肠易激综合征。
• Have you had a bowel movement today?你今天有排便吗？

9 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

10 canine   

adj.犬的，犬科的

参考例句：

• The fox is a canine animal.狐狸是犬科动物。
• Herbivorous animals have very small canine teeth,or none.食草动物的犬牙很小或者没有。

11 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

13 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

14 repertoire   

n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表

参考例句：

• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。
• He has added considerably to his piano repertoire.他的钢琴演奏曲目大大增加了。

15 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

16 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。