读者文摘:宠物们在想什么(4)

19 Purring doesn't always mean I'm happy. Cats also purr if they're sick or injured.

呼噜声并不总是意味着猫是开心的。猫在生病或者受伤时也会有呼噜声。

They're essentially¹ saying they need your help or want you to stay nearby for comfort.

它们是在说，它们需要你的帮助，或者需要你待在附近安慰它。

Another theory is that the action of purring is physically² healing for cats.

另一个理论表示，猫打呼噜意味着它正在身体治疗。

Gary Weitzman, a veterinarian and CEO of the San Diego Humane³ Society,

兽医加里·韦茨曼是圣地亚哥动物保护协会的首席执行官，

told the BBC that the frequency of a cat's purr is similar to the frequencies of vibrations⁴ associated with bone and tissue healing.

他告诉BBC，猫打呼噜的频率与骨骼和组织愈合相关的振动的频率是相似的。

20 My purring might help you too. The frequencies of a cat's purr may confer health benefits on nearby humans as well.

猫的呼噜声也能帮助人类。猫的呼噜声也可能对身边的人带来健康益处。

"It calms us and pleases us, like watching waves against a beach," Dr.Weitzman told the BBC.

“它使我们平静和愉悦，就像浪打在海滩上，”韦茨曼告诉BBC。

"We respond to a cat's purr as a calming stimulus⁵ and may have even genetically⁶ selected cats with more propensity⁷ to purr."

“猫的呼噜声对我们来说是一种镇静刺激，甚至从遗传学角度来说，我们就更喜欢选择有更多呼噜倾向的猫。”

21 I care what you think. For a study in Animal Cognition in 2015,

我在意你的感觉。在2015年的一个动物认知实验中，

researchers set up an unfamiliar⁸ and slightly scary scenario⁹ (if you are a cat)—an electric fan with ribbons attached.

研究人员设置了一个不熟悉的、有点吓人的场景(如果你是一只猫)——一个绑着带子的电扇。

When cats entered the room with their owners, 79 percent looked back and forth¹⁰ between their person and the fan,

当猫与其主人进到房间里时，79%的猫来回看着他们的主人和电扇，

indicating that they were trying to see whether the human was afraid.

这表明，他们试图确定人类是否害怕了。

Half the owners were told to act confident and approach the fan, and the other half were told to act nervous and move away from it.

研究人员让一半的主人表现出自信，接近电扇，另一半则要表现出紧张，远离电扇。

The cats whose people seemed scared were significantly more likely to direct their gaze to the room's exit.

那些表现出害怕的人们的猫更有可能将目光投向房间的出口。

22 But I still might treat you as if you're not there.

但是我还是会把你当外人看待。

Japanese researchers found in a recent study that cats recognize their own names.

日本研究人员在最近的一项研究中发现，猫能够识别他们自己的名字。

Regardless of who was speaking, most cats reacted in the same way,

研究人员表示，当猫的名字被叫到时，不管是谁在说话，大多数猫的反应是一样的，

moving their heads or perking¹¹ up their ears when their names were spoken, the researchers wrote.

转动他们的头，或者竖起他们的耳朵。

So if Fluffy¹² isn't coming when you call? Yup, she's probably just ignoring you.

当你叫路威的时候，她没有过来？她可能就是在忽略你。

23 I hold a grudge¹³. Your feline¹⁴ friend not only remembers the sound of the can opener and the jingle¹⁵ of his favorite toy;

我会记仇。你的猫科朋友不仅会记得开瓶器的声音，还有他最喜欢的玩具的铃声，

he also remembers who sprayed him with a water pistol to get him off the dinner table.

他也记得谁朝他滋水枪，让他从晚餐桌上下去。

"Cats don't forgive, and once they realize a person is causing them anxiety or hurt, they keep away," Bradshaw says.

布拉德肖说：“猫是不会原谅的，一旦他们意识到某人给他们带来焦虑或者受伤的话，他们会远离这个人。”

24 I'm not trying to make you mad. Cats are stretching, flexing¹⁶, removing dead cells from their claws,

我不是要惹你生气。根据动物保护协会的说法，猫在家具上制造划痕时，

and marking territory when they scratch furniture, according to the Humane Society.

猫是在伸展，屈伸，从爪子上去除死细胞，还有标记领地。

There is also a reason behind their spraying—unlike us, they find the scent¹⁷ comforting, and they spray to feel more secure in a stressful situation.

它们喷洒小便也是有原因的——不像我们，它们觉得气味很舒服，它们在紧张的情况下喷洒是为了感到更安全。

"Cats are control freaks," Cathy Lund, a feline-only veterinarian in Providence¹⁸, Rhode Island, told petmd.com. "They like to feel in charge."

凯茜·伦德是罗得岛州普罗维登斯的猫科兽医。她告诉petmd.com，“猫都是控制狂，他们喜欢掌控一切的感觉。”

1 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

2 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

3 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

4 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

6 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

7 propensity   

n.倾向；习性

参考例句：

• He has a propensity for drinking too much alcohol.他有酗酒的倾向。
• She hasn't reckoned on his propensity for violence.她不曾料到他有暴力倾向。

8 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。

9 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

10 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

11 perking   

（使）活跃( perk的现在分词 )； （使）增值； 使更有趣

参考例句：

• The weather seems to be perking up. 天气似乎要变好。
• She is perking herself at mirror. 她正对镜化妆。

12 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

13 grudge   

n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做

参考例句：

• I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。
• I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。

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 jingle   

n.叮当声，韵律简单的诗句；v.使叮当作响，叮当响，押韵

参考例句：

• The key fell on the ground with a jingle.钥匙叮当落地。
• The knives and forks set up their regular jingle.刀叉发出常有的叮当声。

16 flexing   

n.挠曲，可挠性v.屈曲( flex的现在分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌

参考例句：

• Flexing particular muscles allows snakes to move in several ways. 可弯曲的特殊的肌肉使蛇可以用几种方式移动。 来自电影对白
• China has become an economic superpower and is flexing its muscles. 中国已经成为了一个经济巨人而且在展示他的肌肉。 来自互联网

17 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

18 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。