时差N小时 懂音乐的动物

Think humans are the only creatures capable of grooving¹ to a beat?

人类是唯一能够随着节拍起舞的生物吗？

Think again.

不是。

Turns out agrowing number of animals are just as musically inclined.

事实上，越来越多的动物显示出音乐天赋。

Now, you may already know that parrots and other birds that mimic² human speech are also goodat keeping time to a musical beat.

你可能已经知道鹦鹉和其他一些能够模仿人类语言的鸟类也擅于把握音乐节拍。

Scientists think it's a side effect of repeating human speechsounds.

科学家认为这是它们重复人类语言声音而产生的副作用。

But researchers have found that both sea lions and bonobos are also capable of bopping to abeat.

但是，研究人员发现，海狮和倭黑猩猩也有乐感。

Researchers beat a drum at around 280 beats per minute and found that bonobos wereable to pick up the beat and play it on a specially³ designed drum.

研究人员以每分钟约280次的速度击鼓，发现倭黑猩猩能够跟上节奏，并在一个特制的鼓上演奏出来。

Now, given that bonobos are closely related to humans, their rhythmic⁴ ability might not soundvery surprising.

由于倭黑猩猩是人类的“近亲”，它们具有节奏感也许并不稀奇。

In the wild, bonobos are known to beat on hollow trees.

在野外，倭黑猩猩以能在中空的树上击打出节奏而闻名。

But sea lions are adifferent story they're not known to follow or pick up a beat.

但海狮却不一样，人们可从不知道它们能跟上节拍。

So it was surprising when researchers working with a sea lion they named Ronan were able to trainher to bob her head in time to different tempos⁵.

因此当研究人员同一只名叫罗南的海狮共同协作，训练它能够随着不同的节拍摇头晃脑就十分令人惊奇了。

Beyond the fact that teaching a sea lion to groove⁶ to a beat is pretty cool, it also suggests thatthe ability may be much more widespread in the animal kingdom than we've assumed, and thatkeeping time to a beat is not limited to animals able to mimic human speech.

训练海狮“闻拍起舞”十分有范儿，但也这表明动物王国中有乐感的动物也许要比我们想象的多，能跟上节拍的动物也不仅限于能够“学舌”的动物。

So we may not yet be at the point where we'll see rock bands with seals or apes on drums, but when it comes to music, humans and other animals appear to have more in common than meetsthe eye.

也许目前我们还看不到一个由海豹或猩猩组成的摇滚乐队，但是，在音乐方面，人类和其他动物似乎比表面上看起来有更多共同点。

1 grooving   

n.（轧辊）孔型设计v.沟( groove的现在分词 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏

参考例句：

• It can be used for cutting ceramics, grooving and beveling. 该切机具备切割、切槽、倒角等功能。 来自互联网
• Top-quality steel blades are used to guarantee smoothness grooving. 选任优质锯齿型开槽刀片，保证开槽光洁度。 来自互联网

2 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

3 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

4 rhythmic   

adj.有节奏的，有韵律的

参考例句：

• Her breathing became more rhythmic.她的呼吸变得更有规律了。
• Good breathing is slow,rhythmic and deep.健康的呼吸方式缓慢深沉而有节奏。

5 tempos   

乐曲的速度或拍子( tempo的名词复数 )； （运动或活动的）速度，进度

参考例句：

• The tempos of income refer to real tempo, The price factor is taken out. 收入发展速度为扣除物价因素后的实际发展速度。
• Contrasting tempos and the restraining influence of synchronism serve to produce effects of scattering and tightening. 不尽相同的曲调形成调式、速度上的对比，它们由“合头”拉扯着，形成分散、聚合的效果。

6 groove   

n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯

参考例句：

• They're happy to stay in the same old groove.他们乐于墨守成规。
• The cupboard door slides open along the groove.食橱门沿槽移开。