60秒科学:Cat Call Coerces Can Opening

Cat Call Coerces¹ Can Opening

Anyone who’s ever had a cat knows how demanding they can be. Let me out, let me in, give me food, give me different food. The list goes on. But how do these clever kitties convince us to do their bidding? A study in the July 14 issue of Current Biology suggests it’s all in how they ask.

Karen McComb of the University of Sussex started studying persuasive² cat calls after realizing that her own pet used a hybrid³ between a purr and a cry to get her out of bed in the morning. McComb got recordings⁴ of other cat calls. And back in the lab, she found that humans thought purrs made by cats who were trying to solicit⁵ a snack were more urgent, and less pleasant, than those made when kitty was, say, relaxing on the sofa.

Turns out that the "feed me" purr includes a high-frequency component⁶, absent from the contented⁷ purr, that makes people want to reach for a can opener just to make Fluffy⁸ stop. It’s obviously part of “Fluffy’s Master Plan (song) for World Domination.”

 

1 coerces   

v.迫使做( coerce的第三人称单数 )；强迫；（以武力、惩罚、威胁等手段）控制；支配

参考例句：

• One coaxes, the other coerces. 一个唱红脸，一个唱白脸。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She coerces Alexis to repeat that he loves her. 伊丽莎白要求亚历克西斯不断重复说，他爱她。 来自互联网

2 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

3 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

4 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

5 solicit   

vi.勾引；乞求；vt.请求，乞求；招揽(生意)

参考例句：

• Beggars are not allowed to solicit in public places.乞丐不得在公共场所乞讨。
• We should often solicit opinions from the masses.我们应该经常征求群众意见。

6 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

7 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

8 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。