英语听力文摘 English Digest 337、狗比猫更懦弱？

Is Your Dog Wimpier than Your Cat?
狗比猫更懦弱？

Have you ever noticed that while it’s pretty easy to tell your dog is sick, it’s much harder to know how your cat or bird are feeling? Well, before you start asking your dog why it can’t be more stoic like animals half its size, it’s probably worth considering each animal’s place in the food chain.

You see, the lower¹ down the food chain you are, the more important it is for you to hide any sign of illness. Obvious illness or pain function as red flags for predators. You may as well wear a sign saying, “Easy meal, guys. Come and get me.”

Now, even small dogs are genetically² programmed to function like predators, which makes sense considering they are close relatives of wolves. And birds–you can probably figure out why the only way you’d find out your bird is sick is when it dies. The situation with cats, as compared to dogs and birds, is much more interesting. On the one hand, cats are predators, but on the other, they’re small enough to be prey³.

So how can you tell if your smaller pets need medical attention? For one thing, trust your hunches. No one knows your pets like you do, so if you notice even very subtle⁴ changes in habits and behavior, you may want to have a vet look them over. For a cat, other signs of illness might be that it has stopped grooming, is losing weight, vocalizing more or less than usual, or missing⁵ the litter box.

你有没有注意到发现狗是否生病很容易，但想知道猫或鸟的感受就比较难了。在你问“为什么狗不能比身材不及它一半的动物更坚强”之前，应该思考一下狗在食物链中的位置。

要知道，在食物链的位置越低，隐藏疾病的任何征兆就越重要。明显的疾病或疼痛对食肉动物来说是危险的信号。就好像你身上有这样的标语“容易到手的午餐，伙计们，快来吃我吧”。

现在，即使是很小的狗也由基因决定了是肉食动物。所以把狗看作狼的近亲也是有道理的。至于鸟类，也许能知道它是否生病的唯一途径就是死亡。而猫的情况与狗和鸟相比，就更有趣了。一方面，猫是食肉动物；另一方面，它们身材矮小很容易被捕食。

所以你要怎样判断宠物需要医药治疗呢？首先，相信预感。没有人比你更了解你的宠物。当你注意到它们生活习惯上尽管是非常微小的变化，也要请兽医对其进行检查。而猫生病的其它征兆，可能就是精神不振，食欲不佳等症状。

 

 

1 lower   

adj.较低的；地位较低的，低等的；低年级的；下游的；vt.放下，降下，放低；减低

参考例句：

• Society is divided into upper,middle and lower classes.社会分为上层、中层和下层阶级。
• This price is his minimum;he refuses to lower it any further.这个价格是他开的最低价，他拒绝再作任何降价。

2 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

3 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

4 subtle   

adj.难于觉察或描述的，精巧的

参考例句：

• Her whole attitude had undergone a subtle change.她的整个态度发生了微妙的变化。
• There's a subtle hint of garlic in the sauce.调味汁里稍微有一点蒜味。

5 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。