时差N小时 自然界的闹钟

It's four A.M.

早上四点，

You're tucked safely into a warm bed, savoring¹ thelast few hours of sleep before daybreak.

你还在温暖的被窝里蜷着，享受着天亮前为数不多的睡眠时间。

And then, suddenly… (a rooster crows).

此刻却听到雄鸡打鸣…

It must be time to wake up, roll out of bed, and tend to the farm.

闻鸡起“床”，爬出被窝，开始农作。

Except it's four A.M., it's still dark out, and you're not a farmer.

但是，现在才四点！外面黑咕隆咚的，而且，你又不是农民。

It's that neighbor of yours, the one that for some unimaginablereason keeps a rooster as a pet.

公鸡是隔壁家的，因为什么难以理解的缘由把公鸡当做宠物。

A rooster that flaunts² the most basic rules of neighborhoodetiquette by crowing every morning before sunrise. What gives?

每天的黎明前，公鸡都会打鸣，仿佛问候邻居早安。这是为什么呢？

Most people assume that roosters are programmed to crow at the first sign of sunlight toannounce the dawning of a new day, or some such romantic notion.

大多数人认为公鸡每当第一缕阳光照耀大地，就按规律打鸣，提示崭新一天的开始。另外，还有很多浪漫的解说。

Like all birds, roosters call in a daily cycle determined³ by circadian rhythms.

和其他鸟类一样，生理节律决定了公鸡每天都要打鸣。

That is, a rooster'sinternal clock allows it to anticipate the sunrise and prepare for another exciting day of looking forfood.

也就是，公鸡的生理钟让它期待日出，积极地为新的一天觅食。

But why must roosters crow as they prepare to start their day, and why do some roosters soundoff before dawn?

但是，为什么公鸡会打鸣呢？而且偏偏是在黎明前呢？

Roosters are territorial⁴ creatures and don't much like other roosters trespassing⁵ on their land.

公鸡有领地意识，自己的领地“决不许其它公鸡侵犯”。

They crow in order to establish their domain⁶ and warn other roosters to stay away or prepare to brawl⁷.

公鸡以此来维护自己的领地，警告其它公鸡远离，否则一场争斗难以避免。

And because their internal clocks are sometimes set a bit early, some roosters begincrowing well before sunrise.

又因为公鸡的生理钟有时候设置得早一些，所以，一些公鸡打鸣在日出前。

1 savoring   

v.意味，带有…的性质( savor的现在分词 )；给…加调味品；使有风味；品尝

参考例句：

• Cooking was fine but it was the savoring that he enjoyed most. 烹饪当然很好，但他最享受的是闻到的各种味道。 来自互联网
• She sat there for a moment, savoring the smell of the food. 她在那儿坐了一会儿，品尝这些食物的香味。 来自互联网

2 flaunts   

v.炫耀，夸耀( flaunt的第三人称单数 )；有什么能耐就施展出来

参考例句：

• He flaunts his queer style as a savage might flaunt a top-hat retrieved from somebody's dustbin. 他对自己那种怪异的文体加以夸耀这恰似一个野人从别人的垃圾箱里捡出一顶礼帽时那种洋洋得意的样子。 来自辞典例句
• He is a drug addict who flaunts his addiction and refuses to get treatment. 他嗜药，并以此为荣甚至拒绝治疗。 来自电影对白

3 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

4 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

5 trespassing   

[法]非法入侵

参考例句：

• He told me I was trespassing on private land. 他说我在擅闯私人土地。
• Don't come trespassing on my land again. 别再闯入我的地界了。

6 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

7 brawl   

n.大声争吵，喧嚷；v.吵架，对骂

参考例句：

• They had nothing better to do than brawl in the street.他们除了在街上斗殴做不出什么好事。
• I don't want to see our two neighbours engaged in a brawl.我不希望我们两家吵架吵得不可开交。