VOA慢速英语2016 研究表明狗确实能理解人类（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2016-09-01 Research Shows Dogs Really Do Understand Humans 研究表明狗确实能理解人类

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这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。

Researchers in Hungary have now confirmed what many dog owners already knew. Dogs or canines can understand our feelings. Scientists using a Magnetic Resonance Scanner, or MRI, to learn about dog emotions. The research showed that they are quite similar to the emotions of humans.

匈牙利的研究人员日前证实很多狗主人早就知道的事实,那就是狗或者犬科动物能够理解我们的情绪! 科学家们使用核磁共振扫描仪(简称MRI)来研究狗的情绪。结果表明狗的情绪与人类的非常接近。

An MRI uses magnetic fields to produce images of the inside of the body. MRIs are painless, and do not require the patient to be cut open. However, the patient must remain still, and the patient must be awake to record brain activity.

核磁共振扫描仪利用磁场生成身体内部图像。做核磁共振成像是无痛的，患者也无需开刀。然而，必须保持不动，同时必须保持清醒以记录大脑活动。

In the past, dogs have not being good MRI patients. They are not usually calm in a laboratory. But researchers at ELTE University in Hungary pet the dogs and gave them food treats. As a result, the scientists were able to capture images of the dogs' brains. Researcher Attila Andics says the study will help explain the relationships between dogs and humans.

过去，狗做核磁共振是无法实现的，因为在实验室他们总是上窜下跳。但匈牙利罗兰大学的研究人员通过爱抚以及美食款待，最终捕捉到狗狗大脑图像。研究员阿提拉·安第西斯表示这次研究将可以用科学的方法解释为什么狗和人类的关系如此亲密。

"We have known for a long time that dogs and humans share similar social environment, but now our results show that dogs and humans also have similar brain mechanisms to process social information," said Andics.

安第西斯表示“很久之前我们就了解狗和人类有着类似的社会环境，但是现在我们的研究结果表明狗与人类同样有类似处理信息的大脑机制。”

Researchers trained 11 dogs to stay completely still while images were taken of their brains. The researchers tested the dogs' reactions to about 200 emotional sounds, including crying, playful barking and laughing. Then they compared the dog reactions with reactions from humans in the study. The researchers discovered that the reactions were similar.

在获取大脑图像时，研究者训练11狗狗保持完全静止。他们通过大约200种声音，包括哭泣、顽皮的叫声以及大笑声来测试狗狗们的反应。然后对比人类在同样实验中的反应。最终结果是反应非常接近。

The dog brain is also being studied at Duke University, in North Carolina. Evan MacLean is the Co-Director of the school's Canine Cognition Center. He feels the Hungarian results are an important step forward.

北卡罗莱纳州杜克大学也在研究狗的大脑。埃文·麦克莱恩是该校犬科认知中心主任，他认为匈牙利人的研究向前迈出了很重要的一步。

"We've known for a long time that dogs have a lot of behavioral similarities compared to humans. But we don't know anything or very little at least about whether some of these behaviors are represented similarly inside the brain of the dog, so this research is providing a first glimpses to whether these behavioral similarities are underlined by similar neural processes," said MacLean.

麦克莱恩主任表示“很久之前我们就知道在很多方面狗和人类的行为都很类似，但是却不知在大脑里的反应是否也类似。因此这次研究就这些相似的行为是否有类似的神经处理过程提供了科学依据”

This findings are not just important to dogs and the people who love them. Mr Andics says that the study establishes a new type of comparative brain science, it expands the possibilities for research.

安第西斯先生表示这次的调查结果不仅对狗和爱狗人很重要，它还建立了一种新型对比型大脑科学，从而为进一步研究创造可能。

He says it was not possible to measure the brain activities of a non-primate and a primate in a single experiment until now. And the Hungarian scientists say the study has a message for ordinary dog owners too, treat your dogs as a friend, and not just an animal. Now, there is scientific proof that they do in fact understand what you are feeling.

他说到目前为止，无法在单一实验中测试非灵长类和灵长类动物的大脑活动。匈牙利的科学家们表示这次研究对狗主人也有启示那就是别只把狗狗当一只动物，而是当成你们的朋友。现在科学证明它们确实了解我们的感受。

Words in This Story

impress – v. to cause (someone) to feel admiration or interest

evolutionary – adj. the way things change due to a natural process over a long period of time

tone – n. a quality, feeling, or attitude expressed by the words that someone uses in speaking or writing

pitch – n. the highness or lowness of a sound

encouraging – adj. causing a hopeful feeling

tune in – v. to understand and be aware of a situation, other people's needs