时差N小时 如何判断宠物需要医药治疗?(上)

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?

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。

Well, before you start asking your dog why it can't be more stoic¹ like animals half its size, it's probably worth considering each animal's place in the foodchain.

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。

You see, the lower² down the food chain you are, the more important it is for you to hide any sign of illness.

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。

Obvious illness or pain function as red flags for predators³. You may as well wear a sign saying, “Easy meal, guys. Come and get me.”

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”。

Now, even small dogs are genetically⁴ programmed to function like predators, which makes sense considering they are close relatives of wolves.

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。

And birds–you can probably figure out why the only way you'd find out your bird is sick is when it dies.

至于鸟类，也许能知道它是否生病的唯一途径就是死亡。

1 stoic   

n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者

参考例句：

• A stoic person responds to hardship with imperturbation.坚忍克己之人经受苦难仍能泰然自若。
• On Rajiv's death a stoic journey began for Mrs Gandhi,supported by her husband's friends.拉吉夫死后，索尼亚在丈夫友人的支持下开始了一段坚忍的历程。

2 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。

3 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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