新奇事件簿 算狗狗年龄的方法

For decades, dog lovers have been incorrectly calculating the age of their pet pooches.

几十年来，爱狗人士计算宠物狗年龄的方法都是错误的。

People have traditionally worked out their dog's age in "human years" by multiplying by seven.

人们通常用狗的年龄乘以7来计算它们相当于人的年龄。

However, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine in the USA have come up with a new formula.

但美国加州大学圣地亚哥医学院的研究人员提出了一种新的公式。

They say it more precisely¹ determines canine² age. Their new method requires a little more than simple mental arithmetic to work out a dog's age.

他们表示，这种公式能够更准确地计算狗狗的年龄。他们的新方法需要比简单的心算稍微复杂一点的方法来计算狗狗的年龄。

It involves a comparison of the genomes of dogs and humans. Scientists had to analyse how DNA³ changes as humans and dogs age.

其中涉及对狗和人类基因组的比较。科学家需要分析DNA是如何随着人类和狗的年龄变化的。

The scientists regard such DNA analysis as the best way to measure the ageing speed of mammals.

科学家把这种DNA分析当做是估算哺乳动物衰老速度的最佳方法。

The researchers analysed blood samples from 105 Labrador retrievers.

研究人员分析了105只拉布拉多寻回犬的血液样本。

After a bit of number crunching⁴, they created a graph to show the different rates at which canines⁵ and humans age.

经过一番数字运算后，他们绘制了一张图表以显示犬科动物和人类衰老的不同速度。

They said a one-year-old dog is similar to a 30-year-old human, while a four-year-old hound is comparable to a 52-year-old person.

他们表示一岁的狗狗相当于30岁的人，而四岁的猎犬相当于52岁的人。

Researcher Trey Ideker said by the time a dog reaches seven years old, its ageing slows.

研究员Trey Ideker表示，狗狗达到七岁时，其衰老速度就会减慢。

He said: "This makes sense. When you think about it, a nine-month-old dog can have puppies,

他说道：“这也是说得通的。你仔细想想，一只九个月大的狗就能生小狗仔，

so we already knew that the 1:7 ratio wasn't an accurate measure of age."

所以我们已经知道1:7的比例并不是一个准确的衡量年龄的标准。”

The researchers said their new formula doesn't fully⁶ address the fact that different breeds of dog age at different speeds.

研究人员表示，他们的新公式并没有完全解决不同品种的狗衰老速度不同的问题。

1 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

2 canine   

adj.犬的，犬科的

参考例句：

• The fox is a canine animal.狐狸是犬科动物。
• Herbivorous animals have very small canine teeth,or none.食草动物的犬牙很小或者没有。

3 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

4 crunching   

v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的现在分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• The horses were crunching their straw at their manger. 这些马在嘎吱嘎吱地吃槽里的草。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog was crunching a bone. 狗正嘎吱嘎吱地嚼骨头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 canines   

n.犬齿( canine的名词复数 )；犬牙；犬科动物

参考例句：

• For example, the teeth are more primitive. There are large canines and unusually shaped incisors. 譬如，牙齿更为原始，有大的犬齿和非常合适的门齿。 来自辞典例句
• Well-to-canines can attend doggy daycare centers while their owners work. 富人家的狗在主人上班的时候可以去狗狗托管中心。 来自互联网

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。