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VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-01-05 All About Cats - The World's Favorite Pet 世界上最受欢迎的宠物--猫

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AS IT IS 2014-01-05 All About Cats - The World's Favorite Pet 世界上最受欢迎的宠物--猫

From VOA Learning English, welcome to As It Is.

[Tom Jones: "What's New Pussycat?"]

Hi again!  I’m Kelly Jean Kelly. 

And I’m Steve Ember.

[William Warfield: "I Bought Me a Cat" from Aaron Copland's "Old American Songs"]

Today we are answering a listener’s question about cats.  Tuan Nuoc sent us an e-mail from Vietnam to say, “I love my cat so much.  He has lived with me for 17 years.  But now my cat looks very old and weak.  He can’t catch mice.  How long does a cat live?”

To answer the question, we spoke1 to Elizabeth Colleran.  She is a veterinarian -- a doctor who treats animals.  She owns two veterinary clinics on the west coast of the United States.  Her clinics specialize in cats.Dr. Colleran says she once thought 17 was very old for a cat.

“That’s really changing.  With really good nutrition, good health care, and a safe environment, I have a lot of patients now that are in their 20s.”

In comparison, she says, cats in the wild live only about seven years.

[Henry Mancini: "Something for Cat" from "Breakfast at Tiffany's"]

On the subject of cats, two American newspapers recently described new research about the world’s most popular pet.  That is correct — more people have pet cats than pet dogs. 

John Bradshaw directs the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol in Britain.  He has studied cats for more than 30 years. 

Mr. Bradshaw wrote in the Washington Post that the animals often communicate with their tails.  When a cat wants to show it is feeling friendly, it lifts its tail straight up.  Other cats recognize the straight-up tail symbol and often respond in a friendly way. 

Elizabeth Colleran says pet owners can learn to recognize tail movements and other signs that a cat is really happy to see you.

?“He would approach me with his tail up, and maybe a little bend at the end, and he’d have a really bright expression on his face.  His fur would be nice and shiny and down, and he’d walk up to me and rub against my calves2.”

If your cat does not feel like seeing you, she says, he will just walk away. 

["The Rum Tum Tugger3" from the musical "Cats"]

Purring is another way cats communicate.  John Bradshaw says most cat owners think their cat’s purr means he or she is happy.  Often that is true.  But, he says, cats may also purr when they are hungry, worried, or even angry. 

He says a purring cat is asking the observer to sit quietly with him.  The purr makes the cat feel better.  And, Dr. Colleran adds, it may also make the person feel better.

“If you have a cat purring in your lap, your heart rate and blood pressure will be lower.”

Some researchers in Austria also recently examined what makes cats stressed.  In other words, what makes cats anxious or nervous. 

The researchers work at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna.  They studied 120 cats that lived in 60 houses.  Some cats were the only cat in the house.  Others shared the house with one, two, or three other cats.

The researchers wanted to know whether cats felt more stressed when they lived alone or as part of a group.  The scientists did not find the exact answer they were seeking.  The number of cats in the house did not seem to make much difference to a cat’s stress level. 

However, the scientists found that other things did influence stress levels.  Cats could show stress if they were not at ease with human beings, did not have enough space, or did not have enough food.

In addition, the researchers found that most cats liked being touched, or stroked, by humans.  A few did not.  As Elizabeth Colleran suggested, those cats probably just walked away from people who reached out to touch them.

Thirteen of the cats did not like being stroked, but they let people touch them anyway.  The researchers found that these cats showed more evidence of stress than the others.

Dr. Colleran says that humans can do a lot to make sure their cats have happy lives.  Most house cats, she says, need places to hide and places where they feel safe to eat and drink.  In other words, they need some privacy4.  But she notes that they also need to play. 

“They are hunters.  And we need to be able to provide them a way in which they can act out those natural behaviors.”

["Cat, You Better Come Home" Garrison5 Keillor]

Sometimes, a cat will get sick.  Dr. Colleran says it can be hard for humans to realize when their cat is not well.  She suggests looking for any changes in how your cat is acting6.  For instance, you might find your cat in a room he has never been in before.  Or, he may sleep in a new place, or start to eat less. 

Dr. Colleran says take your sick cat to the veterinarian, even if the experience is unpleasant for both of you.  Let your cat ride in the car -- sometimes just for fun, she says.  And let him play or sleep in the cat carrier at home.  That way, the cat will be more relaxed when you take him to the veterinarian.     

And that’s As It Is.  I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

And I’m Steve Ember.  Thanks for listening.  If you would like to reach us, send an email to [email protected].  Or go to our website, at learningenglish.voanews.com, and click on “Contact Us.”

By the way, you can learn cat expressions on our website. Look for “Don’t Take a Cat Nap!” on Words and Their Stories.  You just might find that program to be “the cat’s pajamas7!”  

As It Is is a production of VOA Learning English.  We had purring assistance today from Mewer the Wonder Cat.  Say good-bye, Mewer.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
2 calves bb808da8ca944ebdbd9f1d2688237b0b     
n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子,腓;腿肚子( calf的名词复数 );牛犊;腓;小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 );(冰川)崩解;生(小牛等),产(犊);使(冰川)崩解
参考例句:
  • a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
  • The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 tugger 5e7146d66c69bf45236d01f826af54be     
n.拖拉器,拖拉式卷扬机
参考例句:
  • Lower the drill pipe joint into the mouse hole, and remove air tugger and lifting cap. 下放单根进小鼠洞,摘掉气动绞车和提丝。 来自互联网
4 privacy 5Q3xC     
n.私人权利,个人自由,隐私权
参考例句:
  • In such matters,privacy is impossible.在这类事情中,保密是不可能的。
  • She wept in the privacy of her own room.她在自己房内暗暗落泪。
5 garrison uhNxT     
n.卫戍部队;驻地,卫戍区;vt.派(兵)驻防
参考例句:
  • The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
  • The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。
6 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
7 pajamas XmvzDN     
n.睡衣裤
参考例句:
  • At bedtime,I take off my clothes and put on my pajamas.睡觉时,我脱去衣服,换上睡衣。
  • He was wearing striped pajamas.他穿着带条纹的睡衣裤。

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