第 9 课 · Flying Cats

Flying cats

飞猫

Cats never fail to fascinate human beings.

猫总能引起人们极大的兴趣。

They can be friendly and affectionate towards humans, but they lead mysterious lives of their own as well.

它们可以对人友好、亲昵，但同时也过着自己神秘的生活。

They never become submissive like dogs and horses.

它们从来不像狗和马那样变得顺从。

As a result, humans have learned to respect feline independence.

因此，人们学会了尊重猫科动物的独立性。

Most cats remain suspicious of humans all their lives.

大多数猫一辈子都对人类心存戒备。

One of the things that fascinates us most about cats is the popular belief that they have nine lives.

猫最让我们着迷的一点，是一种流传甚广的说法：猫有九条命。

Apparently, there is a good deal of truth in this idea.

显然，这种说法有相当大的真实性。

A cat's ability to survive falls is based on fact.

猫能从坠落中幸存，这是有事实依据的。

Recently the New York Animal Medical Centre made a study of 132 cats over a period of five months.

最近，纽约动物医疗中心用五个月时间对132只猫进行了一项研究。

All these cats had one experience in common: they had fallen off high buildings, yet only eight of them died from shock or injuries.

这些猫都有一段共同的经历：它们都曾从高楼摔下，但其中只有八只死于震荡或创伤。

Of course, New York is the ideal place for such an interesting study, because there is no shortage of tall buildings.

当然，纽约是进行这种有趣研究的理想之地，因为那里根本不缺高楼。

There are plenty of high-rise windowsills to fall from!

有的是高层窗台，够猫从上面摔下来！

One cat, Sabrina, fell 32 storeys, yet only suffered from a broken tooth.

有一只叫塞布丽娜的猫从32层楼上摔下，却只摔断了一颗牙。

'Cats behave like well-trained paratroopers,' a doctor said.

一位医生说：“猫的举止就像训练有素的伞兵。”

It seems that the further cats fall, the less they are likely to injure themselves.

看来，猫跌落得越远，就越不容易受伤。

In a long drop, they reach speeds of 60 miles an hour and more.

在长距离下落中，它们的速度能达到每小时60英里甚至更高。

At high speeds, falling cats have time to relax.

在高速下落时，下落的猫有时间放松身体。

They stretch out their legs like flying squirrels.

它们像鼯鼠一样伸展四肢。

This increases their air-resistance and reduces the shock of impact when they hit the ground.

这就增大了空气阻力，并减弱了它们落地时受到的冲击。