狗的科學：英語精讀講義

Oh dogs, a best friend that always has your back. 慣用語

啊，狗狗——永遠挺你的好朋友。

In fact, studies have shown that men are three times more likely to get a girl's phone number 講解

事實上，研究顯示，男性拿到女生電話號碼的機率會變成原來的三倍

if they have a dog by their side.

——如果身邊有一隻狗的話。

And do you ever feel like your dog just gets you? 用詞

你有沒有覺得，你的狗狗就是特別懂你？

It turns out that humans and dogs both respond to emotional sounds. 表達脈絡

原來，人和狗都會對帶有情緒的聲音產生反應。

When your dog hears you crying or laughing,

當你的狗聽到你哭泣或大笑時，

the response in their brain is similar to that of a human. 文法

牠腦中的反應與人類很相似。

In fact, they interpret your crying as another dog whining, 片語搭配

事實上，牠會把你的哭聲理解成另一隻狗在嗚咽，

which may make you want to cuddle your buddy. 文法

這也許會讓你想抱抱這位小夥伴。

But did you know that dogs often curl up into a ball when sleeping 片語動詞

不過，你知道狗狗睡覺時常常會蜷成一團

to conserve body heat 文法

是為了保存體溫，

and protect their most vulnerable organs in the abdomen from predators.

並保護腹部最脆弱的器官不受掠食者傷害嗎？

Comfy.

真舒服。

If you're not always around to cuddle,

如果你沒辦法總是在身邊抱抱牠，

leaving them some clothes that smell like you 文法

留幾件帶有你氣味的衣服給牠

will actually help them with separation anxiety. 用詞

其實能幫助緩解牠的分離焦慮。

And while you may think you have the smartest dog, 文法

你可能覺得自家狗狗最聰明，

animal psychologists believe most dogs are about as smart as a 2-year-old human. 文法

但動物心理學家認為，大多數狗的智力和兩歲小孩差不多。

Dogs can understand more than 150 words,

狗能聽懂150多個詞彙，

count up to five, 片語搭配

數到5，

and notice simple errors such as 1 + 1 = 3.

還能發現1 + 1 = 3這類簡單錯誤。

Dogs are also capable of solving spatial problems. 片語搭配

狗也能解決空間問題。

They learn the location of hidden treats,

牠們能記住藏起來的零食在哪裡，

find the fastest route to the park,

找到去公園最快的路線，

and operate mechanisms such as latches and simple machines.

還會操作門閂和簡單機械之類的裝置。

And by the way, 表達脈絡

順帶一提，

dogs aren't completely colorblind as many people think.

狗並不像許多人以為的那樣完全是色盲。

But unlike the three specialized receptors in our eyes to distinguish colors, 文法

我們的眼睛有三種專門用來辨別顏色的受器，

dogs only have two.

而狗只有兩種。

Because of this, 表達脈絡

因此，

they see black, white, blue, and yellow.

牠們能看到黑色、白色、藍色和黃色。

Meanwhile, their brains don't interpret red and green,

同時，牠們的大腦無法辨識紅色和綠色，

but instead see gray.

而是會把這兩種顏色看成灰色。

Of the 75 million domesticated dogs in America,

在美國7,500萬隻家犬中，

Labradors are the most popular,

拉布拉多犬最受歡迎，

but the most intelligent dog breeds are border collies, poodles, and German shepherds.

但智力最高的犬種是邊境牧羊犬、貴賓犬和德國牧羊犬。

However, these are measures of intelligence that compare to our own.

不過，這些智力評量都是拿牠們和人類相比。

Dogs are amazingly smart in other ways.

狗在其他方面也聰明得令人驚嘆。

You've probably heard of drug-sniffing dogs, 講解

你大概聽過緝毒犬，

but did you know that dogs can sense seizures,

但你知道狗還能察覺癲癇發作、

detect low blood sugar, and can sniff out cancer? 片語動詞

偵測低血糖，甚至嗅出癌症嗎？

In one study,

在一項研究中，

dogs were able to identify 30 of 33 cases of prostate cancer

狗在33例攝護腺癌病例中成功辨識出30例，

by smelling participants' urine. 文法

靠的就是聞參與者的尿液。

It's believed that dogs' highly sophisticated sense of smell can detect variation 文法

人們認為，狗極為靈敏的嗅覺能察覺細微變化

and the presence of volatile organic compounds. 用詞

以及揮發性有機化合物的存在。

Their sense of smell is 10,000 to 10 million times more sensitive than humans, 文法

牠們的嗅覺靈敏度是人類的1萬到1,000萬倍，

depending on the breed. 文法

實際倍數依犬種而異。

A secreted fluid from their nose helps them smell

狗鼻子分泌的液體有助於牠們聞氣味，

by capturing scent chemicals in a thin layer of wet mucus on their nose.

因為這些液體會在鼻子上形成一層薄薄的濕潤黏液，捕捉氣味中的化學物質。

In fact, for a dog,

事實上，對狗來說，

breathing is different than smelling. 用詞

呼吸和嗅聞是兩回事。

A small fold of tissue called the alar fold separates the flow of air,

一小片名為鼻翼褶的組織會將氣流分開，

depending on whether they're sniffing or breathing, 文法

分流方式取決於牠們是在嗅聞還是呼吸，

which also allows them to pick up pheromones in the air 片語動詞

這也讓牠們能捕捉空氣中的費洛蒙，

to help locate and determine the readiness of possible mates.

從而尋找潛在伴侶，並判斷對方是否已準備好交配。

Tinder for dogs. 文化背景

狗狗版Tinder。

On top of it all, 表達脈絡

不僅如此，

humans really do love dogs. 文法

人類真的很愛狗。

A recent study found that dogs activate the same hormonal response

最近一項研究發現，狗會啟動同一種荷爾蒙反應，

that triggers us to love and care for our own babies.

正是這種反應促使我們疼愛並照顧自己的寶寶。

Accompany that with studies showing decreased stress and anxiety, 表達脈絡

再加上有研究顯示壓力和焦慮會減輕，

and it's clear why they've become such an important part of our lives. 文法

就不難明白為什麼牠們會成為我們生活中如此重要的一部分。

They truly are woman and man's best friend. 文化背景

無論對女性還是男性，牠們都是最好的朋友。

Unless you're a cat lover,

除非你是愛貓人士，

in which case you should watch our scientific debate on cats versus dogs, 文法

那你就該看看我們針對貓和狗所做的科學辯論，

where we try and figure out which precious pet is truly the best. 講解

我們會在其中努力找出，到底哪種可愛的寵物才是最棒的。

Head on over to that video 片語搭配

快去看看那支影片，

to help us decide which side wins.

幫我們決定哪一方獲勝吧。

And subscribe for more weekly science videos.

記得訂閱，每週觀看更多科學影片。