细数生活中对动物的十大“误会”（双语）

英语自学网

　　With around 8.7 million animal species gracing our planet, it’s no wonder that we have some facts about animals totally wrong. Some animals and their behavior remain mysterious to scientists and it’s only through long term research and observation that they’ve been able to bust a number of animal myths. Here’s a list of well-known but utterly false facts about the fury, scaly and slimy creatures that grace our planet.
　　大约有870万种动物先后光临我们的星球，也难怪我们对动物的有些认识是完全错误的。一些动物及其行为对科学家来说依然很神秘，只有通过长期的研究和观察，他们才得以破解很多有关动物的谬误。下面列出的是关于光临我们星球的那些愤怒、鳞状和黏滑生物的一些众所周知但完全错误的说法。
　　1. Myth: Myth: Owls are the wisest among birds.
　　谬误1：猫头鹰是鸟类中最聪明的。
　　Perhaps the earliest known link between owls and wisdom is their association with Athena, as the Greek goddess of wisdom is often depicted holding an owl. With their overly large eyes and the constant serious, almost thoughtful look on their faces, owls give off the impression of wisdom, of being a cut above the rest. From legends, folklore, children’s tales to Hollywood, owls have always been the night watchmen – sometimes sinister, always smart. Unfortunately owls are actually placed on the lower-end of intelligent birds, with the common crow considered the wisest among birds.
　　也许猫头鹰和智慧之间的联系最早可追溯到它们与雅典娜的关系，这个希腊智慧女神常被描绘成手持一只猫头鹰。猫头鹰有着超大的眼睛，表情严肃，几乎脸上总是挂着若有所思的神情，给人留下智慧的印象，好似比其它鸟类高出一筹。从传奇、民间传说、儿童故事到好莱坞电影，猫头鹰一直是夜间守望者——有时阴险，但总是很聪明。然而不幸的是，猫头鹰实际上是处于低端智能鸟类之列，而最常见的乌鸦则被认为是鸟类中最聪明者。
　　2. Myth: Dogs cannot see color, only black and white.
　　谬误2：狗不能辨别颜色，只有黑色和白色。
　　Dogs can see color, but not as wide a spectrum as humans can. In addition to black, white and shades of grey they can also distinguish between blue-voilet and yellow-green colors. In would probably be more correct to say that dogs are green-blind. Your pup may very well confuse red, orange and green, as well as green-blue, gray, and shades of purple. Researchers have shown that a dog’s eye has both rods and cones, although they only have two cones whereas a human eye has three. Only if dogs had no cones at all would they have been restricted to seeing black and white.
　　狗是可以看到颜色的，但其光谱不如人类的宽。除了黑色，白色和灰色阴影，他们还可以区分蓝紫和黄绿的颜色。可能这样说会更正确些，狗是绿色盲。你家的小狗很可能会混淆红色、橙色和绿色，以及绿-蓝色、灰色和紫色阴影。研究人员表明，狗的眼睛中既有视杆也有视锥，但它们的眼睛只有2个视锥，而人类眼睛有3个。只有当狗根本就没有视锥的情况下，它们才会只能看到黑色和白色。
　　3. Myth: A healthy dog’s nose is cold and wet.
　　谬误3：健康狗的鼻子又冷又湿。
　　An old wives’ tale that has caused many a panic-stricken call to the vet. The temperature of your dogs nose typically fluctuates during the day, ranging from dry and hot (often when waking up in the morning) to cold and wet later during the day. The moistness of your dog’s nose is also no indicator of their health, as it could be moist due to a nasal cold, for example. As a dog owner, you can better understand your dog’s health by getting to know their typical behavior and noticing any changes from the norm. Are they not eating well lately, or sleeping restlessly? These behaviors will give you a much better clue as to your dog’s well-being.
　　纯属无稽之谈，让很多人惊慌失措给兽医打电话询问。在白天，狗的鼻子温度通常会波动，从干和热(通常在早上醒来时)到日间的冷和湿。狗的湿鼻子也不能表示它们是否健康，或许由于鼻子感冒，它可能就是湿润的。作为狗主人，你可以通过了解自家狗的特有行为，注意有无任何反常变化，更好地了解狗的健康状况。它们最近不好好吃，或睡眠不安？这些行为将引导你更好的了解自家狗的健康。
　　4. Myth: One human year is equivalent to seven dog years.
　　谬误4：人类一年相当于狗的7年。
　　Here’s something to think about: at a young age, a small dog is older than a large dog, but with age, the small dog becomes younger than the larger breed. How can this be? Turns out dog aging is quite complex, and the most important factor is that it’s related to the dogs physical size. Larger breeds age much faster than smaller breeds. It’s thought that on average a two-year old dog compares to a teenager of 14 or 15 years or a young adult of 18 to 25 years, depending on the breed. Dog aging slows down after two years, debunking the seven to one ratio. The ratio between dog years and human years is therefore much more complex than seven to one, and there is no specific dog-to-human age ratio that is universally accepted.
　　想一想下面这些事：在狗小的时候，一只小狗比一只大狗年龄大，但随着年龄增长，小狗变得比大犬种更年轻。这怎么可能呢？原来狗的老化是相当复杂的，最重要的因素是与狗的身体大小有关。大犬种的老化程度远远快于较小犬种。人们认为，平均两年龄的狗相当于14或15岁的少年或18到25岁的年轻人，取决于不同的犬种。狗的老化2年后减缓，揭穿了7比1的假象。所以，狗年和人类年之比的复杂程度远非7比1那么简单，目前尚未有得到公认的，具体的狗与人类的年龄比。
            
            

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　　5. Myth: Wild dolphins are friendly and will save humans in trouble.
　　谬误5：野生海豚非常友好，总是拯救陷入困境的人类。
　　Dolphins don’t particularly care for humans; why would they? They are after all wild carnivores of the ocean. The myth that wild dolphins are friendly and will haste to your assistance when you’re in trouble is a result of their curious nature which is often mistaken for caring or friendliness. For example, dolphins swimming next to boats are doing so in order to ride the boats wake, allowing them to use less energy to swim; not because of their love for all things human. In fact many people have been bitten or injured while attempting to swim with wild dolphins (we’re not talking about the trained dolphins seen at marine parks). There is, however, one way in which dolphins are helping humans: recent research is helping scientists understand how dolphins survive shark attacks, and their tissue-regeneration and anti-bacterial properties are considered nothing short of a medical miracle.
　　海豚并不特别关心人类，它们凭什么要这样做呢？它们毕竟是海洋中的野生食肉动物。俗说野生海豚非常友好，当你遇到麻烦总是急忙赶来帮忙，实际上是因为它们好奇的天性，常常被误认为是出自关心或友好。例如，海豚在渔船旁边游是为了借力船的尾流，这样它们游起来更省力，不是因为它们喜爱一切人类的东西。事实上，许多人在试图与野生海豚同游(我们说的不是在海洋公园看到的训练有素的海豚)时被咬过或受伤。然而，海豚有一种方式帮助人类：最近的研究帮助科学家了解海豚在鲨鱼袭击中活下来，它们的组织再生和抗菌性能被认为简直就是一个医学奇迹。
　　6. Myth: Mother birds will reject their young once touched by humans.
　　谬误6：雏鸟一旦被人摸过，就会被鸟妈妈拒绝。
　　Birds have a very limited sense of smell, and the slight scent left by touching a baby bird will definitely not get detected by its mother. In fact, birds are very devoted to their young and are unlikely to leave the nest because of an unknown scent – although they have been known to abandon their nests due to disturbance. Hardly ever will a bird abandon the nest with chicks, which is plainly against the nature of raising offspring. Returning a young bird to its nest can save the chick, and as long as there are no other major disturbances, it is highly unlikely that the mother will detect human contact.
　　鸟类的嗅觉非常有限，被人摸过留下的轻微气味绝不会被鸟妈妈觉察到。事实上，鸟类十分关注自己的雏鸟，不太可能因为一点未知气味就离开鸟巢，——当然人们都知道，如果受到干扰，它们也会放弃自己的鸟巢。很少有鸟能放弃还有雏鸟的鸟巢，这显然违背鸟类抚养后代的本性。把一只幼鸟送回鸟巢可以拯救小鸟，只要没有什么重大干扰，鸟妈妈极不可能察觉出人类的接触。
　　7. Myth: Ostriches bury their heads in the sand when scared or threatened.
　　谬误7：鸵鸟在受到惊吓或威胁时把头埋在沙子里。
　　Although this myth serves as the perfect metaphor for someone who’s clearly in denial about something or other, the fact is that it’s patently untrue. The truth is that ostriches, or any other bird or mammal, would not be able to breathe if its head were buried in the sand. The simple explanation for this myth is that ostriches bury their eggs in holes in the ground and often turn the eggs (with their beaks) and tend to the eggs several times a day. From a distance it often seems like the ostrich has its head buried in the sand.
　　虽然这个谬误可恰如其分的比喻那些视而不见，自欺欺人的人，但事实上，这是绝对不真实的。事实是，鸵鸟，或任何其它鸟类或哺乳动物，如果把自己的头埋在沙子里，就不能呼吸。对这一谬误的简单解释就是鸵鸟把蛋埋在地洞里，常常一天几次翻动(用自己的喙)并看顾鸟蛋。从远处看，总是看起来像是鸵鸟把自己的头埋在沙子里。
　　8. Myth: A goldfish has a 3-second memory.
　　谬误8：金鱼的记忆大约只有3秒。
　　If you’ve ever been told that you have the memory of a goldfish, you’ll understand why this myth is so ingrained in society. The actual memory span of goldfish is at least three months, and some researchers have managed to prove that goldfish can remember what they have been taught up to a year later. In addition to a very good memory, goldfish also have good vision, being able to distinguish between shapes and colors. So the next time someone ignorantly compares your memory to that of a goldfish, don’t forget to thank them!
　　如果别人说你的记忆和金鱼一样，你就会明白这个神话在社会在如此根深蒂固的原因。金鱼的实际记忆时间是至少3个月，一些研究人员已证明金鱼一年以后还能记住教给它们的事。除了有非常好的记忆力，金鱼还有良好的视觉，能够区分形状和颜色。所以下次如果再有人无知地把你的记忆力比作金鱼的，别忘了向他们说声谢谢。
　　9. Myth: Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump.
　　谬误9：大象是唯一不会跳的动物。
　　It’s true, elephants can’t jump – if by jumping we mean the state at which an animal propels itself off the ground by its own force, with all feet off the ground at the same time – but they’re definitely not the only ones. A few other animals that can’t jump are the sloth, hippo, rhino, giraffe, rockhopper penguin, and countless others. Could you imagine a hippo gliding gracefully through the air? Perhaps only if you’re into Disney cartoons.
　　千真万确，大象不能跳——如果说跳，我们指的是一个动物以一己之力让自己离开地面，所有的脚在同时离地的状态，但大象绝不是唯一不能跳的。还有许多其它动物也不会跳，如树懒、河马、犀牛、长颈鹿、凤冠企鹅等，数不胜数。你能想象一头河马在空中优雅地滑翔吗？也许只有在迪斯尼卡通中才能看到吧。
　　10. Myth: Bats are blind.
　　谬误10：蝙蝠是瞎的。
　　Often associated with darkness, witches and black magic, bats have a lot of mythology and misconceptions surrounding them, making them seem like foreboding creatures of the night. Although people often think bats are blind due to their only hunting at night, the fact is that all species of bats can see, although their vision is poorly developed. To compensate they have excellent senses of smell and hearing, and are able to use echo-location and sonar abilities to navigate and hunt at night. Their sonar abilities are so exceptional that they’re often better than military-grade sonar, which is amazing for such small animals.
　　蝙蝠常与黑暗，巫师和魔法相伴，周身有很多神话和误解，使其看起来像黑夜的预感生灵。尽管人们常常因为蝙蝠只在夜间猎食而认为它们是瞎的，但事实上，所有种类的蝙蝠都可以看到东西，尽管他们的视力并不发达。然而，失之东隅收之桑榆，它们具有非常敏锐的嗅觉和听觉，能使用回声定位并能用声纳导航，在夜间捕食。它们的声纳能力是如此特殊，常常比军用级声纳更好用，这种小动物的这一功能着实令人称奇。
       
(编辑：何莹莹）