(单词翻译:单击)
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This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.
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We tend to see house cats as aloof and independent, mostly preferring to engage in their own kitty business. But that assumption may be littered with error. Because a new study finds that, given a choice, Fluffy would probably pick you over her favorite toy or treat. The research—which might give cat owners pause—apurrs in the journal Behavioral Processes.
Scientists have analyzed what dogs like. And cotton-top tamarins, Galapagos tortoises, even giant pandas. But Kristyn Vitale Shreve, a grad student at Oregon State University, realized that no one had ever really put feline predilections to the test.
So Shreve and her team got 25 house cats and 25 shelter cats and stuck each in a room with a set of several items. In the first round of tests, kitties got to spend time with objects in four different categories: toys, like a feather or a stuffed mouse; odors, like a cloth that smells of catnip or a gerbil; food, like tuna or chicken; and a human, who would pet them or talk to them or play with them.
In the final round, the top item from each category would be pitted head-to-head-to-head-to-head for the title of kitty's most favorite thing.
The results? "Our take home message is that although each cat displays an individual preference for each item," Kristyn Vitale Shreve, "the majority of cats and shelter cats preferred social interaction with a human. Followed next by food, then toys, then scent."
Fully half the cats preferred spending time with people—although tuna did come in a close second. And six of the 50 test kitties chose to keep it finicky by refusing to interact with anything or anyone at all.
The results suggest that if you ever want to purrsuade your feline friend, you might offer your attention as a reward.
"This research is relevant, especially in an applied setting, where preference tests like these could be used to assess an individual's most preferred item. And then that item could be used for training purposes. Or even to serve as enrichment, especially for shelter cats or potentially other captive wild cats to reduce negative behaviors or even stereotypic behaviors."
For Scientific American — 60-Second Science Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.
参考译文
这里是科学美国人——60秒科学。我是凯伦·霍普金。
我们倾向于认为家猫是冷漠、独立的，大多数家猫喜欢忙自己的事情。但是这个假设可能是完全错误的。因为一项新研究表明，如果让猫咪选择的话，这些毛绒绒的小动物可能喜欢你胜过它们最爱的玩具或零食。这个可能让猫主人仔细思考的研究结果发表在《行为过程》期刊上。
科学家分析过狗狗喜欢什么，也分析过棉冠獠狨、加拉巴戈斯象龟甚至大熊猫喜欢的东西。但是俄勒冈州立大学的研究生克丽丝汀·维达莱·什里夫意识到，没有人真正分析过猫科动物的偏好。
所以，什里夫和她的团队找了25只家猫和 25只收容站的猫，然后将每只猫放在有多种物品的房间里。在第一轮测试中，小猫咪们与四种不同类别的物品一起玩耍，分别是：玩具——如羽毛或玩具老鼠；气味——如有猫薄荷或沙鼠味道的布料；食品——如金枪鱼或鸡肉；人类——会爱抚猫咪、和猫咪聊天或和它们一起玩。
在最后一轮测试中，每个类别中脱颖而出的物品将展开激烈角逐，以确定猫咪最喜欢的物品。
结果如何？克丽丝汀·维达莱·什里夫表示：“我们得到的重要信息是，虽然每只猫对这些物品表现出了不同的偏好，但大多数的家猫和收容猫都更喜欢和人类进行社交互动。其次，吸引猫咪的分别是食物、玩具和气味。”
有一半的猫咪更喜欢和人类一起玩，而略居第二的则是金枪鱼。在接受测试的50只猫咪中，有6只猫咪选择继续挑剔，拒绝与任何物品或任何人互动。
研究结果表明，如果你想让猫咪朋友做事，那最好将你的关爱做为奖励。
“这项研究很有意义，尤其是在应用环境中，在这种环境中进行的偏好测试可以用来评估一个个体最喜欢的物品。之后这个物品可能被用来训练猫咪。甚至被用作改善措施，尤其可用来减少收容猫或其他家养野生猫的负面行为甚至是刻板行为。
谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是凯伦·霍普金。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
重点讲解
重点讲解：
1. engage in 参与；从事；
例句：You can engage in croquet on the south lawn.
你可以参加南边草坪上的槌球游戏。
2. put sth. to the test 使经受检验；对…进行试验；
例句：Arriving at the railway station, I put local knowledge to the test and ask a taxi driver.
到了火车站，为了检验自己对当地的了解程度，我请教了一个出租车司机。
3. interact with 相互交流；相互沟通；
例句：Partners must interact with each other's ideas.
合作伙伴必须相互交流想法。
4. serve as 用作；可当…使用；充作；
例句：She ushered me into the front room, which served as her office.
她把我领进了她用作办公室的前厅。
