Lesson 9

Cats never fail to fascinate human beings.
猫总是能让人们为之着迷。
They can be friendly and affectionate towards humans, but they lead mysterious lives of their own as well.
他们对人类可以是友好且深情的，但他们也过着属于他们自己的神秘生活。
They never become submissive like dogs and horses.
他们从不变得像狗和马那样顺从。
As a result, humans have learned to respect feline independence.
结果，人类已经学会了尊重猫的独立性。
Most cats remain suspicious of humans all their lives.
大多数猫一生都对人类保持怀疑。
One of the things that fascinates us most about cats is the popular belief that they have nine lives.
关于猫，最让我们着迷的事情之一就是那种普遍的信念，即它们有九条命。
Apparently, there is a good deal of truth in this idea.
显然，这种观点是大有道理的。
A cat's ability to survive falls is based on fact.
一只猫从坠落中生还的能力是基于事实的。
Recently the New York Animal Medical Centre made a study of 132 cats over a period of five months.
最近，纽约动物医疗中心对132只猫进行了为期五个月的研究。
All these cats had one experience in common: they had fallen off high buildings, yet only eight of them died from shock or injuries.
所有这些猫都有一个共同点：它们都曾从高楼掉下，但其中只有八只死于休克或受伤。
Of course, New York is the ideal place for such an interesting study, because there is no shortage of tall buildings.
当然，纽约是进行这样一项有趣研究的理想场所，因为那里从不缺乏高楼大厦。
There are plenty of high-rise windowsills to fall from!
有许多高层窗台可以从上面掉下去！
One cat, Sabrina, fell 32 storeys, yet only suffered from a broken tooth.
一只名叫萨布丽娜的猫从32层楼坠落，却仅仅掉了一颗牙。
Cats behave like well-trained paratroopers,' a doctor said.
“猫的表现就像训练有素的伞兵，”一位医生说。
It seems that the further cats fall, the less they are likely to injure themselves.
似乎猫掉落得越高，它们受伤的可能性就越小。
In a long drop, they reach speeds of 60 miles an hour and more.
在一次长距离下落中，它们的速度可以达到每小时60英里甚至更高。
At high speeds, falling cats have time to relax.
在高速下，掉落的猫有时间放松。
They stretch out their legs like flying squirrels.
他们像飞鼠一样伸展双腿。
This increases their air-resistance and reduces the shock of impact when they hit the ground.
这增加了他们的空气阻力，并减少了他们着地时的撞击力。