BBC英语六分钟(MP3+中英字幕) 第254期:宠物如何导航回家
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Neil: Welcome to 6 Minute English, the programme where we bring you an interesting topic and six useful words or phrases. I'm Neil.
Dan: And I'm Dan. Today we're talking about one of the last mysteries of science. No, not if the universe will keep expanding forever, but this: how do cats and dogs find their way home over long distances?
Neil: We hear incredible stories of lost pets travelling tens and even hundreds of miles home – but scientists struggle to explain how they do it.
Dan: We'll hear the view of one scientist today. But before that – I have to ask an important question: Neil, are you a cat person or a dog person?
Neil: Oh, that's easy – I'm a cat person, for sure. Dogs are just a… well, they are hard work, aren't they?
Dan: If you say you are 'a cat person' it means you prefer cats. 'A coffee person' prefers coffee. A 'something' person likes or prefers that thing, often over another thing.
Neil: Back to the topic, I'm a cat person. But can you answer this, Dan? Recently, a cat called Omar made headlines for being, possibly, the world's longest cat. How long is Omar? Is it…a) 120 cm b) 80 cm Or c) 180 cm
Dan: I'm gonna say c) 180 cm.
Neil: Now, from long cats to long-distance cats. Scientists were scratching their heads a couple of years ago when a lost cat called Holly travelled 200 miles to get home. How did it do it?
Dan: We say you 'scratch your head' when you are confused about something. There are a few theories about how cats and dogs navigate – but we don't yet have the full answer.
Neil: Well, both cats and dogs have an extremely powerful sense of smell, of course. Smells are like signposts – they let you know where you are. Visual landmarks also play a role, just as they do with humans. A landmark is something very easily recognised – a big building or mountain for example.
Dan: And what about this one: magnets are pieces of metal which attract certain other kinds of metal - for example, iron or steel. The Earth itself has a magnetic force.
Neil: Birds use it to help them navigate over thousands of miles – it tells them where north is. It's thought they have some iron in their beaks.
Dan: But some scientists think mammals also have this capability.
Neil: So we have a few ideas – smell, landmarks, magnetic forces – but can we explain how one kitty travelled over 200 miles by itself back to its home?
Dan: Let's hear from cat and dog expert Dr John Bradshaw. How do cats build up the maps in their heads?
What they do when they are in a new territory is explore it in a very systematic way. So they will go out in ever-increasing circles, they'll literally construct a mental map in their heads. And so a cat that's lost its territory probably does the same thing. They'll rely on the idea that if they go out in ever-increasing circles or rectangles then eventually they'll either come across the territory or they'll come across a smell carried on the wind of the territory that they used to live in and then be able to go home.
Dan: Cats have a systematic approach – which means they use a system. Which is: first they walk around their area in a small circle, then a bigger one and then a bigger one – until they have a strong mental map of the place.
Neil: Yes – a mental map is a map in your head – stored in your memory. And the area cats explore – their home area - is called their territory. Cats are territorial – which means their territory is very important to them.
Dan: Having a map is great, but what happens when a cat gets lost? Dr Bradshaw says that again, it moves around in bigger and bigger circles, until it finds a clue – which is a landmark or a smell – that tells it where it is. Well, that's the theory. Though Dr Bradshaw says we really still don't have enough data – that's enough information about this.
Neil: When there is a scientific breakthrough - we'll bring it to you in 6 Minute English, I hope. For now, let's content ourselves with Omar, possibly, the world's longest cat. How long, Dan?
Dan: I said 180 cm.
Neil: Omar measures 120 cm – that's over two thirds of my height – and weighs a heavy 14 kg.
Dan: Well, one thing, Neil, if Omar ever got lost, he'd be found in no time.
Neil: He's a landmark in himself! Which reminds me – let's run through today's words again. If you're a cat person, you prefer cats. If you're an evening person – you prefer evenings.
Dan: I've always thought you were a kind person, Neil.
Neil: Nice of you to say, but we only use the phrase with nouns, not adjectives!
Dan: Indeed. We don't want the listeners to be scratching their heads.
Neil: No, we can't confuse them! So let's explain the next one clearly – a landmark is something easily recognisable that lets you know where you are. The bridges in London are landmarks.
Dan: And can we say the parks are magnets in summer? A magnet is a piece of metal that attracts iron and steel – but we can also use the word more widely to describe things that attract other things. Two more words: territory is a noun – the area of land that an animal considers to be its own.
Neil: Animals who feel this strongly are described as territorial. Humans can be too – about land or subjects they feel they own or control.
Dan: And finally systematic: the adjective from system. We can talk about a systematic approach, a systematic solution, a systematic study…
Neil: And we have systematically worked our way through all of today's words!
Dan: Very good! Which means – it's time mention our own online territory – our website and social media pages.
Neil: Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, and of course bbclearningenglish. com!
Dan: Bye bye for now.
Neil: Good Bye!
6 Minute English from the BBC.
重点单词
mentaladj. 精神的，脑力的，精神错乱的 n. 精神病患者
universen. 宇宙，万物，世界
confusedadj. 困惑的；混乱的；糊涂的 v. 困惑（confu
navigatevi. 航行，驾驶，操纵 vt. 航行，驾驶
approachn. 接近; 途径，方法 v. 靠近，接近，动手处理
eventuallyadv. 终于，最后
confusevt. 混淆，使困惑，使混乱
territoryn. 领土，版图，领域，范围
expanding扩展的，扩充的
explorev. 探险，探测，探究