為什么狗喝水總把水弄得到處都是？

錢潤荷

When my dog drinks from her bowl， there is no question that water will end up on the floor. It seems that my dog is not good at drinking water neatly.

我家的狗在碗里喝水時毫無疑問最后總會將水灑在地板上。看起來我的狗不太擅長整潔地喝水。

Researchers at Virginia Tech University have been studying how dogs drink. They say dogs know exactly what they are doing. The animals are actually making precise movements at a high speed. This helps them get the fluid they need when they are thirsty.

弗吉尼亞理工大學的研究者們一直在研究狗是如何喝水的。他們說狗其實很清楚它們自己在做些什么。它們實際上是在以很快的速度做出精準的動作。這能讓它們在口渴時喝到它們需要的水。

It turns out that neither dogs， nor cats， have a full set of cheeks. This means they cannot create suction to drink， like humans， elephants or horses.

原來，狗和貓都沒有完整的臉頰。也就是說它們沒辦法像人類、大象和馬那樣吮吸飲水。

Dogs take up the water with their tongues curled backward. They move their tongues very quickly to build up momentum1. That forces the water into a column2 and up into their mouths.

狗通過向后卷舌往嘴里送水。它們通過快速移動舌頭而形成動力，動力迫使水形成水柱，向上送進嘴里。

The Virginia Tech Universitys researchers filmed 19 dogs of different sizes and breeds as they drank water. They created different laboratory models to measure tongue motion， and the amounts of water taken in.

弗吉尼亞理工大學的研究者們拍攝記錄下了19只不同體型和不同品種的狗喝水的場景。他們建立了不同的實驗模型測量舌頭的運動以及取水的量。

Using the data from these experiments， the researchers were able to make a model that shows how a dog drinks water.

根據這些實驗得出的數據，研究者們得以建立狗喝水方式的模型。

The researchers said that since the mouths of dogs and cats are structured nearly the same way， they thought they would drink water the same way. But here is a surprise. The studies showed each family of animals has its own special drinking method.

研究者們說，既然狗與貓的嘴結構幾乎一致，他們曾以為它們喝水的方式也是一樣的。但是，結果出乎意料。研究表明每一種動物都有自己獨特的喝水方式。

“We know cats and dogs are quite different in terms of behavior and character. But before we did the studies of how these animals drink fluids， our guess was that dogs and cats drink about the same way. Instead we found out that dogs drink quite differently than cats.”

“我們知道貓和狗的舉止和性格迥異。我們進行關于這些動物如何飲水的研究之前，我們的猜想是狗和貓的喝水方式相同。但是，我們發現，狗和貓的喝水方式大相徑庭。”

What is the difference？ Dogs must quickly move their tongues down into the water using momentum to bring the water up and into their mouths. Cats dont bend their tongues to drink like dogs. Cats use less momentum and a more gentle action. They just skim3， or barely touch the surface of the water to drink it.

那么區別在哪兒呢？狗必須將舌頭快速深入水里，借助產生的動力將水卷起送入嘴里。而貓不像狗那樣彎曲舌頭來喝水。貓咪們通過較小的動力，采取更輕柔的行動。它們只是掠過或者輕觸一下水面喝水。

Cats tend be viewed as neater， dogs are messier， but dogs really have to accelerate4 their tongues to make good use of the way the fluid column works.

人們通常認為貓愛潔凈，狗是邋遢鬼，但是狗真的是不得不加速卷舌，充分利用水柱飲水。

Notes：

1. momentum [] n. 勢頭；動力；動量；要素；契機

2. column [] n. 專欄；圓柱；縱隊；列

3. skim [] v. 略讀；撇去；使掠過

4. accelerate [] vt. 促進；（使）加快；加速，催促

vi. 加快，加速