Do Cats Really Have Nine Lives?貓真的有九條命嗎？

We all love our cats. They might be grumpy animals that would knock things over around the house， curl up on us when we’re down. We like to think they would always be there for us since they have nine lives， right？ As much as we want our cats’ nine lives to be true， it is a myth. Here comes the question. Where did this myth come from？

我們都愛自己的貓。它們可能是脾氣暴躁的動物，會把房子里的東西撞倒；在我們情緒低落時蜷縮在我們身上。我們往往認為它們會一直在我們身邊，因為貓有九條命，對吧？盡管我們非常希望貓有九條命這種說法是真的，但這是一個錯誤的觀點。那么問題來了。這個錯誤的觀點是怎么來的呢？

The legend of the cat’s nine lives

貓有九條命的傳說

No one knows who started the myth of the nine lives of cats， and there are no recordings of when and where it was first made， either. In one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays， Romeo and Juliet， he wrote： “Good king of cats， nothing but one of your nine lives.”

沒有人知道是誰最先說出貓有九條命這個錯誤觀點的，也沒有關于該觀點第一次出現的時間和地點的記錄。在威廉" 莎士比亞最著名的戲劇之一《羅密歐與朱麗葉》中，他寫道：“善良的貓王，我所要的只不過是你九條命中的一條而已。”

Why do cats have nine lives？

為什么貓有九條命？

The cats are known to be very good at jumping. They can fall from high places and still land on their feet. In New York a cat fell from a 32-story building and still lived.

That may be where the idea of cats having nine lives came from. This is all thanks to the cat’s body， of course. Cats evolved from living in trees. They know how to jump up and down.

眾所周知，貓非常善于跳躍。它們可以從高處墜落，但仍然安穩落地。在紐約，一只貓從一棟32層樓的建筑上掉下來，仍然安然無恙。

這也許就是貓有九條命這個觀點的由來。當然，這都要歸功于貓的身體結構。貓的祖先生活在樹上。它們知道如何跳上跳下。

Why is it nine lives？

為什么是九條命？

We always asked why and how cats have nine lives， but have you ever thought why it is nine？ In some culture， the number nine is very important and special because of its composition of three groups of three. So people believed cats had super powers and nine lives.

我們總是問貓為什么會有九條命以及如何擁有九條命，但你想過為什么是九條命嗎？在有的文化中，數字九是非常重要和特殊的，因為它由三組數字三組成。于是人們相信貓有超能力和九條命。

So the answer is no. Cats don’t have nine lives， no matter how much we would want them to.

所以答案是否定的。貓沒有九條命，不管我們多么希望它們有。

Word Bank

knock… over 打倒（或擊倒、撞倒）

She was knocked over by a bus.

curl up 蜷曲著坐（或躺）

She curled up and closed her eyes.

myth n. 荒誕的說法；不真實的事

evolve v. 進化；進化形成