为什么狗喝水总把水弄得到处都是？

钱润荷

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时毫无疑问最后总会将水洒在地板上。看起来我的狗不太擅长整洁地喝水。

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.

弗吉尼亚理工大学的研究者们一直在研究狗是如何喝水的。他们说狗其实很清楚它们自己在做些什么。它们实际上是在以很快的速度做出精准的动作。这能让它们在口渴时喝到它们需要的水。

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.

原来，狗和猫都没有完整的脸颊。也就是说它们没办法像人类、大象和马那样吮吸饮水。

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.

狗通过向后卷舌往嘴里送水。它们通过快速移动舌头而形成动力，动力迫使水形成水柱，向上送进嘴里。

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.

弗吉尼亚理工大学的研究者们拍摄记录下了19只不同体型和不同品种的狗喝水的场景。他们建立了不同的实验模型测量舌头的运动以及取水的量。

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

根据这些实验得出的数据，研究者们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.

研究者们说，既然狗与猫的嘴结构几乎一致，他们曾以为它们喝水的方式也是一样的。但是，结果出乎意料。研究表明每一种动物都有自己独特的喝水方式。

“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.”

“我们知道猫和狗的举止和性格迥异。我们进行关于这些动物如何饮水的研究之前，我们的猜想是狗和猫的喝水方式相同。但是，我们发现，狗和猫的喝水方式大相径庭。”

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.

那么区别在哪儿呢？狗必须将舌头快速深入水里，借助产生的动力将水卷起送入嘴里。而猫不像狗那样弯曲舌头来喝水。猫咪们通过较小的动力，采取更轻柔的行动。它们只是掠过或者轻触一下水面喝水。

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.

人们通常认为猫爱洁净，狗是邋遢鬼，但是狗真的是不得不加速卷舌，充分利用水柱饮水。

Notes：

1. momentum [] n. 势头；动力；动量；要素；契机

2. column [] n. 专栏；圆柱；纵队；列

3. skim [] v. 略读；撇去；使掠过

4. accelerate [] vt. 促进；（使）加快；加速，催促

vi. 加快，加速