Cats recognize their own names,but may not come when you call

四川长赤中学 谢 玲

人们普遍认为，猫不像狗那样遵从人们的指令，它们是不懂人类语言的动物。然而，最新一项研究打破了人们的常规思维，并通过试验向人们证明：尽管猫被呼唤时不会立刻来到主人跟前，但它们却能够准确地听懂自己的名字。

题材 人与动物 体裁 说明文文章词数363 难度 ★★ 建议用时5′

Studies show that human beings and cats have been living together for about 9，500 years．

Dogs have lived with humans longer than cats.Dogs are domesticated，meaning they have been trained to do what people want them to do.However，cats do not obey humans in the same way that dogs do.In fact，some scientists claim that cats have trained us to take care of them.As a result，many people have come to think that maybe cats simply do not understand human language．

A new report shows that cats understand human beings well enough to recognize their own names.The report describes a series of experiments with house cats in Japan.These tests involved having people say four words that were similar to a cat's name.Each word had the same number of syllables（音节）as the name and some of the same sounds.The cats seemed to lose interest after the speaker said a few of the words.Then the person said the cat's name.The cats moved their ears or turned their head when they heard their names.They also moved their feet or bodies very little—not a surprising result．

In another experiment， Japanese researchers compared house cats to cats which live in a cat café，a business where humans can come to spend time with cats.People said the names of the cats staying in the cat café.These animals reacted just as much to the name of a fellow cat living at the cat café as to their own name.The researchers thought this was because visitors may give food to the cat or rub its back when it responds.Another finding was that a cat will react when a person who is not its owner says its name．

“I think many cat owners feel that cats know their names，or the word‘food’.But until now，there is no scientific evidence to back that up，”says Saito，who is a cat owner．

The researchers hope that the findings from their study will help both cats and people.They added that perhaps cats can learn words to warn them of dangerous things or places．

Reading Check

1.Why did many people think cats couldn't understand human language?

A.They are much too lazy．

B.They should be taken care of．

C.They don't usually obey humans．

D.They only know their own names．

2.How many experiments does the text mention?

A.One. B.Two. C.Three. D.Four．

Language Study

Ⅰ.Important vocabulary in the text

1.claim v.声称

2.as a result 结果

3.involve v.包含

4.respond v.回答；反应

5.evidence n.证据

6.back up 支持

Ⅱ.Attributive clauses in the text

1.Cats do not obey humans in the same waydogs do．

2.These tests involved having people say four wordswere similar to a cat's name．

3.Japanese researchers compared house cats to catslive in a cat café，a businesshumans can come to spend time with cats．

4.Another finding was that a cat will react when a personis not its owner says its name．