英国学生科学读本 第12期:猫

 　　Lesson 12 THE CAT

　　第12课 猫
　　I hope you have a nice pussy 1 at home, and that you are good to her. Take her on your knee and look at her. How she purrs when you stroke her back!
　　小朋友, 你家里有没有一只漂亮小猫啊? 你有没有好好地照顾它呢? 把它放到膝盖上, 好好看看它。抚摸它的后背, 它就会呼噜呼噜地叫, 好可爱！
　　Puss is covered with fur, which keeps her warm. The fur is made of short, straight hairs; and when pussy is angry, the hairs all stand up, and make her look very big and fierce.
　　小猫的身体盖着一层毛皮, 毛皮可以给它保暖。毛皮上的毛又短又直。在小猫生气的时候, 这些毛都会立起来, 让小猫显得特别大, 特别凶！
　　The cat has a round head, with small and pointed 2 ears. She can move her ears about, and if she hears a sound she turns them so as to hear it better.
　　猫的头是圆形的, 耳朵又小又尖。它的耳朵可以朝不同的方向转, 要是听见什么声音, 就转一下耳朵, 这样能听得更清楚。
　　Look at the eyes of the cat. In the middle of each eye, just as in our own eyes, there is a black spot called the pupil, through which the light goes in.
　　看看猫的眼睛。每只眼睛的中间, 都有一个黑点儿。这个黑点儿叫瞳孔。我们人类也有瞳孔, 光线就是从瞳孔进去的。
　　When the cat is in a dark place, the pupil opens till it is big and round, and so it lets in a great deal of light. That is why the cat sees better in the dark than we do. But when the cat is in the sunlight, the pupil shuts, till it becomes only a narrow slit 3. A HAPPY FAMILY（幸福的家庭）
　　猫在暗处, 瞳孔会睁得又大又圆, 可以让很多光线进去。所以猫在暗处看东西, 看得比我们清楚。可是, 猫来到阳光下的时候, 瞳孔就合上了, 合得只剩一条窄缝。
　　You can hardly hear pussy when she walks, because she has soft pads under her toes. That is a good thing for the cat, because, if the mice heard her, they would run away.
　　小猫走路的时候, 你几乎听不见声音, 因为猫的脚趾下面有软垫。这软垫对猫很有好处, 因为老鼠如果听见猫走路, 不就逃跑了么！
　　Look at her long whiskers. What is the use of them? They are her feelers, and they let her know if there is anything in the way, when she is creeping along in the dark.
　　再看看猫的长长的胡子。胡子有什么用呢? 胡子是猫的感觉器官, 让小猫在暗处往前爬的时候, 知道路上有什么东西。
　　Open pussy's lips gently, and look at her teeth. Four of them are very long, and are used for tearing her food. The other teeth are like little chisels 4, and are used for cutting the food into small pieces.
　　轻轻打开小猫的嘴巴, 看看猫的牙齿。猫有四颗牙特别长, 就用这四颗牙来撕碎食物。别的牙齿, 一个个都像一把小凿子, 就用这些牙齿来把食物切成碎块。
　　Have you ever let a cat lick 5 your hand? If you have, you will know how rough her tongue is. With this rough tongue she can scrape off all the meat from the bones you give her. She also uses her tongue as a brush to clean her fur.
　　小朋友, 你让小猫舔过你的手吗? 要是舔过, 就知道它的舌头有多粗糙了。你给猫吃骨头, 猫就能用这粗糙的舌头, 把骨头上的肉刮下来。猫也会用舌头当刷子, 来清理自己的毛皮。
　　The toes of the cat have long, sharp claws. But each claw has a sheath which covers it and keeps it sharp. Pussy puts out her claws only when she wishes to take hold of something, or to scratch.
　　猫的脚趾, 长着又长又尖的爪子, 但是每个爪子都长着“爪套”（学名是“球套”）, 可以盖住爪子, 不让爪子磨秃。小猫只有在要抓住什么东西, 或者要抓伤敌人的时候, 才会把爪子伸出来。
　　Baby cats are called kittens. The mother cat takes great care of her kittens; and they need it at first, for they cannot see till they are nine days old. When cats are pleased, they make a funny noise called purring.
　　刚生下来的小猫（kitten）, 猫妈妈会无微不至地照顾小猫, 小猫在一开始也需要这种照顾, 因为小猫直到生下来第九天, 才能看见东西。小猫高兴的时候会发出一种好玩的“呼噜”的声音（purring）。
　　In some places men go about every day selling cats' meat. They cry, "Cats' meat! cats’ meat!” as they go along the streets. The cats know the men's cry, and run out to them for their dinner.
　　英国有些地方, 每天都有人出来卖猫粮, 他们会一边在街上走一边吆喝：“猫粮！猫粮！”猫认识这种吆喝, 一听见就会跑出去找饭吃。