Lesson 9 Flying Cats
第九课飞猫
Listen to the tape, then answer the question below.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
How do cats try to protect themselves when falling from great heights?
猫从高处坠落时如何保护自己？
Cats never fail to fascinate human beings.
猫总是能让人类着迷。
They can be friendly and affectionate towards humans, but they lead mysterious lives of their own as well.
他们可以对人类友好和深情，但他们也过着自己神秘的生活。
They never become submissive like dogs and horses.
他们永远不会像狗和马一样顺从。
As a result, humans have learned to respect feline independence.
结果，人类学会了尊重猫科动物的独立性。
Most cats remain suspicious of humans all their lives.
大多数猫一生都对人类持怀疑态度。
One of the things that fascinates us most about cats is the popular belief that they have nine lives.
猫最让我们着迷的一点是人们普遍认为它们有九条命。
Apparently there is a good deal of truth in this idea.
显然，这个想法有很多道理。
A cat's ability to survive falls is based on fact.
猫跌倒后的生存能力是基于事实的。
Recently, the New York Animal Medical Center made a study of 132 cats over a period of five months.
最近，纽约动物医学中心对132只猫进行了为期五个月的研究。
All these cats had one experience in common.
所有这些猫都有一个共同的经历。
They had fallen off high buildings, yet only eight of them died from shock or injuries.
他们从高楼上摔下来，但只有八人死于休克或受伤。
Of course, New York is the ideal place for such an interesting study, because there is no shortage of tall buildings.
当然，纽约是进行这种有趣研究的理想场所，因为那里不乏高楼。
There are plenty of high-rise windowsills to fall from.
有很多高层窗台可以掉下来。
One cat, Sabrina, fell 32 stories, yet only suffered from a broken tooth.
一只名叫塞布丽娜的猫从32层楼摔了下来，但只断了一颗牙。
Cats behave like well-trained paratroopers, a doctor said.
一名医生说，猫的行为就像训练有素的伞兵。
It seems that the further cats fall, the less they are likely to injure themselves.
看来猫摔得越远，受伤的可能性就越小。
In a long drop, they reach speeds of 60 miles an hour and more.
在长时间的下降中，它们的速度达到每小时60英里甚至更高。
At high speeds, falling cats have time to relax.
在高速下，坠落的猫有时间放松。
They stretch out their legs like flying squirrels.
他们像飞鼠一样伸展双腿。
This increases their air resistance and reduces the shock of impact when they hit the ground.
这增加了它们的空气阻力，减少了它们落地时的冲击。