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By NICHOLAS BAKALARMAY 1, 2017

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/science/cats-love-people.html

科學紐約時報中文網2017年5月3日

所有貓主人都會告訴你：貓鄙視人類。嗯，當然，牠們假裝喜歡你，在你腿邊蹭來蹭去地喵喵叫，直到你端出食物碗。但一旦用餐時間結束，牠們會直接回到正常模式——譏誚高傲。

Any cat owner will tell you: cats hold humans in contempt. Oh sure, they pretend to like you, rubbing around your legs and purring until you produce the food bowl. But as soon as mealtime is over, they go right back to normal mode — sneering condescension.

但是，如果你發現你錯了呢？若給貓一個選擇，牠們會選擇人類的陪伴，而非玩具、食物和誘人的氣味。這正是三位研究人員發現的，他們有圖表和數字佐證。

But what if you learned that you’re wrong and that given a choice, cats will pick human companionship over toys, food and appealing smells? That’s exactly what three researchers have discovered, and they have the charts and numbers to prove it.

奧勒岡州州立大學的研究人員讓38隻貓從以下的選項做出選擇：食物、玩具、有趣的氣味（貓薄荷、一隻沙鼠）以及人類的注意力。

Researchers at Oregon State University offered 38 cats a choice between food, a toy, an interesting smell (catnip, a gerbil) and attention from a human.

跟其他東西比起來，37%的貓偏好食物勝過其他。11%喜歡玩具，有隻貓特別專注於貓薄荷和沙鼠的氣味。

Thirty-seven percent preferred food to anything else. Eleven percent liked toys, and one cat was preoccupied with the smells of catnip and gerbils.

但其中的19隻——一半！ ——偏好人類的陪伴，而不是其他的娛樂的可能性。

But 19 of them — half! — preferred the company of humans above all, choosing them over other entertainment possibilities.

所以貓並非傲慢冷漠。牠們親切、重感情，還很無私。牠們一心愛著你，並不是因為你會開罐頭。

So cats are not haughty and aloof. They’re affable, affectionate and selfless. They love you for yourself alone, and not for your skill with a can opener. Yeah, right.