狗為啥會死心塌地跟著人類？

Whether or not you spell their name backwards, or consider that they may in fact be the species with nine lives as the number itself is fully spelled out within their very name, dogs (aka:canines) are indeedsublime, perhaps even divinecritters.

不管你是將它們的名字反著拼（dog——god），還是根據它們的名字（canine）認為它們實際上有九條命，狗（犬科動物）確實是崇高的，甚至是神聖。

canine [?ke?na?n]：犬的；犬科動物

sublime [s?"bla?m]：卓越的， 令人崇敬的

critter ["kr?t?]：生物

As luck would have it, Canis domesticus has for some reason decided to hitch its waggly-tailed wagon to we upright-walking—though hardly upright—schmucks.

幸好，出於某種原因，它們決定被人類馴化，搖擺著尾巴跟在直立行走（雖然極少品行正直之輩）的愚蠢人類後頭。

Canis domesticus：家犬

schmuck [?m?k]：笨人

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At some point tens of thousands of years ago in the evolution of mankind, dogs decided to throw nature for a loop and lose theirlupustendencies, preferring long walks by our side and dry bones for snacks instead of the loose flesh of our necks as appetizers, as wolfpacks arewontto do.

數萬年前，在人類漫長的進化過程中，狗決定讓項圈束縛住自己，丟棄自己的狼性，陪伴在人類左右，吃著人類給的骨頭，而不是和群狼一樣，撕碎人類脆弱的脖頸，將其當作開胃菜。

lupus ["lu?p?s]：天狼座

wont [w?nt]：習慣的

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As for their loyalty to wewaywardfolk, you may well ask what』s in it for domesticated dogs?

你可能會問，馴化後的犬類為何會對任性的人類忠心耿耿？

wayward： 任性的；不規則的

I for one have no idea, but having said that, perhaps it』s a good thing they remain speechless – having been stuck with a single-word vocabulary (woof! bow-wow! wan!... pick yourpatois) since weditchedthe trees and hit the savanna standing.

這我不知道，但是不得不說，在我們砍伐森林、破壞熱帶草原的時候，它們沒法兒說話——只能發出一個詞（嗚！嗷嗚！汪！……隨便選個調調）也許是一件好事。

patois ["p?twɑ?]：方言；土語

ditch：丟棄

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What if they were suddenly gifted with intelligible speech, and admitted they were only with us for the free lunch and protection fromcoyotes?

如果它們突然能夠說話了，承認和我們一起只是為了享用免費的吃食，讓我們保護它們免受土狼的攻擊，那該怎麼辦？

coyote [ka?"??t?]：土狼

How depressing.

那這得多叫人鬱悶啊。

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Let』s see what the ancients have to say.

再讓我們來看看古人是怎麼說的。

The Tang Dynasty』s (618–907) leading poetic rivals made a few references to man』s best friend in their copious body of work.

在唐朝（公元618-907）時期，文人墨客各領風騷，揮灑華章無數，其中部分作品曾提到這位人類最好的朋友。

「A dog"s bark amid the water"s sound; Peach blossom that"s made thicker by the rain…」 said Li Bai (701–762) in hisVisiting the Taoist Priest Dai Tianshan But Not Finding Him.

「犬吠水聲中，桃花帶雨濃。」李白在《訪戴天山道士不遇》中吟詠道。

The mention evokes a sense of longing andmelancholia, associated with a common background din that forms anauralconstruct around our memories.

詩中「犬吠」一詞，令人讀罷心馳神往，記憶中的喧鬧浮現在腦海，勾起了淡淡惆悵。

melancholia [,mel?n"k??l??]：憂鬱症

aural：聽覺的

And Du Fu (712-770), in his A Song of War Chariots, perhaps unwittingly revealed that we often take our barking brothers for granted.

而杜甫在他的《兵車行》中不經意間透露出，我們經常不把我們的狗兄弟當回事兒。

「Men of China are able to face the stiffest battle; But theirofficers drive them like chickens and dogs.」

「況復秦兵耐苦戰，被驅不異犬與雞。」

Moving back to modernity, the staying power of the popular pet is testament to its adaptability.

說回現代，飼養寵物狗的潮流經久不衰，這也證明了它們良好的適應性。

Several millennia ago, during thepastoralstage of social organization, dogs were bred for their ability to keep sheep and other vegetarians from running beyond the shepherd』sken– while eagerly awaiting their 「masters」 to slaughter these sameruminantsand then throw them a bone.

幾千年前，當社會組織還處於畜牧階段的時候，狗被用於看守綿羊和其他草食動物，避免它們跑出牧羊人的視線——同時，它們也急切地渴望著「主人」去宰殺這些反芻動物，然後扔幾塊骨頭給它們。

pastoral ["p?st?r?l]：牧人的

ken [ken]：視野範圍

ruminant：反芻動物

As if a loyal pup』s wagging tail and playful pouncing when we arrive home each night isn』t enough to cement their friendship with us forever – let』s not forget that when buildings crumble in quakes or the sightless try and negotiate a busy intersection, it』s not the cats and goldfish that are called to duty.

每天晚上當我們回到家時，忠誠的小狗崽都會搖著尾巴撲過來迎接我們，如果這還不夠鞏固人犬之間永恆的友誼的話，別忘了，地震後幫助我們在廢墟中搜救傷患，幫助盲人穿過繁忙的十字路口的可不是貓和金魚。

譯者：沈家歡

About the author & broadcaster

A. Thomas Pasek has served as a government official focused on international trade at the American Institute of Taiwan in Taipei, and worked in financial journalism for nearly a decade in both Beijing and Shenzhen. He holds a Master"s Degree from New York University in History.

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