Catshavethewidesthearingrangeofnearlyanymammal”notonlycantheyperceivesoundinwhatwedefineasthe“ultrasonic”range,theycanalsoappreciateallthebassDrDrecanthrowatthem.Theycanswiveltheirwhiskersforwardswhilehuntingtoprovideakindofshort-rangeradar.Andtheycanseeexceptionallywellinthedarkthankstoareflectivesurfacebehindtheretinathatbounceslightback,givingitasecondchancetohitaphotoreceptor.Theyseemoredistinctimagespersecondthanwedo. Dogpartisanswillappealtothedog’sallegedlysuperiorintelligence—thoughifthatweretheprimarycriterionforchoosingapet,onewouldexpecttoseealotmorecrowsandsquidonleadsaroundtown.Infact,catsareratherclevererthancommonlyassumed,asthebiologistandanimal-behaviourexpertJohnBradshawshowsinhisnewbook.TheycanevenbetrainedtoanextentwhichwasnewstomeBradshaw’sbookmixespelletsofcatlorewithaccountsoffelineevolution,anatomy,geneticsanddevelopmentfromnewbornkittentoadulthood,plusdescriptionsofcat-psychologyexperimentsinthelaboratory,manyofwhichhehasconductedhimself.Someofthemostinterestingpartsindicateholesinourcurrentscientificknowledge.“Manymothercatstrytomovetheirlittersatleastoncebeforetheyweanthem,”heobserves,“butsciencehasyettofindoutwhy”.Nooneknowswhycatsgocrazyforcatnip,norwhytheyareable“toclassifyshapesaccordingtowhethertheyareclosedoropen.”Kittens,meanwhile,“mayalsousespecialmovementsoftheirtailstosignalplayfulness,butsofarnoscientisthasbeenabletodecodethese”.Asfaraspotentialresearchprojectsgo,decodingthetail-languageofplayingkittensmustbeabouttheinterestingunsolvedprobleminscience. Thecatisanapparentlyphlegmaticbeast,butBradshawpointsoutthatcatsexperiencestrongemotions,andsometimesmightbesufferinginsilence.Theyaren’tparticularlysociable,andcatswhoarehousedwithotherswhoweren’tlitter-mates—perhapsbywell-meaningownerswhothinktheyneedthecompany—canbecomechronicallystressed. Luckily,then,catsprobablyaren’tawarethattodaytheyareonceagainhate-figures,thefurrytargetofspittle-sprayingecologistswho,armedwithdodgystatistics,accusecatsofwildly“murdering”allthecountry’ssongbirds.It’sabitmorecomplicatedthanthat,Bradshawshows.Ratsalsokillsongbirds,andcatskeeptheirnumbersdown;whiletheRSPBsaysthedisappearanceofhabitatisafarmoreimportantfactorinthedeclineofsongbirdpopulationsthanpredatornumbers.Butwecouldatleast,Bradshawsuggests,reversethecounterproductiveselectionpressurewecurrentlyexertonthedomesticcatwhenweneuterhousecatsbeforetheyreproduce.Thismeans,heexplains,thatthe“friendliest,mostdocile”catsarepreventedfromleavinganydescendants,whilewildcats—whicharemoresuspiciousofhumansandbetterathunting—willleavemoreoffspring.Unintentionally,wearecausingcatstoevolveintoanimalssocietywon’tlikeasmuch Cat-hatersprobablywon’tappreciatethisbook,butanyoneelsemight.Itiswritteninafriendlyandengagingway,hashelpfultipsforcatowners,andispackedwithexcellentcatfacts.Why,youmighthavewondered,docatsgetstuckuptrees?Becausealltheirclawsfaceforwards,sononecanbeusedasbrakesonthedescent.Weallknowhowgoodcatsareattwistingmid-airtolandontheirfeet,buttheyhaveanevenmoreimpressivetrick:somecatsadopta“parachute”positionduringalongfall,withallfourlegsstuckouttotheside,beforecomingbacktothelandingpositionatthelastmoment.Thiscat-parachutepose,Bradshawcalculates,“limitsthefallingspeedtoamaximumoffifty-threemilesanhour”soenablingsomecatstofallfromhigh-risebuildingsandwalkawayunhurt.I’dliketoseeadogtrythat. WhatcanbeinferredaboutcatsfromBradshaw’sresearch?
A.Cats’ whiskers can aid them to confuse preys. B.Cats can detect sounds far away from them. C.Cats can process images better than we do. D.Cats’ intelligence has been underestimated.正确答案C
