胡杨

We were having a picnic in the park the other day when we overheard an interesting conversation between two dogs：

日前我们在公园野餐，无意中听到两只狗之间有趣的对话：

Dog 1： Hey Charlie！What have you got there？ Is that a t-bone？

狗1：嘿，查理！你到那里去了？这是丁字牛排吗？

Dog 2： Whats up， George？ Yeah， its a t-bone. You want to chew on it？

狗2：怎么了，乔治？是的，是丁字牛排。你想吃吗？

Dog 1： No， thanks！ Did you already eat the steak？

狗1：不，谢谢！你已经吃了那块牛排了吗？

Dog 2： Unluckily， no！Its so frustrating. They said I was a good boy and they had a treat. I could see the steak right there on the plate. Next thing you know， the meat is on the grill1 and they throw this bone at me.

狗2：不幸的是，没吃！这太令人沮丧了。他们说我是个好孩子，然后自己享用了美食。我可以看到盘子里的牛排。接下来，你知道，肉在烤架上，他们把这块骨头扔给了我。

Dog 1： Wow， thats just rude. Did you wag your tail and give them the sad eyes？

狗1：哇，那太粗鲁了。你有没有摇尾巴，并用悲伤的眼神望着他们呢？

Dog 2： Of course， I did！Its like they dont know me at all！It was a huge missed steak！

狗2：当然了！可是他们就好像根本不认识我一样！这是一块巨大的、错过的牛排！

Their conversation gave us pause. Weve made the same mistake for many times in the past of giving a dog a bone without really considering whether theyd rather have a nice， juicy steak.

它们的谈话使我们停下来思考。在过去，我们曾多次犯过这样的错误：给狗狗一块骨头，却没有考虑过它们是否宁愿吃一块美味多汁的牛排。

Even if they miss the steak， make no mistake： Dogs love bones. Recently， scientists have made some progress in figuring out why it is that dogs love bones.

即使他们错过了牛排，也别搞错了：狗喜欢骨头。最近，科学家们在找出狗为什么喜欢骨头的问题上取得了一些进展。

Research has found out that modern dogs descended2 from wolves that， in turn， descended from ancient canines3.

研究发现，现代的狗是由狼进化而来的，而狼则是古代犬科动物的后代。

Over time， these animals developed strong teeth that allowed them eat larger prey4. Those strong teeth and bones have been passed on to modern dogs. Since they can eat any part of their prey， including the bones， they did so and continue to do so today.

隨着时间的推移，这些动物进化长出了坚固的牙齿，使它们能够捕食更大的猎物。那些坚固的牙齿和强壮的骨骼已经遗传给了现代的狗。由于它们可以吃掉猎物的任何部分，包括骨头，所以它们如今继续这样做。

There are many good reasons for dogs to love bones. First of all， they can be tasty and nutritious5. Bone marrow6 is rich in fat and the bone hiding the marrow is high in calcium7. Meat left on the bone contains a lot of protein8.

狗喜欢骨头有很多很好的理由。首先，它们既味道鲜美，又营养丰富。骨髓含有丰富的脂肪，骨髓中隐含大量的钙。骨头上剩下的肉里含有大量蛋白质。

Chewing bones is also enjoyable for dogs. It reduces boredom and meets their innate9 urge to chew. Chewing can also stimulate the release of endorphins10， which makes them happy.

咀嚼骨头也能让狗感到愉快，缓解了无聊，满足了它们天生的咀嚼欲望。咀嚼还能刺激内啡肽的释放，让它们感到快乐。

Chewing bones is good for dogs teeth. As bones scrape11 their teeth， plaque12 gets removed， helping to reduce tartar13 build-up.

咀嚼骨头对狗狗的牙齿很有好处。咀嚼的时候骨头会刮狗狗牙齿的表面，这样牙菌斑会被去除，有助于减少牙垢的形成。

Bones arent without risk， though. Veterinarians14 will tell you that some dogs simply dont have the teeth and jaw bones to chew bones. Other possible dangers include broken teeth， stomach problems， and infections15 resulting from bones poking holes in the stomach and intestines16.

然而，狗狗吃骨头也不是没有风险的。兽医会告诉你，有些狗根本就没有牙齿和颌骨来啃骨头。其他潜在的危险包括牙齿破裂、胃病和由骨头碎片在胃和肠之中戳洞引起的感染。

To avoid dangers， dogs should always be watched when theyre chewing bones. Owners should also be careful about what types of bones they give their dogs. For example， experts warn that owners should never give dogs cooked bones， since cooking makes them brittle17 and more likely to splinter18 when chewed.

为了避免危险，狗在啃骨头的时候应该随时处于监督之下。主人也应该注意他们给狗吃的骨头类型。例如，专家警告说，主人决不能给狗狗煮熟的骨头，因为烹饪过程让它们变得易碎，咀嚼时更容易出现碎片。

Raw marrow bones are best for dogs. Just make sure that the bone cant be swallowed whole. If you dont want to take any risks with raw bones， there are a variety of artificial bones specially made for dogs to chew.

对狗来说，生骨头最好。要确保骨头不能被狗完全吞下。如果你不想用生骨头，怕狗狗吃生骨头有危险的话，市场上也有专门做出来给狗咀嚼的人造骨头。

1. grill [ ] n. 烤架，铁格子 2. descend [ ] vi. 遗传

3. canine [ ] n. 犬；[解剖] 犬齿 4. prey [ ] n. 捕食；被捕食的动物

5. nutritious [ ] adj. 有营养的，滋养的

6. marrow [ ] n. 髓，骨髓 7. calcium [ ] n. [化学] 钙

8. protein [ n. 蛋白质

9. innate [ ] adj. 先天的；固有的；与生俱来的

10. endorphin [ ] n. 脑内啡；内啡肽11. scrape [ ] vt. 刮；擦伤；挖成

12. plaque [ ] n. 血小板；牙斑 13. tartar [ ] n. 牙垢

14. veterinarian [ ] n. [獸医] 兽医

15. infection [ ] n. 感染；传染 16. intestine [ ] n. 肠

17. brittle [ ] adj. 易碎的，脆弱的 18. splinter [ ] n. 碎片；微小的东西