科学美国人60秒 如何让暴躁狮子变成温顺小猫咪?(2)

Burkhart would lure¹ a lion over to the enclosure fence by waving a tasty hunk of meat.

伯克哈特会用一大块美味的肉把狮子引诱到围栏边。

Once I hold that meat and the animal’s grabbing it I can just stick it in the fence and into their nostril² and spray away.

一旦我拿着肉，动物就会抓住它，我就可以把喷瓶卡到栅栏上，把喷瓶顶端塞进它们的鼻孔，然后喷洒液体。

The cats put up with the nasal invasion--as long as they got their grub.

这种猫科动物会忍受激素入侵鼻腔——只要它们能吃到食物。

But if Burkhart spritzed a lion after the meat was gone….

但如果伯克哈特在肉没了之后向狮子喷激素....

You should see their faces.

你应该看看它们的表情。

They go, huh? Like, how dare you take a cheap shot on me.

他们会吼叫？你怎么敢用卑鄙的手段攻击我。

They take it personally!

它们会认为这是针对个体的!

Ah, it’s so funny.

啊，太有趣了。

The researchers then assessed oxytocin’s effects in several different behavioral situations.

研究人员评估了催产素在几种不同行为情况下的影响。

The first was seeing whether the hormone³ would make a lion less territorial⁴ when it comes to a desirable toy or a snack.

第一项研究是观察这种激素是否会让狮子在寻找心仪的玩具或零食时丧失领地意识。

Normally, lions are pretty protective of their possessions, particularly those that can be eaten.

通常情况下，狮子会保护它们的所有物，尤其是那些可以吃的东西。

They’ll growl⁵ and they’ll snarl⁶ and they smack⁷ and they scratch and they snap.

它们会吼叫，会咆哮，会拍打，会抓挠，会撕咬。

So a lot of times you will just get this sort of reactive behavior where they’re gonna lash⁸ out, to be like: Get off!

很多时候，你会得到这种反应性的行为，它们会猛击，像是在表达: 滚开!

When it came to the toys, oxytocin did help to curb⁹ that reactive behavior, allowing other lions to come much closer.

对于玩具，催产素确实有助于抑制这种反应性行为，让其他狮子更靠近。

But it didn’t do much for their monopolistic attitude toward meals, which Burkhart says was not entirely¹⁰ unexpected.

但催产素并没有改变它们对食物的独占态度，伯克哈特说这并不完全出乎意料。

With the toy, you know you’re playful, you might be more inclined to having your partners play with you.

当对象是玩具时，狮子很爱玩，很可能更倾向于让伴侣与其一起玩。

When you have a food object, it’s a much more primal¹¹ instinct, so with the food trial, it’s that innate¹² desire to survive that causes this very reactive aggression¹³.

当对象是食物时，这更像是一种更原始的本能，所以在食物试验中，是这种与生俱来的生存欲望导致了这种反应性攻击。

Seeing that oxytocin suppressed aggression in one situation, but not the other, actually reassured¹⁴ the researchers that the hormone wasn’t just making the lions totally dopey.

观察到催产素在一种情况下抑制了狮子的攻击性，而在另一种情况下却没有抑制住，这实际上让研究人员放心，这种激素不会让狮子完全麻木。

It doesn’t make your brain completely different, but it’s like drinking your coffee in the morning.

这种激素不会让大脑变得完全不同，会像是早上喝咖啡一样。

But if you’re a testosterone-fueled grumpy Gus, it could render you almost delightfully¹⁵ demure¹⁶.

如果是雄性激素过高、性格暴躁的狮子格斯，这种激素也会让其变得娴静端庄。

Oh my gosh, within minutes of the oxytocin that guy was completely chilled out.

我的天，在催产素的作用下，这个家伙几分钟内就完全冷静下来了。

And I mean when we were giving him his oxytocin, he was growling¹⁷, smacking¹⁸ the fence, totally insane, testosterone brain.

我的意思是，当我们给他注射催产素时，他咆哮着，拍打着栅栏，完全疯了，大脑充满男性荷尔蒙。

And then he just completely mellowed¹⁹ out.

之后，他会完全放松下来。

1 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

2 nostril   

n.鼻孔

参考例句：

• The Indian princess wore a diamond in her right nostril.印弟安公主在右鼻孔中戴了一颗钻石。
• All South American monkeys have flat noses with widely spaced nostril.所有南美洲的猴子都有平鼻子和宽大的鼻孔。

3 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

4 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

5 growl   

v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣

参考例句：

• The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。
• The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

6 snarl   

v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮

参考例句：

• At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。
• The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。

7 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

8 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

9 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

10 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

11 primal   

adj.原始的；最重要的

参考例句：

• Jealousy is a primal emotion.嫉妒是最原始的情感。
• Money was a primal necessity to them.对于他们，钱是主要的需要。

12 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

13 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

14 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 delightfully   

大喜，欣然

参考例句：

• The room is delightfully appointed. 这房子的设备令人舒适愉快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The evening is delightfully cool. 晚间凉爽宜人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 demure   

adj.严肃的；端庄的

参考例句：

• She's very demure and sweet.她非常娴静可爱。
• The luscious Miss Wharton gave me a demure but knowing smile.性感迷人的沃顿小姐对我羞涩地会心一笑。

17 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。

18 smacking   

活泼的，发出响声的，精力充沛的

参考例句：

• He gave both of the children a good smacking. 他把两个孩子都狠揍了一顿。
• She inclined her cheek,and John gave it a smacking kiss. 她把头低下，约翰在她的脸上响亮的一吻。

19 mellowed   

（使）成熟( mellow的过去式和过去分词 )； 使色彩更加柔和，使酒更加醇香

参考例句：

• She's mellowed over the years. 这些年来他变得成熟了。
• The colours mellowed as the sun went down. 随着太阳的落去，色泽变得柔和了。