听力文摘：猫为何会有九条命

Humpty Dumpty may have sat on a wall and had a great fall,but Humpty Dumpty wasn't a cat.

矮胖子，坐墙头，一不小心栽跟斗，但要是只猫就不会这么惨。

How do we know this?

我们怎么知道猫猫摔不死？

Because, unlike an egg, a cat cansurvive a great fall in one piece.

因为不像脆弱的蛋，猫就算摔下来也会毫发无伤。

Cats can fall from great heights and survive.

从再高的地方摔下来，猫也不会死。

This phenomenon has been reported in newspaperslike The New York Times, which published a story claiming that even cats falling from greater thanseven floors have a good chance of survival.

像《纽约时报》这样的报纸报道过这种现象。上边刊载的文章中写道，猫就算是从比7层楼还要高的地方摔下来，也有很大几率生存下来。

The secret lies in cats' flexible spines¹ and tails.

秘密就在于猫有柔韧的脊柱和灵活的尾巴。

When a cat falls, it instinctively² turns so that it willland on its feet.

当猫从高处摔落，会本能的调整身体，以脚着地。

If it's falling head or back first, the cat will rotate the head and front legs to facedownward then rotate the back legs into position; cats are flexible enough to rotate front andback quarters almost independently.

如果，它是头部或者背部朝下坠落，猫会调整头和前腿的位置，让它们朝向地面，然后调整后腿到相应位置；猫的柔韧性非常强，几乎可以独自首尾旋转1/4。

Once feet are downward, the cat's body arches up, like aHalloween cat.

一旦猫的脚朝下，身体就会躬起来, 状似万圣节的猫那样。

This position increases air resistance and slows the cat down so that when it landsthe body can absorb a lot of the impact of the fall.

这种姿势可以增加空气阻力，猫向下跌落的速度会减慢，因此，当它着地时，身体会吸收大量撞向地面的冲力。

While cats may not need all the King's horses and all the King's men, they might need aveterinarian.

尽管猫不需要国王所有的马和仆人来救它的命，但也许会需要一名兽医。

Cats can survive incredible falls, but they often suffer broken bones and internal injuries.

摔得再惨, 猫也不会死，但常常会骨折并造成内伤。

1 spines   

n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 )；脊椎；（动植物的）刺；书脊

参考例句：

• Porcupines use their spines to protect themselves. 豪猪用身上的刺毛来自卫。
• The cactus has spines. 仙人掌有刺。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》