Dogs’ eyes have changed since humans befriended them
成为人类的朋友后,狗狗的眼睛发生了变化
be desperate for
极其需要、渴望某物
例句:He is desperate for a job.
puppy-dog eyes
小狗狗的眼神;可怜兮兮的表情
look
n. 眼神,表情
搭配短语:give someone a look
搭配短语:give someone a severe/worried look
at all
起到加强语气的作用
例句:It was truly a miracle that he survived at all.
expression
n. 表情;表达
structure
v. 构造
present
adj. 存在的
work
v. 使…运作
act on
对...起作用
Dogs, more so than almost any other domesticated species, are desperate for human eye contact.
在所有被驯化的物种中,狗狗几乎是最渴望与人类进行眼神交流的。
先略过两个逗号中间的部分,主干就是 Dogs are desperate for human eye contact. 狗狗渴望与人类进行眼神交流。逗号中间的部分,so 代指的就是后面的 are desperate for human eye contact,更渴望与人类进行眼神交流。作者把这个比较状语提前作为插入语,是为了强调比起其他任何物种,狗狗是最渴望与人类进行眼神交流。把这句话还原成正常语序就是:Dogs are more desperate for human eye contact than almost any other domesticated species.
“These muscles evolved during domestication,” says Brian Hare, the editor of the paper, “but almost certainly due to an advantage they gave dogs during interactions with humans that we humans have been all but unaware of.”
研究报告的主编莱恩 · 黑尔说:“这些肌肉是在驯化过程中进化出来的,但几乎可以肯定的是,当狗狗与人类互动时,这些肌肉给予了它们一种优势,然而我们人类却差点儿没意识到这一点。”
逗号中间是说话人,says Brian Hare, 身份是 the editor of the paper, 引号中间是他的说话内容,due to 前面省略了和前面重复的主谓语 these muscles evolved,补充完整就是 these muscles evolved almost certainly due to an advantage,后面是一个省略了 that 的定语从句,修饰 advantage:(that) they gave dogs during interactions with humans ...,they 指代前面的 these muscles,最后一个 that 引导的定语从句也是修饰 an advantage,表示我们人类几乎没有意识到这种优势。
比喻(simile/metaphor)
比喻是英文写作中常见的修辞手法。它常用一个喻体来表示本体,以指出两者之间的相似性。比喻又包括明喻(simile)和暗喻(metaphor)。明喻的特点是用 as 或 like 等词将具有某种共同特征的两种不同事物连接起来,比如在本篇新闻中,studying the two animals is a bit like cracking open a four-legged time capsule. 这句话中的 four-legged time capsule 就使用了明喻的修辞手法,把研究狗和狼这两种物种比喻为打开一个“四条腿的时间胶囊”。
拟人(personification)
拟人是把人类的特点、特性加于外界事物上,使之人格化的修辞格。比如文中的 ... which makes them look like our own human babies and “hijacks” our nurturing instincts. 中的动词 hijack 本是由人才能完成的动作,而文中说动物能睁大眼睛这个特点“劫持”了我们的养育本能,也就是把动物这一特点人格化了。
讲解中提到的关于狗狗祖先的研究报告:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124717304564
推荐的查音标网站:https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com(牛津学习者词典)
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