跟读练习: Why does catnip make cats go crazy? - Jaap de Roode - 通过YouTube学习英语口语
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Of the many bewildering behaviors cats display, one of the strangest is their obsession with a specific species of plant.
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Of the many bewildering behaviors cats display, one of the strangest is their obsession with a specific species of plant.
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After just one whiff, even the most stoic cat can start pawing, drooling, biting, and wriggling in a state of pure feline euphoria.
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So, why do cats go crazy for catnip?
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This is the question cat behavior expert Masao Miyazaki and chemist Toshio Nishikawa set out to answer in 2013.
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Along with their research teams from Iwate and Nagoya University, they began by studying silvervine— a plant that sparks a similar response to catnip.
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First, the researchers painstakingly extracted chemical compounds from the plant and dribbled various combinations of them onto filter papers.
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Then they brought in some cats and studied which compounds they were drawn to.
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Overwhelmingly, their feline testers pounced on the papers containing nepetalactol.
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And when Miyazaki and his student Reiko Uenoyama ran blood tests on the cats who’d interacted with nepetalactol, they found their systems were flooded with endorphins.
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These hormones block pain signals, relieve stress, and generally create a happy, calming effect.
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And catnip triggers the same endorphin rush with a similar chemical called nepetalactone, and it’s this flood of happy hormones that gives catnip and silvervine their signature drug-like response.
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These compounds don't just trigger this effect in small cats.
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When the researchers brought nepetalactol-treated filter papers to a few zoos, leopards, lynxes, and jaguars all dove face first into the compound.
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This was big news.
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If all these different cat species reacted to nepetalactol in the same way, the response was very likely a shared evolutionary trait— potentially something important to cat survival that stretched back millions of years.
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When the silvervine researchers presented their work at a conference, one evolutionary biologist raised a compelling theory.
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In chemical terms, both nepetalactol and nepetalactone are classified as an iridoid— a type of natural compound known to contain insect-repelling properties.
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So perhaps cats rubbing their faces in silvervine and catnip were applying an ancient form of bug spray.
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To test this, researchers set up cages of mosquitoes that cats could stick their heads into.
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And sure enough, the cats that had been treated with nepetalactol got fewer mosquito bites than the cats in the control group.
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The same effect was true for the scientists who’d volunteered their arms in solidarity with their feline subjects.
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These mosquito-repelling properties are currently our best explanation for why cats love silvervine and catnip.
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But researchers still had one more question: in their state of euphoria, cats tend to vigorously bite, lick, and rub against these plants.
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But do cats really need to go this crazy to get their bug repelling effects?
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To investigate rubbing, they provided cats with filter papers treated with microscopic amounts of nepetalactol.
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And sure enough, even these tiny doses made the papers irresistible, suggesting that microscopic amounts of bug repellent can be transferred by rubbing alone.
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As for biting and licking, the researchers found that when cats damage the plant, the leaves actually produce more mosquito-repellent chemicals.
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So your cat isn’t just ripping open their bags of catnip to be annoying, their evolutionary instincts are just trying to get even more of that bug protection.
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Cats are far from the only animal to use natural plants for purposes like this.
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Apes swallow scratchy and hairy leaves to dislodge parasites from their guts.
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Sheep munch on tannin-rich plants to kill intestinal worms, and monarch butterflies use toxic milkweed to kill parasites that normally impair their flight.
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Just like cats’ ability to find mosquito repellent, these behaviors can help humans identify useful plants and ingredients in the natural world.
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So, the next time you see your feline friend on catnip binge, don’t worry— it’s only medicinal.
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在這段由貓行為專家宮崎正男和化學家西川俊夫於2013年進行的研究中，探討了貓對貓薄荷的瘋狂反應。即使是最冷靜的貓，聞到貓薄荷後也會開始抓爪、流口水、咬嚼並扭動，完全沉浸在貓的興奮中。貓為什麼會對這種植物如此著迷呢？研究顯示，貓薄荷中的化學成分引起了貓的快感，而這些痛快的反應不僅僅限於家庭的貓，甚至在動物園裡的美洲豹和猞猁也能展現相似的行為。
日常交流的五個關鍵短語
- 貓薄荷的成分 - 涉及不同植物中如克洛亞物質的成分。
- 行為研究 - 這幫助了解動物行為及其本質。
- 進化特徵 - 講述物種對特定植物的共同反應可能來源於共同的進化過程。
- 驅蟲效果 - 討論貓薄荷和銀藤的驅蟲特性及其背後的科學。
- 自然界的用途 - 如何幫助我們識別有用的植物和成分。
逐步影子跟讀指南
為了提高您的英文發音和口說能力，您可以利用這段視頻作為影子練習的材料。以下是一些有效的步驟：
- 首先，觀看視頻並注意演講者的語調和情感表達。試著理解他們是如何用英文清晰表達貓對貓薄荷反應的科學背景。
- 接著，逐句重複視頻中的短語，例如“貓薄荷的成分”。注重語音和重音，以提高您的英语影子跟读技巧。
- 使用靜音或回放功能，重複聽和說，同時記錄下您的發音進度。這樣可以增強您的看YouTube学英语的效果。
- 最後，經常練習並將所學短語用於日常的英语口语练习中，提升您與他人交流的自信心。
用以上方式深入學習視頻內容，不僅能讓您愉快地學習，還能有效地提高英语发音，讓您的英語更加流利。在貓的世界裡尋找知識，同時提升你的英語交流能力。
什么是跟读法？
跟读法 (Shadowing) 是一种有科学依据的语言学习技巧，最初开发用于专业口译员的培训，并由多语言者Alexander Arguelles博士普及。这个方法简单而强大：您在听英语母语原声的同时立即大声重复——就像是一个延迟1-2秒紧跟说话者的影子。与被动听力或语法练习不同，跟读法强迫您的大脑和口腔肌肉同时处理并模仿真实的讲话模式。研究表明它能显着提高发音准确性，语调，节奏，连读，听力理解和口语流利度——使其成为雅思口语备考和真实英语交流最有效的方法之一。