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Why is it that when dogs drink, water seems to go everywhere?
为什么狗狗喝水时，水会四处乱溅？
When my dog drinks from her bowl, there is no question, water will end up on the floor. It looks like a sloppy, unorganized way to get a good drink of water.
毫无疑问，我的狗狗从碗中喝水时，水也洒到地板上。看上去就是马虎无条理的方式，不能好好喝水。
Researchers at Virginia Tech University have been studying how dogs drink. They say dogs know exactly what they are doing. The animals are actually making precise movements at a high speed. This helps them get the fluid they need when they are thirsty.
美国弗吉尼亚理工大学研究员对狗狗的喝水方式进行了研究。他们表示，狗狗完全了解自己在做什么。实际上，狗狗是以高速做精准的动作。这有助于它们在口渴时，喝到需要的水分。
It turns out that neither dogs, nor cats, have a full set of cheeks. This means they cannot create suction to drink, like humans or elephants and horses.
原来狗狗和猫都没有整套的脸颊。这就意味着它们不能像人类、大象或者马一样吸着饮水。
Dogs lap, or take up, the water with their tongues curled backward. As they lap, they move their tongues very quickly to build up momentum. That forces the water into a column and up into their mouths.
狗狗通过将舌头后卷来舔水喝。舔水喝时，狗狗快速移动舌头累积动量。这样便形成水柱，让狗狗喝到水。
The Virginia Tech researchers filmed 19 dogs of different sizes and breeds as they drank water. They created different laboratory models to measure tongue motion, and the amounts of water taken in.
弗吉尼亚理工大学的研究人员拍摄了19只不同大小不同品种的狗狗喝水的场景。他们创建不同的实验室模型对舌头的运动以及吸入的水量进行了测量。
Using the data from these experiments, the researchers were able to make a model that shows how a dog drinks water.
根据这些实验得出的数据，研究人员制作了展示狗狗喝水的模型。
The researchers said that since the mouths of dogs and cats are structured nearly the same way, they thought they would drink water the same way, too.
研究人员表示，狗狗和猫嘴部的结构类似，因此研究人员认为它们喝水的方式也相同。
But here is a surprise. The studies showed each family of animals has its own special drinking method.
但让人意外的是，研究表明每种动物都有其独特的喝水方式。
We know cats and dogs are quite different in terms of behavior and character, said Sunghwan "Sunny" Jung, a study author and an associate professor of biomedical engineering and mechanics at Virginia Tech.
“猫和狗的行为和性格都有很大的不同。”弗吉尼亚理工大学生物医学工程和力学工程研究报告作者兼副教授 Sunghwan “Sunny“ Jung说。
But before we did fundamental studies of how these animals drink fluids, our guess was dogs and cats drink about the same way. Instead we found out that dogs drink quite differently than cats, he said.
他说道：“对这些动物饮水方式进行研究之前，我们猜测猫和狗饮水方式相同。但是我们发现，狗的饮水方式与猫的饮水方式很不一样。”
What is the difference?
那么，区别是什么呢？
Dogs must quickly move their tongues down into the water using momentum to bring the water up and into their mouths. Cats don't bend their tongues to drink like dogs. Cats use less momentum and a more gentle action. They just skim, or barely touch, the surface of the water to drink it.
狗狗必须快速移动舌头，利用动量将水带到嘴里。猫饮水时舌头并不弯曲。猫用的动量较小，采用的是更加和缓的动作。它们饮水时只是从水表面轻掠，几乎不碰到水面。
Cats tend be viewed as neater, dogs are messier, but dogs really have to accelerate their tongues to make good use of the way the fluid column works, says researcher Sean Gart, a Virginia Tech graduate student.
“猫更整洁，狗则是杂乱的，但狗狗真的是不得不加快舌头的动作利用液柱饮水。”弗吉尼亚理工大学研究生研究员Sean Gart表示。
Their findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
该项发现发表在《美国国家科学院院刊》上。
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