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Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil. And I'm Georgie.
你好。这里是BBC英语六分钟。我是尼尔。我是乔基。
It's said that your personality is reflected in your pet – an animal that you keep in your home as a companion and treat kindly.
据说你的性格会从你的宠物身上反映出来——你养在家里作伴并善待的动物。
'Dog people' are supposed to be friendly, enthusiastic and loyal, whereas 'cat people' are introverted, proud and sensitive. Are you a 'dog person' or a 'cat person', Neil?
“爱狗人士”被认为是友好、热情和忠诚的，而“爱猫人士”则是内向、骄傲和敏感的。尼尔，你是“爱狗人士”还是“爱猫人士”?
I'm definitely a 'dog person', Georgie. I want a pet that's friendly and loves me, not a lazy cat that sits around all day waiting for food.
我绝对是一个“爱狗之人”，乔基。我想要一个友好的、爱我的宠物，而不是一只整天坐在那里等着吃东西的懒猫。
Whether you're a 'dog person', a 'cat person', or have a goldfish, hamster or parrot for a pet, the British are well known as a nation of animal lovers.
无论你是“爱狗人士”、“爱猫人士”，还是养金鱼、仓鼠或鹦鹉作为宠物，英国是众所周知的动物爱好者之国。
In the UK, 52% of owners describe their pet as their “best friend”, and in 2021, 18 million homes had at least one pet, meaning that for the first time there were more households with a pet than without.
在英国，52%的主人称他们的宠物是他们“最好的朋友”，2021年，1800万户家庭至少有一只宠物，这意味着有宠物的家庭首次超过了没有宠物的家庭。
In this programme, we'll be hearing how our relationship with pets has changed over the centuries, and, as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.
在本期节目中，我们将听到几个世纪以来我们与宠物的关系是如何变化的，而且，像往常一样，我们也会学习一些有用的新词汇。
But first I have a question for you, Georgie.
但首先我有个问题要问你，乔基。
Nowadays thanks to the internet, modern pets are getting online. So what percent of dogs and cats in the UK do you think have their own social media profile?
如今，多亏了互联网，现代宠物也开始上网了。那么你认为英国有多少狗和猫拥有自己的社交媒体资料呢?
Is it: a) 7%? b) 17%? or c) 70%?
它是：a) 7%？b) 17%？或c) 70%？
It sounds crazy, but I'll guess 17 percent of British pets have their own social media account!
这听起来很疯狂，但我猜17%的英国宠物有自己的社交媒体账户!
OK, Georgie, we'll find out the answer later in the programme.
好的，乔基，稍后我们会在节目中揭晓答案。
Cats using Instagram and dogs on TikTok may be a strange new development, but our relationship with pets has continually changed throughout history.
猫用Instagram，狗用TikTok可能是一个奇怪的新发展，但我们与宠物的关系在历史上不断变化。
In the 1800s, people started using the word 'pet' to describe the emotional connection they felt to a special animal, and gradually it became normal to keep pets indoors.
在19世纪，人们开始用“宠物”这个词来形容他们对一种特殊动物的情感联系，渐渐地，在室内养宠物变得很正常。
Here, Jane Hamlett, professor of history and author of a new book, The Pet Revolution, explains to BBC Radio 4 programme, Thinking Allowed, how early British attitudes to pets were based on economics:
新书《宠物革命》的作者、历史学教授简·哈姆利特在BBC广播4台节目《允许思考》中解释了早期英国人对宠物的态度是如何基于经济学的:
First of all, on a very practical level, living standards are gradually increasing across that period, and it becomes more possible to keep pets if you have more disposable income.
首先，在一个非常实际的层面上，生活水平在这段时间里逐渐提高，如果你有更多的可支配收入，养宠物就更有可能。
But I think in British culture, in the 19th century in particular, home and family are increasingly celebrated, and keeping a pet becomes a way of bringing animals into your home life, and also really expressing what it means to be part of the family - animals become part of that.
但我认为在英国文化中，特别是在19世纪，家庭和家人越来越多的庆贺，养宠物成为一种将动物带入家庭生活的方式，也真正表达了作为家庭一员的意义——动物成为了其中的一部分。
Family pets became more popular as people's living standards increased.
随着人们生活水平的提高，家庭宠物变得越来越受欢迎。
Living standards, which are also known as 'the standard of living', refer to the level of material comfort people live in.
生活水平，也被称为“居住的水平”，指的是人们生活的物质舒适水平。
It's connected to their disposable income, the money left over to spend on things you want, after paying tax and other living expenses.
这与他们的可支配收入有关，即在缴纳税款和其他生活费用后，剩下的钱可以花在你想要的东西上。
In other words, as people got richer, they had more money to spend on luxury items, including pets.
换句话说，随着人们越来越富有，他们有更多的钱花在奢侈品上，包括宠物。
And by the Victorian era, this included new and exotic pets such as tigers, lions, monkeys and elephants which were shipped back from around the British empire.
到了维多利亚时代，这个时代包含从大英帝国各地运回的老虎、狮子、猴子和大象等新的异国宠物。
Even the famous Victorian writer, Charles Dickens, owned a pet raven.
甚至维多利亚时代著名的作家查尔斯·狄更斯也养过一只乌鸦作为宠物。
It was also the Victorians who first described Britain as a nation of dog lovers, a phrase they used to reflect the idea they had of themselves, as Professor Jane Hamlett explained to BBC Radio 4 programme, Thinking Allowed:
也是维多利亚时代的人第一次把英国描述为爱狗之国，他们用这个词来反映他们对自己的看法，简·哈姆利特教授在BBC广播4台节目《允许思考》中解释道:
In the Victorian era, dogs were very much the top pet, and you can see that the values that were often associated with dogs, so loyalty, trustfulness and, steadfastness… all of these qualities were also celebrated by the Victorians of key parts of the Victorian manly character, so dogs really fitted the bill.
在维多利亚时代，狗是最受欢迎的宠物，你可以看到经常与狗联系在一起的价值观，忠诚、信任、坚定……所有这些品质都是维多利亚时代的人所推崇的，是维多利亚时代男性性格的关键部分，所以狗真的符合要求。
The Victorians admired the qualities associated with dogs, qualities like self-confidence and loyalty - being strong and unchanging in support of your friends.
维多利亚时代的人欣赏狗的特质，比如自信和忠诚——坚强而坚定地支持你的朋友。
While dogs were considered strong and manly, cats were feminine and weak, so for the Victorians, dogs really fitted the bill, an idiom meaning they were suitable for a particular purpose.
狗被认为是强壮而有男子气概的，而猫则是柔弱而柔弱的，所以对维多利亚时代的人来说，狗确实很合适，fit the bill这个成语的意思是它们适合某个特定的目的。
Britain's relationship with pets really has changed over the years - from the manly British Bulldog to funny cat videos on YouTube, it's been quite a journey! Maybe it's time to reveal the answer to my question, Georgie…
这些年来，英国人与宠物的关系真的发生了变化——从有男子气概的英国斗牛犬到YouTube上有趣的猫咪视频，这是一段相当长的旅程！也许是时候揭晓我问题的答案了，乔基……
Right, you asked me how many dogs and cats in the UK had their own social media profile, and I guessed it was 17 percent…
好吧，你问我英国有多少狗和猫有自己的社交媒体资料，我猜是17%……
Which was… the correct answer! What I still don't understand is how they get their paws on the keypad!
这是正确答案！我还是不明白他们是怎么把爪子放在键盘上的！
Anyway, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned in this programme about the love the British have for their pets - animals you keep in your home as a companion and treat kindly.
不管怎样，让我们回顾一下在本期节目中学到的关于英国人对宠物的爱的词汇。宠物是指你养在家里作为伴侣并善待它们的动物。
A cat person is someone who likes or prefers cats, unlike a dog person, who prefers dogs.
爱猫人士是指喜欢猫的人，不同于爱狗人士，指爱狗的人。
Living standards, or standard of living, refers to the level of material comfort in which people live.
生活标准或居住水平是指人们生活的物质舒适水平。
Your disposable income is the money left over to spend on things you want after paying taxes and your living expenses.
你的可支配收入是在交税和支付生活费用后，用来购买你想要的东西的钱。
Loyalty means having strong and unchanging support for your friends.
忠诚意味着对你的朋友有坚定而不变的支持。
And finally, if something fits the bill, it's suitable to serve a particular purpose.
最后，如果某物符合要求，是说它适合服务于特定目的。
Once again our six minutes are up! Join us again soon for more trending topics and useful vocabulary, here at 6 Minute English. Goodbye for now! Bye!
我们的六分钟又到了!欢迎再次收听我们的节目，获取更多热门话题和有用词汇。再见了!
