6 Our Wild Pets-Mid

Our Wild Pets FOCUS Question How did certain wild animals become pets?

我们的野生宠物焦点问题某些野生动物是如何成为宠物的?

Where Did Pets Come From? Pets seem right at home with us. Cats cuddle on our beds. Dogs ride on car trips Hamsters curl up and sleep in our hands. But each of these friendly animals came from wild ancestors. Pets are domesticated animals. That means they live with and rely on people. To change wild animals into pets, people use breeding. They choose which animals can reproduce. Yet even in your favorite cat or dog, some wild traits remain.

宠物从哪里来?宠物似乎和我们在一起很自在。 猫依偎在我们的床上。仓鼠蜷缩在我们的手里睡觉。 但这些友好的动物都来自野生祖先。 宠物是家养的动物。 这意味着他们与人生活在一起并依赖于人。 为了把野生动物变成宠物，人们用繁殖的方法。 他们选择哪些动物可以繁殖。 然而，即使在你最喜欢的猫或狗身上，一些野性的特征仍然存在。

Where Did Dogs Come From? Thousands of years ago, dogs started off as wolves. Humans and these wolves had many things in common that made it easy for them to live together. The wolves had a broad diet so they happily ate leftover human food. The wolves lived in family groups. They easily bonded with human partners. The wolves hunted in teams, so they worked well with human hunters. Usually, people domesticate wild animals by taming them. Then they breed those that have certain traits. Scientists think these wolves self- domesticated and became dogs. But how?

狗从哪里来?几千年前，狗起源于狼。 人类和这些狼有很多共同之处，这使得他们很容易生活在一起。 狼的饮食范围很广，所以它们很高兴地吃着人类剩下的食物。 狼以家庭为单位生活。 它们很容易与人类伴侣建立联系。 狼是团队狩猎的，所以它们和人类猎人合作得很好。 通常，人们通过驯服野生动物来驯化它们。 然后他们培育那些有特定特征的。 科学家认为这些狼自我驯化成为狗。 但如何?

The bravest, friendliest wolves got more food from people than fearful wolves did. With easy access to food, these wolves raised more pups. The pups had the same less-threatening personality as their parents. Over time, the friendliest wolves became what we now call dogs. Much later, people began breeding dogs for special jobs. They bred some dogs to have a keen nose for hunting. They bred others to have a strong body for pulling loads. Some were bred to have lots of energy for catching rats. These dogs became today's bloodhounds, huskies, and terriers.

最勇敢、最友好的狼比胆小的狼从人类那里得到更多的食物。 由于容易获得食物，这些狼养了更多的幼崽。 这些幼崽的性格和它们的父母一样不那么具有威胁性。 随着时间的推移，最友好的狼变成了我们现在所说的狗。 很久以后，人们开始饲养狗来做特殊的工作。 他们培育了一些嗅觉灵敏的狗。 他们培育了其他的动物，让它们有强壮的身体来拉东西。 有些被培育成有很多精力来抓老鼠。 这些狗变成了今天的猎犬、哈士奇和梗犬。

Where Did Cats Come From? The house cat's ancestors are called wildcats. There are several kinds of wildcats. They live in Europe, Asia, and Africa. At first glance they look just like pet cats. They are small, solitary hunters with large eyes and striped tabby-like coats. However, wildcats are larger and stronger than pet cats. Their coats are always brown or gray. Most notable, they are very independent and avoid people.

猫从哪里来?家猫的祖先被称为野猫。 野猫有好几种。 他们生活在欧洲、亚洲和非洲。 乍一看，它们就像宠物猫。 它们是体型矮小、孤独的猎人，长着大眼睛和条纹斑纹般的外套。 然而，野猫比宠物猫更大更强壮。 他们的外套总是棕色或灰色的。 最值得注意的是，他们非常独立，避开人类。

Like the first friendly wolves, wildcats may have self- domesticated. When humans started farming, mice and rats became a big problem. They ate stored food and made it spoil. Wildcats were naturally drawn to these prey. The wildcats that were bold enough to live on farms caught more prey. Over time, cats lived closer to humans. Now they live in our homes. People have also created different breeds of cats Most cats. are bred for looks rather than work. They have traits like long fur, colorful coats, and flat faces. Do You Know? Pet cats likely came from wildcats that lived in the desert. Even now, cats prefer warm, dry places. They also prefer to use dry sand as a bathroom.

就像最初友好的狼一样，野猫也有自我驯养的能力。 当人类开始农耕时，老鼠成了一个大问题。 他们吃贮藏的食物，使食物坏了。 野猫自然会被这些猎物吸引。 敢于生活在农场的野猫抓住了更多的猎物。 随着时间的推移，猫和人类住得更近了。 现在他们住在我们家里。 人们还创造了不同品种的猫。 人是为外貌而不是为工作而生的。 它们有长毛、彩色皮毛和扁脸等特征。 你知道吗?宠物猫可能来自生活在沙漠中的野猫。 即使现在，猫也喜欢温暖干燥的地方。 他们也喜欢用干沙子作为浴室。