12 So Cute

CHAPTER 1 That's so Cute! "OH! THAT'S SO CUTE!" HOW OFTEN DO YOU HEAR THESE WORDS? Do we all think the same things are cute? Yes, mostly we do. Babies, even the ugly ones, are cute. So are adults with round, childlike faces— big eyes, small chins and noses, and big foreheads. Small animals are cute. Babies learning to walk are cute. The question is why? Well, it's because being cute helps you to survive. Something in our brains tells us what's cute, and what's not cute. We want to help cute people and animals. Is it only living things that are cute? No! Pictures can be cute, too. Here's how to draw a picture of a cute person: big forehead big eyes no neck fat tummy short legs round face big head small chin long body

第一章太可爱了！“哦!太可爱了！”你经常听到这些话吗？ 我们都认为同样的东西很可爱吗？ 是的，大多数情况下是这样。婴儿，即使是丑陋的，也很可爱。 长着孩子般圆脸的成年人也是如此——大眼睛、小下巴和小鼻子、大额头。 小动物很可爱。学走路的婴儿很可爱。 问题是为什么？因为可爱能帮你生存。 我们的大脑会告诉我们什么是可爱的，什么是不可爱的。 我们想帮助可爱的人和动物。 只有生物才可爱吗？ 不!图片也可以很可爱。 这里是如何画一个可爱的人：大额头大眼睛没有脖子胖肚子短腿圆脸大头小下巴长身体

CHAPTER 2 Babies, Adults, and Older Adults WHAT MAKES PEOPLE CUTE? It's funny, isn't it? Babies can't do anything but eat, cry, and stop us from sleeping at night. But we think they're very cute, and we want to do everything for them! OK, so babies look cute with their fat legs and arms and their big round eyes. But it's not only how they look that makes them cute. It's also the things they do. When babies learn to speak and walk, we find them cute. This is partly because they make mistakes. They say the wrong word or say a word in a funny way. They fall down. And it's the same with animals. Think of a giraffe learning to walk lots and lots of mistakes! But mistakes aren't always cute. Think about it. You ask a friend to dinner. He gets food on his face and orange juice on your kitchen table. You're not happy. You think your friend is disgusting. But a baby does the same thing, and you think it's cute. Babies' mistakes are cute because they are young and helpless. We humans know our babies can't survive without our help. And animals know that their babies need help to survive, too.

第二章婴儿、成人和老年人什么使人可爱？ 这很有趣，不是吗？婴儿除了吃东西、哭闹和让我们晚上睡不着觉之外，什么也不会做。 但是我们觉得他们很可爱，我们想为他们做任何事情！好吧，婴儿长着胖胖的腿和胳膊，还有大大的圆眼睛，看起来很可爱。 但让它们可爱的不仅仅是它们的外表。 还有他们做的事情。 当婴儿学会说话和走路时，我们发现他们很可爱。 部分原因是他们犯了错误。 他们说错了词，或者用一种奇怪的方式说一个词。 他们倒下了。动物也是如此。 想象一只长颈鹿在学习走路时会犯很多很多的错误！但错误并不总是可爱的。 想想看。你邀请朋友共进晚餐。 他把食物弄到脸上，把橙汁弄到你的餐桌上。 你不开心。你觉得你的朋友很恶心。 但是婴儿也会做同样的事情，你觉得这很可爱。 婴儿的错误很可爱，因为他们还小，很无助。 我们人类知道，没有我们的帮助，我们的孩子无法生存。 动物也知道它们的宝宝也需要帮助才能生存。

Like all living things, babies grow up— they get bigger! Do they stop being cute? Maybe a little. But kids, adults, and much older adults can still be cute. Small children often play at being adults— they dress up in adults' clothes or put on makeup or do adult things, like "being a doctor" or "teaching school." Parents can be cute, too. When we see the love between a parent and child, our brains tell us, that's cute! And then there are cute old people. What makes them cute? Often, it's their behavior. Older people sometimes do funny things. They behave like young people. They show that they're in love, they start new sports, or they like to use modern things like computers or smartphones. Older people are also cute because they are a little like babies. They can be innocent, and they often need more help than younger people. Again, something in our brains tells us to protect them.

像所有的生物一样，婴儿长大了——他们变大了！他们不再可爱了吗？ 也许有一点。但孩子、成年人和更年长的成年人仍然可以很可爱。 小孩子经常扮演大人的角色——他们穿着大人的衣服、化妆或做大人的事情，比如“当医生”或“教书”。 父母也可以很可爱。当我们看到父母和孩子之间的爱时，我们的大脑告诉我们，这很可爱！还有一些可爱的老人。 是什么让他们可爱？通常是他们的行为。 老年人有时会做一些有趣的事情。 他们的行为举止像年轻人。 他们表现出他们恋爱了，他们开始新的运动，或者他们喜欢使用现代的东西，比如电脑或智能手机。 老年人也很可爱，因为他们有点像婴儿。 他们可能是无辜的，而且他们往往比年轻人需要更多的帮助。 同样，我们大脑中的某些东西告诉我们要保护它们。

CHAPTER 3 Kittens and Puppies WHICH IS CUTER -A KITTEN OR A PUPPY? There are "cat people" and "dog people," but usually everybody thinks baby cats and baby dogs are very, very cute. When animals are newborn, they're small and helpless. But only a few days later, they're walking and looking at the world around them. They make us laugh because of the funny things they do. When we think about kids, we often think about kids playing with toys. Puppies and kittens play, too. When they play, they're having fun, but they're also learning. They're learning how to be good cats and dogs. Sometimes puppies and kittens play with things that we don't want them to play with. For example, your puppy eats your homework or your new shoes, and that's a bad thing! Do you get angry? Yes! But not for long.

第三章小猫和小狗小猫和小狗哪个更可爱？ 有“爱猫之人”和“爱狗之人”，但通常每个人都认为小猫和小狗非常非常可爱。 当动物刚出生时，它们又小又无助。 但仅仅几天后，他们就能行走并观察周围的世界。 他们让我们笑，因为他们做有趣的事情。 当我们想到孩子的时候，我们通常会想到孩子们在玩玩具。 小狗和小猫也在玩。 当他们玩的时候，他们玩得很开心，但他们也在学习。 它们正在学习如何成为好猫好狗。 有时候小狗和小猫会玩一些我们不想让它们玩的东西。 例如，你的小狗吃了你的作业或你的新鞋子，这是一件坏事！你会生气吗？ 是的!但好景不长。

Kittens and puppies get things wrong. Like people, they make mistakes. For example, they learn to jump and run, but they fall down easily and walk into things. One minute, they're playing; the next minute they're sleeping. Their behavior makes us say, "Aww!" But why? Maybe because we like it when animals behave like we do. And sometimes, like little children, animals behave badly. A very bad puppy, one who doesn't behave well, is really cute! And of course, don't forget, THE LOOK! Puppies and kittens can melt our hearts when they look at us with their big eyes. It almost looks like they have human feelings! Animals like cats and dogs are our friends. We feel they can understand us. They almost talk with their eyes. This is why we train, or teach, cats and dogs to be "helper animals." Helper animals help sad or sick people feel better. Some dogs help blind people to see or deaf people to hear. Other dogs use their noses to tell doctors when people are sick!

小猫和小狗会犯错。 就像人一样，他们也会犯错。 例如，他们学会跳和跑，但他们很容易摔倒，走到东西。 前一分钟，他们还在玩；下一分钟他们就睡着了。 他们的行为让我们不禁感叹：“哇！”但是为什么呢? 也许是因为我们喜欢动物和我们一样。 有时，就像小孩子一样，动物的行为也很恶劣。 一只非常坏的小狗，表现不好的小狗，真的很可爱！当然，别忘了，造型！当小狗和小猫用它们的大眼睛看着我们的时候，我们的心都融化了。 它们看起来几乎像人类一样有感情！像猫和狗这样的动物是我们的朋友。 我们觉得他们能理解我们。 他们几乎是用眼睛说话。 这就是为什么我们训练或教育猫和狗成为“辅助动物”的原因。 帮助者动物帮助悲伤或生病的人感觉更好。 有些狗帮助盲人看东西或帮助聋哑人听声音。 还有一些狗用鼻子告诉医生人们生病了!

CHAPTER 4 A World of Cute What makes animals cute? Is it just furry animals that are cute? No! Think of baby birds. Every spring, there are little birds high up in trees. They sit in their nests waiting for their parents to give them food. They're cute. Things with spikes aren't usually cute, but how about baby hedgehogs? Are they cute? And think about dangerous animals like alligators with their big teeth. They aren't cute. Or are they? When people really don't like each other, we say, "They fight like cats and dogs." Usually, cats don't like dogs, and dogs don't like cats. Dogs chase cats. And cats swat at dogs. Everyone knows that! But it's not always true. Animals sometimes live together in the same house, or on the same farm. And different species don't always fight. They can learn to play together, sleep together, and even share the same food. Sometimes different species can be friends. And that's really cute.

是什么让动物变得可爱？ 只有毛茸茸的动物才可爱吗？ 不!想想小鸟。每年春天，树上都有小鸟。 它们坐在巢里等待父母给它们食物。 他们是可爱的。长着尖刺的东西通常都不可爱，但小刺猬呢？ 他们可爱吗？想想危险的动物，比如长着大牙齿的短吻鳄。 他们不可爱。真的是吗？ 当人们真的不喜欢对方的时候，我们说，“他们像猫和狗一样打架。” 通常，猫不喜欢狗，狗也不喜欢猫。 狗追猫。猫拍打狗。 每个人都知道！但这并不总是正确的。 动物有时一起住在同一所房子里，或在同一个农场里。 不同的物种并不总是相互争斗。 他们可以学会一起玩耍，一起睡觉，甚至分享同样的食物。 有时候不同的物种可以成为朋友。 这真的很可爱。