中国专家破译大熊猫部分语言密码

Can you imagine giant pandas baa like sheep to say "I love you" and warble a cheerful "I do" when wooed by a suitor, and bark like a dog when they are furious?

你能想象熊猫说“我爱你”时是“咩咩咩”，说“我愿意”时像鸟叫，而说“我很生气”时又像狗叫吗？

Researchers there have decoded2 13 different kinds of giant panda vocalizations in a surprising new insight into the private life of the reclusive creatures.

The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda has been working on a panda linguistics3 project since 2010. Scientists first made recordings4 of pandas at the center, vocalizations between cubs5 and adults in various situations, such as when they were eating, mating, nursing, fighting and so on, said Zhang Hemin, head of the center. Then they collected a large amount of data on pandas' voices and activities, and analyzed6 the voiceprints. "We managed to decode1 some panda language and the results are quite interesting," Zhang said.

Panda cubs can barely vocalize at all except to say things like "Gee-Gee" (I'm hungry), "Wow-Wow" (Not happy!) or "Coo-Coo" (Nice!).

"Adult giant pandas usually are solitary7, so the only language teacher they have is their own mother," the researcher said. When they grow a little, cubs learn how to express themselves by roaring, barking, shouting, squeaking8, bleating9 and chirping10.

"If a panda mother keeps tweeting like a bird, she may be anxious about her babies. She barks loudly when a stranger comes near," Zhang said. The barking can be interpreted as "getting out of my place", according to the researcher. Pandas can be as gentle as a lamb when they are "in love". Male pandas baa all the time when they are wooing their lovers. The females respond with constant tweeting if they feel the same.

"Trust me. Our researchers were so confused when we began the project that they wondered if they were studying a panda, a bird, a dog, or a sheep," Zhang said.

The center plans to continue the study and is looking forward to the creation of a panda translator that could use high-tech11 voice recognition technology. "If we can understand their language, it will help us protect the animal, especially in the wild," he said.

1 decode

vt.译（码），解（码）

参考例句：

All he had to do was decode it and pass it over.他需要做的就是将它破译然后转给他人。

The secret documents were intercepted and decoded.机密文件遭截获并被破译。

2 decoded

v.译（码），解（码）( decode的过去式和过去分词 )；分析及译解电子信号

参考例句：

The control unit decoded the 18 bits. 控制器对这18位字进行了译码。 来自《简明英汉词典》

Scientists have decoded the dog genome. 科学家已经译解了狗的基因组。 来自辞典例句

3 linguistics

n.语言学

参考例句：

She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。

Linguistics is a scientific study of the property of language.语言学是指对语言的性质所作的系统研究。

4 recordings

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带

old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

5 cubs

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮

Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 analyzed

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》

The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 solitary

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。

The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

8 squeaking

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

Squeaking floorboards should be screwed down. 踏上去咯咯作响的地板应用螺钉钉住。 来自《简明英汉词典》

Can you hear the mice squeaking? 你听到老鼠吱吱叫吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 bleating

v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的现在分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说

参考例句：

I don't like people who go around bleating out things like that. 我不喜欢跑来跑去讲那种蠢话的人。 来自辞典例句

He heard the tinny phonograph bleating as he walked in. 他步入室内时听到那架蹩脚的留声机在呜咽。 来自辞典例句

10 chirping

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 )

参考例句：

The birds,chirping relentlessly,woke us up at daybreak. 破晓时鸟儿不断吱吱地叫，把我们吵醒了。

The birds are chirping merrily. 鸟儿在欢快地鸣叫着。

11 high-tech

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。

The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。