http://libertytimes.com/2007/new/sep/23/today-int9.htm
《中英對照讀新聞》Forbidden fruit: Chimp ladies love it 禁果:母猩猩就是愛它
◎胡立宗
Pilfered fruit brazenly plucked under the farmer’s gaze may be the secret to stolen love, at least for wild male chimpanzees and their consorts, British researchers said.
英國研究人員指出,當著農人的眼前大膽地偷走的水果,或許就是贏得芳心的秘訣—至少對野生雄性黑猩猩及牠們的伴侶來說是如此。
Wild chimps in West Africa pinch fruits from local farms to impress the lady chimps, and it seems to pay off, said Dr. Kimberley Hockings of the University of Stirling’s department of psychology.
斯德靈大學心理系的金柏莉.赫京斯教授說,西非的野生黑猩猩會從當地農場偷摘果實來取悅母猩猩,而且這招看來相當有效。
"The adult male who shared most with this female engaged in more consortships with her and received more grooming from her than the other adult males, even the alpha male," said Hockings, whose study appears in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS One.
「跟女伴分享最多(水果)的雄猩猩,能得到她最多的陪伴,也能從她獲得最多整理皮毛的服務,超過其他成年猩猩,甚至是猩猩群的首領,」赫京斯說。她這項研究報告已經刊登在公共科學圖書館PloS One上。
"Such daring behaviour may be considered an attractive trait," Hockings said in comments e-mailed to the press.
「這種勇敢的行為或許會被認為是吸引異性的特點,」赫京斯在給媒體的電子郵件中評論。
The favoured fruit was typically papaya, which is large and easy to share, but oranges and pineapple also scored.
猩猩偏好的水果通常是木瓜,因為體積大、容易分享;但柳橙和鳳梨也能達到目的。
新聞辭典
forbidden fruit:禁果,後轉為暗指性愛等肉體歡愉;本文的forbidden fruit,既指實體的水果,又引申為求愛。
consort:名詞,配偶、夥伴、合作;動詞,結交(朋友)、符合。to consort with someone(與某人友好)。
alpha male:(組織或群體中)最重要的男人(雄性動物)、男首領,如果是一男(公)一女(母),統計則稱alpha pair。例句︰Alpha male means the male in charge of all the other males in his social group.(Alpha male 意指統領其社群中所有男/雄性的男/雄性首領。)
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