by Brian Hare & Vanessa Woods

In the story of how the dog came in from the cold and onto our sofas， we 1）tend to give ourselves a little too much 2）credit. The most common theory is that some 3）hunter-gatherer with a 4）soft spot for cuteness found some wolf puppies and 5）adopted them. Over time， these 6）tamed wolves would have shown their skill at hunting， so humans kept them around until they evolved into dogs.

But when we look back at our relationship with wolves throughout history， this doesnt really make sense. For one thing， the wolf was 7）domesticated at a time when modern humans were not very 8）tolerant of 9）carnivorous competitors. In fact， after modern humans arrived in Europe around 43，000 years ago， they almost 10）wiped out every large 11）carnivore that existed.

狗狗從冰天雪地走來，跳上我們的沙發(fā)——我們在這個故事中未免有點(diǎn)太看得起自己了。最常見的說法是某個采獵者對可愛的東西特別心軟，偶爾發(fā)現(xiàn)了幾只狼崽子，便收養(yǎng)了它們。隨著時間的推移，這些被馴服的狼展現(xiàn)出它們的獵食技能，人類因此將它們養(yǎng)在身邊，直至它們演變?yōu)槿悺?/p>

不過，當(dāng)我們回顧歷史上的人狼關(guān)系時，（就會發(fā)現(xiàn)）這個說法其實(shí)不太講得通。首先，在狼群被馴養(yǎng)的時期，現(xiàn)代人類對肉食競爭者并不怎么寬容。事實(shí)上，在大約四萬三千年前抵達(dá)歐洲之后，現(xiàn)代人類幾乎將當(dāng)時存在的所有大型食肉動物趕盡殺絕。

The hunting theory， that humans used wolves to hunt， doesnt 12）hold up either. Humans were already successful hunters without wolves， more successful than every other large carnivore. Wolves eat a lot of meat， as much as one deer per ten wolves every day—a lot for humans to feed or compete against.

Humans have a long history of killing wolves， rather than trying to adopt them. Over the last few centuries， almost every culture has hunted wolves to 13）extinction. If this is a 14）snapshot of our behavior toward wolves over the centuries， it presents one of the most troubling problems： How was this misunderstood creature 15）tolerated by humans long enough to evolve into the 16）domestic dog？

We often think of evolution as being the survival of the fittest， where the strong survive and the weak die off. But the success of dogs comes down to survival of the friendliest.

Most likely， it was wolves that came to us， not the other way around， probably while they were searching for 17）scraps around garbage 18）dumps on the edge of human 19）settlements. The wolves that were 20）bold but 21）aggressive would have been killed by humans， so only the ones that were bold and friendly would have been tolerated.

Friendliness caused strange things to happen in the wolves. They started to look different. Domestication gave them 22）splotchy 23）coats， 24）floppy ears， 25）wagging tails. In only several generations， these friendly wolves would have become very different from their more aggressive relatives. But the changes did not just affect their looks. Changes also happened to their 26）psychology. They evolved the ability to read human gestures.

As dog owners， we 27）take for granted that we can point to a ball or toy and our dog will 28）bound off to get it. But the ability of dogs to read human gestures is remarkable. Even our closest relatives—29）chimpanzees and 30）bonobos—cant read our gestures as readily as dogs can. Dogs are quite similar to human 31）infants in the way they pay attention to us. This ability 32）accounts for the extraordinary communication we have with our dogs. Some dogs are so focused on their owners that they can even read a change in eye direction.

With this new ability， these dogs were worth knowing. People who had dogs during a hunt would likely have had an 33）advantage over those who didnt. Even today， 34）tribes in Nicaragua depend on dogs to 35）detect 36）prey. In the Congo， hunters believe they would starve without their dogs.

Dogs would also have served as a warning system， barking at unfriendly strangers from neighboring tribes. They could have 37）defended their humans from 38）predators.

And finally， though this is not a pleasant thought， when times were tough， dogs could have served as an 39）emergency food supply. Thousands of years before 40）refrigeration， and with no crops to store， huntergatherers had no food 41）reserves until the domestication of dogs. In tough times， weaker dogs might have been sacrificed to save the group.

So， far from a kindly human adopting a wolf puppy， it is more likely that a population of wolves adopted us. As the advantages of dog ownership became clear， we were as strongly affected by our relationship with them as they have been by their relationship with us. Dogs may even have been the 42）catalyst for our civilization.

打獵這一理論，即人類用狼群來狩獵，同樣是站不住腳的。即使沒有狼群，人類本身已經(jīng)是很優(yōu)秀的獵人，比其他任何大型肉食動物都要優(yōu)秀得多。狼群會消耗大量的肉類，平均十匹狼一天就能吃掉一頭鹿——這分量足夠喂飽很多人，也足以讓很多人為之搶破頭。

人類消滅狼群——而并非圈養(yǎng)它們——的歷史由來已久。過去數(shù)個世紀(jì)以來，幾乎每一種文化都曾將狼群趕盡殺絕。如果這是我們多年以來對狼群態(tài)度的基本寫照，那就產(chǎn)生了最令人費(fèi)解的疑問之一：人類怎么會對這種備受誤解的動物容忍如此之久，直到它們演變?yōu)榧胰兀?/p>

我們常常認(rèn)為“進(jìn)化”就是適者生存——強(qiáng)者得以存活，弱者遭到淘汰。但犬類的成功延續(xù)要?dú)w結(jié)為“最友善，方可活”。

更有可能的情況是，狼群先來到了我們身邊，而不是反過來，或許就是在人類居住地周邊翻扒垃圾堆時來的。大膽卻兇狠的狼會被人類獵殺，因而只有那些大膽又友好的狼被饒過一命。

與人為善令狼發(fā)生了奇妙的變化。它們的外形開始變得不一樣了。

馴養(yǎng)讓它們的皮毛逐漸斑駁，耳朵耷拉下來，尾巴搖個不停。僅僅經(jīng)歷了幾代，這些友好的狼族就和它們那些極具攻擊性的親戚有了天淵之別。但是這種改變并不僅僅停留在外表。它們的內(nèi)心同樣發(fā)生了改變。它們進(jìn)化出讀懂人類手勢的能力。

我們可以指著一個球或者玩具，狗狗就會跳起來去撿——作為狗主人，我們認(rèn)為這是理所當(dāng)然的。但是，犬類這種讀懂人類手勢的能力其實(shí)非常了不起。即便是和我們最接近的（動物）親戚——黑猩猩和倭黑猩猩都不能像犬類那么迅捷地讀懂我們的手勢。狗狗對我們的專注度與人類嬰兒驚人地相似。這種能力使得我們可以與自己的狗狗進(jìn)行良好的溝通。有些狗狗把全部注意力都集中到主人身上，甚至主人視線的變化都能察覺到。

有了這種新能力，這些狗狗就值得人們留心了。與犬類一同打獵的人會比沒有狗狗在身邊的人更有優(yōu)勢。時至今日，尼加拉瓜的部落仍然要靠獵犬來發(fā)現(xiàn)獵物。在剛果，獵人們堅信離開自己的獵犬就會餓死。

犬類還能充任報警系統(tǒng)，它們會對來自鄰近部落、不懷好意的陌生人狂吠不止，還能替人類抵御獵食動物。

最后一點(diǎn)，盡管這并不是什么讓人愉快的想法——犬類在世道艱難時可以作為應(yīng)急存糧。在冷藏技術(shù)還沒出現(xiàn)的幾千年里，采獵者們沒有農(nóng)作物可以存放，直到馴養(yǎng)了犬類才獲得糧食儲備。生計不易時，體弱的狗狗也許會成為大伙兒的救命糧。

因此，非但不是某個善人收養(yǎng)了一只狼寶寶，更可能是一個狼群收養(yǎng)了我們。當(dāng)養(yǎng)狗的優(yōu)點(diǎn)愈發(fā)突出，我們逐漸受到這種人狗關(guān)系的深切影響——正如它們被這種關(guān)系改變一樣。狗狗甚至可能就是我們這個文明的催化劑呢。

Top Ten Most Popular Dog Breeds[品種]in America

Labrador retriever（拉布拉多尋回犬）

Golden retriever（金毛尋回犬）

Yorkshire terrier（約克夏梗犬）

German shepherd（約克夏梗犬）

Beagle（小獵犬）

Dachshund（臘腸犬）

Boxer（拳師犬）

Poodle（貴婦犬）

Shih tzu（西施犬）

Miniature schnauzer（迷你型史猱查梗/迷你雪納瑞）