We all love our cats. They might be grumpy animals that would knock things over around the house， curl up on us when we’re down. We like to think they would always be there for us since they have nine lives， right？ As much as we want our cats’ nine lives to be true， it is a myth. Here comes the question. Where did this myth come from？

我們都愛(ài)自己的貓。它們可能是脾氣暴躁的動(dòng)物，會(huì)把房子里的東西撞倒；在我們情緒低落時(shí)蜷縮在我們身上。我們往往認(rèn)為它們會(huì)一直在我們身邊，因?yàn)樨堄芯艞l命，對(duì)吧？盡管我們非常希望貓有九條命這種說(shuō)法是真的，但這是一個(gè)錯(cuò)誤的觀點(diǎn)。那么問(wèn)題來(lái)了。這個(gè)錯(cuò)誤的觀點(diǎn)是怎么來(lái)的呢？

The legend of the cat’s nine lives

貓有九條命的傳說(shuō)

No one knows who started the myth of the nine lives of cats， and there are no recordings of when and where it was first made， either. In one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays， Romeo and Juliet， he wrote： “Good king of cats， nothing but one of your nine lives.”

沒(méi)有人知道是誰(shuí)最先說(shuō)出貓有九條命這個(gè)錯(cuò)誤觀點(diǎn)的，也沒(méi)有關(guān)于該觀點(diǎn)第一次出現(xiàn)的時(shí)間和地點(diǎn)的記錄。在威廉" 莎士比亞最著名的戲劇之一《羅密歐與朱麗葉》中，他寫道：“善良的貓王，我所要的只不過(guò)是你九條命中的一條而已?！?/p>

Why do cats have nine lives？

為什么貓有九條命？

The cats are known to be very good at jumping. They can fall from high places and still land on their feet. In New York a cat fell from a 32-story building and still lived.

That may be where the idea of cats having nine lives came from. This is all thanks to the cat’s body， of course. Cats evolved from living in trees. They know how to jump up and down.

眾所周知，貓非常善于跳躍。它們可以從高處墜落，但仍然安穩(wěn)落地。在紐約，一只貓從一棟32層樓的建筑上掉下來(lái)，仍然安然無(wú)恙。

這也許就是貓有九條命這個(gè)觀點(diǎn)的由來(lái)。當(dāng)然，這都要?dú)w功于貓的身體結(jié)構(gòu)。貓的祖先生活在樹上。它們知道如何跳上跳下。

Why is it nine lives？

為什么是九條命？

We always asked why and how cats have nine lives， but have you ever thought why it is nine？ In some culture， the number nine is very important and special because of its composition of three groups of three. So people believed cats had super powers and nine lives.

我們總是問(wèn)貓為什么會(huì)有九條命以及如何擁有九條命，但你想過(guò)為什么是九條命嗎？在有的文化中，數(shù)字九是非常重要和特殊的，因?yàn)樗扇M數(shù)字三組成。于是人們相信貓有超能力和九條命。

So the answer is no. Cats don’t have nine lives， no matter how much we would want them to.

所以答案是否定的。貓沒(méi)有九條命，不管我們多么希望它們有。

Word Bank

knock… over 打倒（或擊倒、撞倒）

She was knocked over by a bus.

curl up 蜷曲著坐（或躺）

She curled up and closed her eyes.

myth n. 荒誕的說(shuō)法；不真實(shí)的事

evolve v. 進(jìn)化；進(jìn)化形成