十大擁有職業的神奇喵星人(上)
As popular and beloved as cats are, even the biggest fan of felines will admit that they're not always easy to work with. Cats come and go as they please and they often seem to treat humans as little more than sources of food and amusement. As such, cats are usually not as useful as dogs when it comes to working—they're difficult to train and often refuse to work on human ite all this, there are a few cats that, by a strange twist of fate, have carved out some very special careers, happily working for—or with—humans in a number of ways. Let's take a look at these spectacular specimens of the feline race.
貓科動物太受歡迎而倍受溺愛，因此連它們最摯愛的粉絲也承認與它們"合作"並非易事。它們想來就來想走就走，在它們眼裏，人類往往跟食物和用來消遣的活動不相上下。這樣一來，在做事方面貓科動物往往沒有犬類來得有用——前者更難馴養並且常常拒絕幫助人類做事。儘管如此，有一部分貓類一反常態，開創了特殊的職業，通過某些途徑愉悅地爲人類做事（或者說和人類共事）。讓我們來看看這些擁有超能力的貓科種族代表。, Station Master
10.貓咪站長——多摩
In southeast Japan, there is a small train station called Kishi Station. This tiny, unassuming blip in the great Japanese railway system is unique because of its station master: a cat called Tama. In 2003, the station was caught in business turmoil between a struggling train company and its bigger competitor, who eventually gained control of the area's business by absorbing the small company. This was bad news for the owner of a small cat shelter near Kishi Station, who was forced to vacate her premises due to the new company's renovations. Out of options, she begged the president of the new railway to let the poor, homeless cats live in the station.
在日本東南部有一個小車站——"貴志站"，這個低調不起眼的小站因爲貓站長多摩而成了大日本鐵路系統中獨一無二的車站。在2003年，這個車站夾在步履維艱的鐵路公司和更大的競爭者之間，陷入了商業動亂，後者通過兼併小公司對當地的企業擁有最終控制權。這個消息對於貴志站附近一個小型貓類庇護所的主人來說並不樂觀，由於新公司的改革她被迫騰出地皮。她別無選擇，懇求新鐵道部長讓那些可憐的無家可歸的貓住到車站內
The president was moved by the request, and when he saw Tama, something clicked. He immediately decided the cat was his—and the station's—good luck charm and, just like that, swore Tama in as Kishi's new station master. The adorable Tama, with his official hat and station master badge, soon became a nationwide celebrity. People would flock to see him despite having no other business in the area, turning the formerly dwindling station into a money-making machine. It is estimated that Tama has single-pawedly raised over $10 million for the station, guaranteeing that Kishi won't be closed any time in the near future. When Tama eventually becomes too old to handle his duties (which consist of manning a small booth, napping and glaring at people), the railway company has prepared: The station master recently gained a new apprentice, a young cat called Nitama.
部長被這一請求動搖，當他見到多摩時，恍然大悟，認定了它是自己乃至整個車站的幸運之神，就這樣，他讓多摩住進車站，成爲貴志站的站長。可愛的多摩佩戴上官帽和站長徽章，不久就成了家喻戶曉的"名貓"。人們特地聚集至此來看它，讓原來逐漸冷清的小車站成了招財地。據估計，多摩單爪爲車站提升了1000萬美金的收入，保證貴志站在近來的任何時候都不會關閉。最後多摩年歲漸高無力勝任職務（包括操縱電話亭，打盹，注視人羣），鐵路公司另有準備：站長最近將收入一枚新學徒——一隻名爲尼多摩的年輕貓咪。The Cat, Politician
9.貓咪政治家——漢克
On Election Night 2012, a surprise grassroots candidate in Virginia called Hank raked in a hefty 7,000 votes and $16,000 for pet rescue groups. He proved to be a real threat to the powers that be, to the point where he even attracted smear campaigns from a concerned party called, strangely, "Canines for Feline Free Tomorrow."This may have been because Hank was, in fact, a cat—a handsome, nine-year-old Maine coon. His owners, who referred to themselves as his campaign managers throughout the process, had just put a tie on him and made a couple of campaign videos to see what would happen. Running under a slogan that said "It's OK to Vote Humans Out!" and on a platform of animal rights, Hank the cat was an instant hit. Although he sadly didn't win the Virginia seat in the Senate race, he did place third, which is shockingly close for a third-party candidate that wasn't even human. It is uncertain whether this says more about the awesomeness of Hank the cat or the public's distrust of ordinary politicians.
在2012年選舉之夜，弗吉尼亞一位讓人驚訝的草根選舉者——漢克，以強有力的7000選票爲動物營救組織贏得了16000美金，它甚至通過名爲"爲犬類自由而戰的貓咪"這一黨派引起了抹黑活動者的關注，這足以證明了漢克對當權者的威懾力之大。這一強大的影響力也許歸功於一個事實——漢克是一隻9歲的俊俏緬因貓。漢克的主人給它繫上領帶並製作了一些活動視頻來看看究竟會產生怎樣的效果。在寫着"選漢克！沒錯！"的橫幅下奔跑的貓咪漢克成了動物權利維護這一平臺上的重頭戲。雖然選舉最終它位列第三而遺憾地與弗吉尼亞參議員失之交臂，但這個結果發生在一位非人類選舉者身上，已經足以使人們震驚不已了。與其說這一結果是民衆對貓咪漢克的肯定，不如說是他們對普通政治家的不信任。y Readmore Books, Reading Ambassador
8.閱讀大使——小貓杜威
The fantastically named Dewey Readmore Books had his career path laid out for him right from the beginning. In 1988, he was found among the book returns by the staff of a public library in Spencer, Iowa. The librarians instantly decided to adopt the cute, abandoned kitten. The council blessed this, so they carefully nursed the orphan kitty to health and held a contest to decide his name. Dewey became the library's official ambassador of reading. He was featured in papers, educational videos, posters, and TV shows, generating insane amounts of publicity for the library. People would flock the library to see him and many would loan a book or two while they were there. Don't think of Dewey as just some random mascot, though—he was an official library employee as Supervisor of Staff, an extremely fitting job title for a y Readmore Books passed away in 2006, in the arms of the Head Librarian. However, he still remains on the library's shelves—Dewey is listed as a contributing author in several works by Vicki Myron, the Library Director.
神奇小貓杜威的職業生涯道路從一開始就很明晰。1988年，愛荷華州的斯賓塞地區公共圖書館裏的職員在所歸還的書堆裏發現了小貓杜威，圖書管理員們立馬決定收養這個被遺棄的可愛小傢伙。圖書館理會讚賞這樣的善行，對這位小孤兒悉心照顧，還舉行了討論會爲其命名。於是杜威成了這家圖書館的官方閱讀大使，出現在各種論文、教育性視頻、海報以及各種電視秀中，給圖書館帶來了無比瘋狂的宣傳效果。人們爲了一睹杜威真容，成羣前往圖書館，也會順便借閱三兩書籍。雖然杜威作爲一隻貓，正式受聘於圖書館，坐擁"主管人員"這一職業化的頭銜，你可千萬別把他視爲一個普通的吉祥物。2006年，杜威在館長臂彎裏永遠沉睡了，但主管薇奇麥侖在她的幾部作品裏將杜威列爲特約作者，因此它依然長存於圖書館的書架上。gey, Movie Star
7.貓明星——Orangey
Because they're difficult to train and relatively unreliable, cats generally don't appear in movies as often as dogs. However, there are certain cats who have managed to create very illustrious acting careers. The most famous of them is Orangey, the orange tabby cat who was a permanent fixture in Hollywood's golden age movies, ranging from serious dramas to science fiction to horror. His most notable role is probably Audrey Hepburn's "poor slob without a name" cat in Breakfast at Tiffany's, a role that earned him the prestigious "animal Academy Award" known as a PATTY. To this day, Orangey remains the only cat who has won this award gey's bag of tricks was so large that it seems impossible that a single cat could be so trained. This is because Orangey never was just one cat. Frank Inn, Orangey's handler, knew that a cat will only master one or two tricks, so he got dozens of identical cats and trained each of them differently. A single movie could see over 30 different "Orangeys," but since they all looked the same and were consistently billed as one cat, many people still think Orangey was just one, super-talented feline.
由於貓咪們難以訓練相對來說比較不靠譜，因此他們並不像狗一樣常現熒屏。然而有些貓咪卻在"演藝圈"裏聲名顯赫，其中最出名的要屬Orangey。這隻橙色虎斑貓的身影總能出現在好萊塢黃金時代的電影裏，無論是嚴肅劇還是科幻題材，亦或是英雄劇，都少不了它。在電影《蒂凡尼的早餐》中，奧黛麗·赫本飾演的角色有一隻沒有名字的可憐小笨貓，憑藉這一角色Orangey獲得了"動物奧斯卡金獎"，以"小肉餅"一名熟爲人知。至今爲止，它是唯一一隻兩次獲此獎項的貓。它嫺熟多樣的技巧讓人們不敢相信單單一隻貓咪就可以被訓練成這樣，事實上，影片中並不都是它出演。Orangey的訓練員弗蘭克·因瞭解到，一隻貓僅僅只能掌握一種或兩種技巧，所以他收了幾十只看上去完全一樣的貓，分別對它們進行訓練。在一部電影裏，你可以看到30只不同的"Orangeys"，但由於它們很神似並且在宣傳時也被一致說成是一隻貓，所以很多觀衆依然認爲Orangey就僅僅是那一隻具有超能力的貓。kie The Talking Cat, Performer
6.會說話的貓、表演家——布萊基
These days, videos of "talking cats"—cats whose meowing sounds like certain human phrases—are a simple Google search away. The first of these impressive animals, however, predates Internet as we know it. In 1981, Blackie the Talking Cat became famous for his ability to "speak" two phrases upon request, "I love you" and "I want my mama."Blackie's owners capitalized this talent by negotiating paid appearances on various TV and radio shows. When media interest waned after a while, they decided to continue showcasing Blackie on the streets of their native Augusta, Georgia. Blackie's new career as a street performer soon hit a speed bump, as local authorities insisted he should have a business license. His owners begrudgingly paid the $50 for the permit, but they felt Blackie—who was just an animal, after all—shouldn't need one. They sued the city, arguing that their act was not a business, and by labeling it as such, the officials had infringed upon Blackie's right to free speech. Unsurprisingly, they lost the case.
近日，"會說話的貓"這一視頻在谷歌輕輕鬆鬆就能搜到，視頻中貓咪的叫聲和人類的話語十分相似。這些貓咪固然給人們留下了深刻的印象，然而早在它們出現在互聯網上併爲人所知曉之前，就已經有這樣神奇的貓咪了。1981年，會說話的貓布萊基因爲能應要求說出"我愛你"和"我愛媽媽"而一舉成名，布萊基的主人利用它這一才能，和各類電視廣播節目談判，讓布萊基參加各種有償的見面會。一段時間後由於媒體利益逐漸衰退，他們決定讓布萊基在當地的喬治亞州奧古斯塔市繼續它的"演藝生涯"。布萊基作爲街頭表演者進入了職業新領域，但不久後，由於缺少營業執照受當局阻礙，事業下滑。爲了獲取執照，布萊基的主人們吝嗇地支付了50美金，但事後，他們覺得布萊基畢竟只是一隻動物，沒有必要持有營業執照。於是他們起訴了城市當局，爭辯說他們的行爲不屬於商業行爲，行政人員將這一行爲歸爲商業活動侵犯了布萊基的言論自由權。而結果毫無疑問，他們輸掉了這場官司。翻譯:夢娜 來源：前十網
