VOA慢速英语：猪喜欢音乐吗

Scientists in Belgium are investigating a farmer's claim that different kinds of music affect the behavior of his pigs.
比利时科学家正在调查一名农民的说法，他声称自家的猪会对不同类型的音乐产生不同的反应。
 
Piet Paesmans first noticed the reaction when his son started singing a song in the family’s animal shelter.
当皮特·帕斯曼斯的儿子在家里的牲畜棚唱歌时，他第一次注意到了猪的反应。
 
The farmer said the sows, or adult female pigs, seemed excited by the sound and started shaking their little tails.
这位农民说，母猪(成年母猪)听到歌声似乎很兴奋，开始摇它们的小尾巴。
 
"I thought this was too good to pass up, we should try that with the other pigs too," Paesmans told Reuters from his farm.
帕斯曼斯在他的农场告诉路透社：“我觉得这太有意思了，不能错过，我们也应该在其他猪身上试试。”
 
Paesmans has since created a list of songs to play at different times of the day.
自那以后，帕斯曼斯会在一天中的不同时间给猪播放不同的音乐。
 
He uses energetic music when he wants the pigs to be active and lullabies at the end of the day.
当他想让猪活跃起来时，他会播放充满活力的音乐，而在一天结束时，他会播放摇篮曲。
 
Lullabies are quiet, slow songs.
摇篮曲指的是安静、缓慢的歌曲。
 
"Jolly dance songs are the biggest hits," Paesmans said.
帕斯曼斯说：“欢快的舞曲是最受欢迎的”。
 
He said that the pigs even appear to dance to the music.
他说，猪甚至好像会随着音乐跳舞。
 
He does not play rock and roll music for the pigs.
他不播放摇滚乐。
 
“Rock music is too strong, they don't like it," the farmer observed.
这位农民说：“摇滚乐太强烈了，它们不喜欢”。
 
The farmer described his observations to a team of researchers.
这位农民向一组研究人员描述了他的观察结果。
 
The team then secured 75,000 euros of financing to investigate the claims.
该研究小组随后获得了7.5万欧元的资金来调查这些说法。
 
Sander Palmans is the research project organizer.
桑德·帕尔曼斯是该研究项目的组织者。
 
He said not much is known about pigs' reaction to music.
他说，关于猪对音乐的反应，我们知之甚少。
 
But he said that Paesmans' experience fits with existing knowledge about the effects of sounds on animals.
但他说，帕斯曼斯的经历与现有的关于声音对动物影响的知识相吻合。
 
"There is without a doubt an effect of specific noises on animals,” he said.
他说：“毋庸置疑，特定的声音会对动物产生影响”。
 
“So it's really possible that music can have the same effect," Palmans added that music could help ease boredom, which has been linked to tension in animals.
“所以，音乐确实有可能有同样的效果。”帕尔曼斯补充道，音乐可以帮助缓解动物因压力而产生的厌烦情绪。
 
The findings could be useful for the farming industry.
这些调查结果可能会对农业有用。
 
Meat quality is affected by stress in animals, Paesmans said.
帕斯曼斯说，动物的压力会影响肉质。
 
"A top athlete needs to be completely fit physically, but also mentally.
“一名顶尖运动员不仅需要身体健康，还需要心理健康。
 
And that's just the same for pigs...It's really important for the quality of the meat."
这对猪来说也是一样的……对肉质非常重要。”
 
The results of the research are expected by the end of the year.
这项研究的结果预计将于今年年底公布。
 
I’m Caty Weaver.
凯蒂·韦弗报道。