谁跑得更快？他OR它？

The fastest cheetah on Earth has done it again, breaking her previous world record for the 100-meter dash and setting a new best time of 5.95 seconds.

地球上奔跑速度最快的动物——猎豹又一次打破了之前的100米奔跑记录，重新书写了5.95秒的世界纪录。

This feat surpasses the fastest of all human 100-meter sprinters by almost four seconds. Usain Bolt, a Jamaican sprinter now competing at the 2012 London Olympics, holds the human world record at 9.58 seconds in the 100-meter dash.

5.95秒的速度比人类最快的100米奔跑速度要快近4秒。牙买加短跑明星博尔特现在正在参加2012年伦敦奥运会并创造了100米短跑世界纪录——9.58秒。

Cheetahs, of course, are built to run faster than humans, regularly clocking speeds of up to around 60 miles per hour (96.5 kilometers per hour). During a photo shoot with National Geographic Magazine, a cheetah from the Cincinnati Zoo named Sarah covered 100 meters at 61 mph (98 kph).

当然，猎豹天生就比人类的奔跑速度快，猎豹的奔跑速度大约为60 英里每小时(96.5千米每小时)。在国家地理杂志上的一张照片中，一只来自辛辛那提动物园名叫萨拉的猎豹，其奔跑速度达到98千米每小时。

The sprint broke Sarah's previous world record, set in 2009 when she ran the same distance in 6.13 seconds. That sprint broke the previous record set in 2001, when a male South African cheetah named Nyana ran 100 meters in 6.19 seconds.

萨拉这次的成绩打破了她之前在2009年创下的6.13秒的世界纪录。而2009年她以6.13秒的成绩打败了另一只名叫娜娜的南非豹，其100米奔跑速度为6.19秒。

Sarah is 11 years old and is part of the zoo's Cat Ambassador Program. Her sprint was documented with funding from the National Geographic's cat conservation effort the Big Cats Initiative.

11岁的萨拉参加了动物园猫科动物大使项目。她参加的100米短跑活动获得了国家地理猫科动物保护机构的基金支持，且其成绩会被记录在案。

The record-breaking run took place on a course designed by the Road Running Technical Council of USA Track & Field. Sarah chased a fluffy toy lure around the course, breaking the record on her very first run.

这次100米赛道由美国田径运行技术委员会设计。萨拉是在追逐赛道上的一个毛绒诱饵，第一次参加该项目的萨拉便打破了记录。

The secret to cheetah speed is in its long, flexible spine, which allows the animal to cover up to 22 feet (6.7 meters) on every stride. Cheetahs also vary their strides per second as they speed up, taking more strides per second as they run faster. That seems to be a special talent, researchers reported in June in the Journal of Experimental Biology. Other speedy creatures such as greyhounds keep a steady number of strides per second no matter how fast they run.

猎豹之所以能够达到如此快的奔跑速度得益于它那又长又灵活的脊椎，这使得它可每次可以跨越6.7米的距离。猎豹加速时每秒还可以调整其跨越次数，跑得越快，每秒的跨越次数就越多。这似乎是一种特殊的天赋。而其他快速奔跑的动物如灰狗在奔跑时，无论跑多快，它均保持着稳定数量的跨越次数。

Cheetahs' sharp claws also act like cleats when they run, giving the big cats traction.

猎豹奔跑时，它那锋利的爪子也像楔子一样，为这只大猫提供了巨大的牵引力。

Cheetahs are endangered in the wild, with an estimated 9,000 to 12,000 living outside of zoos today.

野生猎豹正在濒临灭绝，现存数量仅为9000到12000只。