dense[dens]?

adj. 密集的

Ever?since humanity split into dog and cat people, we've been arguing over which one of our beloved companions is a smarter species.
自從人類分裂為汪星人和喵星人，我們就一直在爭(zhēng)論，在這兩種備受喜愛(ài)的伙伴中，哪種更聰明。

A study from 2017 mightn't be the last word on the matter, but for those who think more neurons means more intelligence, it looks as if dogs stand out among carnivores for having a remarkably?dense?cerebral cortex.
2017年的一項(xiàng)研究可能無(wú)法給這件事下最終定論，但是對(duì)于那些認(rèn)為神經(jīng)元越多就越聰明的人來(lái)說(shuō)，似乎在肉食動(dòng)物中，狗出類拔萃，因?yàn)楣返拇竽X皮層神經(jīng)元十分密集。

An international team of researchers analysed the wrinkled outer layers of the brains of a variety of carnivorous animals - including dogs and cats - to determine whether the demands of hunting prey mean a higher count of cortical neurons, adding brain power where it counts.
一個(gè)國(guó)際研究員小組分析了多種食肉動(dòng)物的大腦褶皺外層，包括狗和貓，以此判斷捕獵的需求是否意味著皮質(zhì)神經(jīng)元比例更高，增加有需要的地方的腦力。

"I believe the absolute number of neurons an animal has, especially in the cerebral cortex, determines the richness of their internal mental state and their ability to predict what is about to happen in their environment based on past experience," said neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel from Vanderbilt University in the US.
來(lái)自美國(guó)范德堡大學(xué)的神經(jīng)學(xué)家蘇珊娜·埃爾庫(kù)拉諾·烏澤爾說(shuō)，“我相信動(dòng)物神經(jīng)元的絕對(duì)數(shù)量，特別是大腦皮層神經(jīng)元的數(shù)量，決定了動(dòng)物的心理狀態(tài)的豐富程度以及基于經(jīng)驗(yàn)預(yù)測(cè)環(huán)境中即將發(fā)生的事情的能力?！?/div>

So is it time to give dogs their due?
那么現(xiàn)在是時(shí)候給狗說(shuō)句公道話了？

"I'm 100 percent a dog person," Herculano-Houzel confesses, "but, with that disclaimer, our findings mean to me that dogs have the biological capability of doing much more complex and flexible things with their lives than cats can."
“我是百分百的汪星人?！卑枎?kù)拉諾·烏澤爾坦白說(shuō)，“但是，我放棄說(shuō)，我們的研究結(jié)果對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)意味著，狗有這種生理上的能力，可以比貓做更復(fù)雜更靈活的事情?！?/div>

Capability might not necessarily be realised as intelligence, of course. Cats are notoriously harder to study - not because they're stupid, but because frankly they just don't care for our 'science'.
當(dāng)然，能力并不一定能解讀為智力。眾所周知，要研究貓很困難。并不是因?yàn)樨埡鼙浚翘拱讈?lái)說(shuō)，它們不在乎我們的‘科學(xué)’”

And if you're a dog person cracking out the champagne to celebrate anyway, here's one more fun fact.
如果你是個(gè)汪星人，打開(kāi)香檳來(lái)慶祝狗更聰明的話，這里還有一個(gè)有趣的事實(shí)。

The real oddball carnivore is the racoon - even though it's close to cats in terms of size, it actually has a similar number of neurons to dogs. Considering raccoons can smash intelligence tests, we're not surprised.
真正怪異的肉食動(dòng)物是浣熊。雖然浣熊體型和貓很接近，但實(shí)際上它們的神經(jīng)元數(shù)量和狗差不多。說(shuō)到到浣熊能碾壓智力測(cè)試，我們并不驚訝。

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今日詞匯

dense[dens]?

adj. 密集的

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They thrust their way through the dense crowd.
他們從密集的人群中擠了過(guò)去。

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A dense column of smoke 一股濃煙