黑猩猩的“床”比人类的床还干净？
Are chimpanzee beds cleaner than human ones?

一项对比黑猩猩的巢和人类睡过的床的清洁度的研究结果着实让人感到意外。研究人员们说，这可能表明我们为自己创造清洁环境的努力实际可能使我们周围的环境变得“不那么理想”。

As humans moved indoors many thousands of years ago, we became increasingly separated from the outdoor environment and all the organisms which live there. In fact, nowadays more than a third of bacteria in our beds comes from our own bodies.

几千年前，当人类搬进室内生活时，我们越来越远离户外环境及生活在那里的各类微生物。事实上，现在我们床上超过三分之一的细菌来自我们自己的身体。

To assess the impact of this indoor lifestyle, scientists looked at another mammal which builds structures for sleeping in – the chimpanzee – collecting samples from nests in the Issa Valley in Tanzania.

为了评估室内生活方式的影响，科学家们观察了另一种会为睡眠搭窝的哺乳动物 — 黑猩猩 — 他们从坦桑尼亚伊萨谷的黑猩猩巢穴中采集了样本。

The researchers found that they contained fewer faecal, oral or skin bacteria than beds in most human households even though the chimps go to the toilet over the sides of their nests. Part of the reason is they move to a new nest every night.

研究人员发现，这些样本中所包含的排泄物、口腔和皮肤细菌要少于大多数人类家庭床上的细菌，尽管猩猩是在它们的巢边上厕所。造成该结果的部分原因是它们每天晚上都会搬到新巢过夜。

Even though the chimps spend more than half the day in bed, the scientists also found hardly any fleas or lice in their nests, whereas our homes have been found to have hundreds of these parasites including some specially adapted to living indoors with humans.

虽然黑猩猩每天有一大半的时间都是在巢中度过的，科学家们几乎没有在它们的巢中发现任何跳蚤或虱子，然而却在我们的家中发现了数百种寄生物，其中包括一些已特别适应了与人类在室内生活的寄生虫。

1. 词汇表

organisms 微生物
bacteria 细菌
assess 评定，评估
structures（由多个部分组成的）建筑结构
samples 样本
faecal 排泄物的
fleas 跳蚤
lice 虱子
parasites 寄生生物，寄生虫

2. 阅读理解：请在读完上文后，回答下列问题 。

1. What is the name of the place where chimpanzees sleep?

2. True or false? Chimpanzees keep their nests clean by moving to a new one every night.

3. How much time do chimpanzees spend in bed?

4. Who has more parasites in their beds, humans or chimpanzees?

3. 答案

1. What is the name of the place where chimpanzees sleep in?
They sleep in nests.

2. True or false? Chimpanzees keep their nests clean by moving to a new one every night.
True. The report said even though the chimps go to the toilet over the sides of their nests, they move to a new nest every night.

3. How much time do chimpanzees spend in bed?
They spend more than half the day in bed.

4. Who has more parasites in their beds, humans or chimpanzees?
Humans. The report said hardly any fleas or lice were found in the chimpanzee's nests, whereas our homes have been found to have hundreds of these parasites.