men have kept pets since ancient times. we can see from discoveries in the pyramids in egypt and from scenes on decorated wall-coverings of european castles that our ancestors were as in-

terested in pets as we are.

one reason for keeping pets is their utility. when our dog barks, it warns us of thieves. a cat keeps down the mice and rats in homes. when men depended on hunting for food they found hunting-dogs extremely useful. they also used a type of bird to aid them in their search for food.

companionship is a non-utilitarian reason for keeping pets. if people are living by themselves they feel lonely, and having a pet relieves this loneliness to some extent. we like to have some companion with us even if this companion is not human. we feel the need to have another living being to share

our daily lives. having a companion, even if it is only an animal, gives us a feeling of warmth and an interest in something else beyond ourselves.

some people even prefer pets to other people. pets are not as demanding as people sometimes are. in particular,pets do not demand of us that we should talk when we wish to remain silent. some people do talk to pets as if they were human beings, but they have the satisfaction of knowing that the

pets cannot answer back and engage them in argument. pets seem content with so very little.

養(yǎng)寵物

從遠(yuǎn)古時(shí)期，人們就開(kāi)始飼養(yǎng)寵物。埃及金字塔里的種種發(fā)現(xiàn)，歐洲城堡華麗穹頂上的繪畫(huà)都充分說(shuō)明：我們的祖先和我們今天一樣喜歡寵物。

養(yǎng)寵物的其中一個(gè)原因就是它們的實(shí)用性。狗吠叫警告我們小心盜賊，貓消滅田鼠和家中的老鼠。在依靠打獵獲取食物的年代，人們意識(shí)到獵狗舉足輕重的作用。那時(shí)，

人們還同時(shí)使用一種小鳥(niǎo)來(lái)幫助他們尋找食物。

養(yǎng)寵物的另一個(gè)非實(shí)用的原因就是要它們和自己做伴。獨(dú)自生活常常會(huì)感到孤單。養(yǎng)寵物可以從某種程度上緩解這種孤獨(dú)感。我們喜歡有伴兒陪著，即使這個(gè)伴兒并

不是人類。我們感覺(jué)需要另一個(gè)生命分享自己每日的生活。同伴，即使只是個(gè)動(dòng)物，也可以給我們一種溫暖的感覺(jué)，讓我們對(duì)除自己以外的其他事物感興趣。

一些人愛(ài)寵物勝過(guò)愛(ài)其他人。寵物不像人那樣有時(shí)會(huì)有各種各樣的要求。特別是當(dāng)我們不想說(shuō)話時(shí)，寵物不會(huì)逼我們開(kāi)口。不過(guò)一些人會(huì)把寵物當(dāng)作人一樣和它們交談，他們很高興這些動(dòng)物不能回答他們的問(wèn)題，不會(huì)和他們爭(zhēng)論。只需一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)，寵物們就很容易知足了。

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