Paws for thought: dogs may be able to figure out human intentions
狗狗可能也会察言观色
From a canny look to a quizzical grumble, dogs have long conveyed the impression they know more about what their owners are up to than what might be expected.
时常会眼睛一亮或是诧异咕哝的狗狗们总是给我们这样的印象：与其说它们知道可能会期待什么东西，不如说它们其实知道自己的主人在搞什么鬼。
Now researchers have found fresh evidence of canine savviness, revealing dogs seem to be able to tell whether human actions are deliberate or accidental.
几位研究人员现在找到了犬类拥有理解力的最新证据，证据显示狗狗似能够分别出人类行为是有意还是无意。
While theory of mind – the ability to attribute thoughts to others and to recognise that can result in certain behaviours – is often thought to be uniquely human, the study suggests at least some elements may be common to canines.
尽管心智理论，即能够解析别人的思想，而且辨认出其导致的某种行为的能力，常常被认为是人类所独有的，上述研究却显示出犬类也具有至少部分上述能力。
Previous research has suggested dogs can track human attention to decide when to snaffle food, and respond to pointing gestures.
此前的研究已经显示出犬类可以追踪人类注意力以决定何时偷吃东西，也可以对人类的指向手势做出反应。
Additionally, many dogs get excited over certain cues that may hint at a forthcoming action – such as when a leash is picked up.
此外，许多狗狗对一些指向性的讯号也会做出反应，比如主人牵起绳子来的时候。
However, experts say it was unclear whether dogs really grasp the notion of human intention.
然而，专家却表示，狗狗是否真正能够领会人类意图这一点仍不明确。
Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, scientists in Germany describe how they sought to unpick the issue by asking a researcher to pass treats to a dog through a gap in a screen.
在期刊《科学报告》上的一篇文章中，德国的几位科学家就描述了是如何解答这个问题的，在实验中，他们让一位研究员通过挡板上的开口给狗狗投喂狗粮。
During the process the researcher tested the dog on three conditions: in one they attempted to offer a treat but “accidentally” dropped it on their side of the screen and said “oops!”, in another, they tried to offer a treat but the gap was blocked.
该过程中，研究员就在以下三种情况对狗狗进行测试：其一，他们试图投喂狗粮，但是“不小心”把狗粮掉在了自己那一侧，并说了一句“哎呀”；其二，他们努力投喂狗粮，但是挡板的缺口被堵住。
In a third, the researcher offered the treat, but then suddenly withdrew it and said: “Ha ha!”
第三，研究者做出要投喂的态势，但是突然撤回，并且说“哈哈！”
“The idea of this experiment is that in all three situations they don’t get the food for some reason,” said Dr Juliane, adding that the key difference is whether that is down to the treat is being intentionally withheld or – at least apparently – not.
茱莉亚博士表示，“实验的设计思路就是在这三种情况下，狗狗们都因为某种原因没能吃到狗粮。”她还补充道，其中的关键区别在于是因为研究者有意收回狗粮，还是说至少从表面上来看，这是因为研究者的无心之举。
The results, based on analysis of video recordings of 51 dogs, reveal that the dogs waited longer before walking around the screen to get the treat directly in the case of the sudden withdrawal of the morsel than for the other two situations.
根据对51只狗狗的录像分析，结果显示，与前两种情况相比，在突然撤回狗粮的情况下，狗狗往往会先等待较长的时间，然后才会绕过挡板去直接捡起食物。
They were also more likely stop wagging their tail and sit or lie down.
而且它们更有可能停止摇动尾巴，而且坐下来或者躺下来。
The team writes that the dogs clearly show different behaviour between the different conditions.
研究团队表示狗狗在不同的情况下展示出了明显不同的行为。
“This indicates that dogs indeed distinguish intentional actions from unintentional behaviour,” they write.
“这表明狗狗真得可以区分有意行为和无意行为。”
However, they note further work is needed to explore whether dogs may have previously learned not to approach food that is withdrawn, or were responding to the different exclamations from the researcher.
然而，他们也提到需要进一步的研究，来探索狗狗是否在此前已经学会不去靠近被有意撤回的食物，或者狗狗是在对研究者不同的感叹声进行回应。
