第2288期:In So Many Places, Cats Are the Stars

From the United States and Britain to Russia and South America, cats often appear in famous public places.  从美国和英国到俄罗斯和南美洲，猫咪经常出现在著名的公共场所。Cat fans say the animals bring value to the places where they live. Cats can add a cute element or reduce the number of rodents. Sometimes, cats even come to define the place they live in.  猫咪爱好者认为这些动物为它们生活的地方带来了价值。猫咪可以增添可爱的元素或减少啮齿动物的数量。有时，猫咪甚至成为了它们所居住场所的象征。In 2020, a green-eyed cat named Willow appeared at a Joe Biden campaign event in Pennsylvania. The cat jumped onstage and left with soon-to-be first lady Jill, who later wrote a book about the creature.  2020年，一只名叫Willow的绿眼猫出现在宾夕法尼亚州的一次乔·拜登竞选活动中。这只猫跳上了舞台，并与即将成为第一夫人的吉尔一起离开，吉尔后来还写了一本关于这只猫的书。But the White House is not the only well-known place in the United States to house cats.  但白宫并不是美国唯一一个有猫的著名地点。The Hemingway Homes and Museum, in Key West, Florida has fifty-nine cats that move freely through the estate. Half of the creatures are related to Hemingway’s own six-toed cat, Snow White.  位于佛罗里达州基韦斯特的海明威故居和博物馆有五十九只猫，它们可以在庄园内自由活动。其中一半的猫都与海明威的六趾猫雪白有关。Visitors are kept away from the furniture, but the animals sit on the writer’s desk. A large “Cat Bible” shows the family history, or lineage, of the resident cats.  游客们不能触碰家具，但这些猫咪却可以坐在作家的书桌上。一本厚厚的《猫圣经》展示了这些猫咪的家族历史或血统。Alexa Morgan of the Hemingway museum said the cats bring extra public interest.  海明威博物馆的Alexa Morgan说，这些猫咪带来了额外的公众兴趣。“We have visitors that come here for Hemingway, and then once they see the cats and they love them, then it’s like they visit again so they can come back and see the cats,” she said.  “我们有些游客是为了海明威而来，但一旦他们看到这些猫咪并爱上它们，他们就会再来参观，这样他们就能再次看到这些猫咪，”她说道。In Britain, there is Lilibet.  在英国，有一只名叫Lilibet的猫。She is a Siberian Forest cat who spends time sitting by the fire at the Lanesborough Hotel in London. Plenty of people visit the hotel just to see the cat, who is named after Queen Elizabeth II, said managing director Stuart Geddes.  她是一只西伯利亚森林猫，经常坐在伦敦兰斯伯勒酒店的火炉旁。总经理Stuart Geddes表示，很多人来酒店只是为了看这只猫，它的名字来源于伊丽莎白二世女王。Lilibet has special hair known as hypoallergenic fur. That means her hair is not likely to cause problems for people who are sensitive to cat hair. Lilibet is not the only cat living in an important British building.  Lilibet有一种特殊的被毛，称为低过敏性毛发。这意味着她的毛发不太可能引起对猫毛敏感的人的问题。Lilibet并不是唯一一只生活在英国重要建筑里的猫。Hodge sits inside Southwark Cathedral, which was established in 1106. He moves around bringing happiness to visitors and going into the shop for treats.  Hodge住在南华克大教堂内，这座教堂建于1106年。他四处走动，为游客带来欢乐，并去商店讨零食。Not far away, across the Thames River, is Larry, the famous cat of 10 Downing St., the official home of the prime minister of Britain. Larry has stayed longer than most prime ministers — Kier Starmer is his sixth.  不远处，在泰晤士河对岸，有一只名叫Larry的猫，它是英国首相官邸唐宁街10号的著名猫咪。Larry待的时间比大多数首相都长——基尔·斯塔默是他的第六位首相。Employed as Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, Larry pays his way by keeping the prime minister’s office and home more cat than mouse.  Larry受雇于内阁办公室，担任首席捕鼠官，他通过保持首相办公室和官邸里猫比鼠多来“支付”自己的生活费用。He has lasted longer than his rival Palmerston, a previous Foreign Office cat who retired to the British countryside in 2020.  他比他的对手Palmerston待得更久，后者是一只曾在外交部工作的猫，已于2020年退休，去了英国乡村生活。Cats also live in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.  猫咪们也生活在俄罗斯圣彼得堡的冬宫博物馆里。About 80 cats get to call Catherine the Great’s palace home in return for keeping the pest population down. They have their own press officer and volunteer assistants, who keep them publicized, fed, and watered while they walk around Russia’s state museum.  大约有80只猫将叶卡捷琳娜大帝的宫殿称为家，以换取减少害虫数量的工作。它们有自己的新闻官和志愿者助手，帮助它们在俄罗斯国家博物馆四处走动时宣传、喂食和饮水。In Venezuela, under a banner of Hugo Chavez, an unnamed cat has become well-known to the journalists of Caracas. Often found moving near TV crews at the National Electoral Council, this mysterious animal keeps reporters company as they wait for updates.  在委内瑞拉，一只无名猫在雨果·查韦斯的旗帜下，已经成为加拉加斯记者们的熟悉面孔。这只神秘的动物经常出现在国家选举委员会附近的电视摄制组旁，陪伴记者们等待新闻更新。Far away in another part of the world, Lule is so beloved at the Day and Night bar in Pristina, Kosovo, that her cat face has become its symbol. Owner Genc Salihu says she is part of the family, and people come just to see and pet Lule.  在世界的另一边，Lule在科索沃普里什蒂纳的昼夜酒吧里备受喜爱，她的猫脸已经成为酒吧的象征。酒吧老板Genc Salihu说她是家庭的一部分，人们来这里只是为了见到和抚摸Lule。“She is very much the soul of this place,” he said.  “她几乎就是这个地方的灵魂，”他说道。