The ability to feel empathy is built into the human brain. We smile or laugh almost instantly in response to others. Until now this ability was thought to extend only to our closest animal relatives such as orangutans and chimps.

感受同理心的能力是人类大脑中固有的。 我们几乎立即微笑或大笑来回应别人。 到目前为止，这种能力被认为只适用于我们最近的动物亲戚，如猩猩和黑猩猩。

Now researchers at the University of Pisa say dogs may be able to tune into the emotions of their canine companions. After studying hours of videotapes of dogs playing in a park, they said the animals can mimic each other's facial expressions and movements in a split-second, building social bonds.

现在，比萨大学的研究人员表示，狗也许能够理解它们的犬类同伴的情绪。 在研究了狗在公园玩耍的几个小时的录像后，他们说这些动物可以在瞬间模仿彼此的面部表情和动作，从而建立社会联系。

The Italian scientist believe dogs may be showing a basic form of empathy which could have evolved when their ancestors became domesticated.

这位意大利科学家认为，狗可能表现出一种基本的同理心，这种同理心可能是在它们的祖先被驯化时进化而来的。

词汇表

empathy  同感，共鸣

orangutans  （红毛）猩猩

chimps   黑猩猩

tune into  感应到

mimic  模仿

split-second  一瞬间，一刹那，一眨眼的功夫

social bonds  社会连结，社会联系

domesticated   被驯养了的