For lovers of whimsy, the 1970s TV show Bagpuss was a delight, not least because it featured mice who sang in falsetto tones.
　　还记得电影《鼠来宝》中三只天生“K歌之王”的小家伙吗？又有谁抵抗得了他们动人的声线？
　　But it seems those animated rodents were closer to the real world than we imagined.
　　其实这用电脑动画所营造出的效果并非天方夜谭。
　　Scientists have discovered that far from being quiet, mice are actually born with an innate love of singing.
　　科学家们发现，老鼠并非天性不爱出声，反而它们具有与生俱来爱唱歌得本性。
　　When a male comes across a potential mate, he bursts into a complex series of loud chirps and whistles that sound remarkably like birdsong.
　　当雄老鼠邂逅有机会发展的对象时，他们会不由自主的发出一连串嗷嗷声与口哨，听起来特别像鸟鸣。
　　Although the ultrasonic calls are too high-pitched for the human ear to pick up, the love songs allow females to weigh up the most suitable father for their offspring.
　　尽管由于这发出的声音音频过高，人耳无法听到，然而这样的“歌声”却是为雌鼠提供了寻找最适合哺育后代对象的重要参考因素。
　　Scientists have previously known that mice emit squeaks that are inaudible to humans. In 2005, U.S.researchers discovered that these noises are made up of repeated phrases just like the songs of birds and whales. 科学家们在之前发现了鼠类发出的声音是无法被人类的耳朵所捕捉到的，2005年，美国科学家研究出了老鼠的叫声其实是一些重复的“短语”所组成的，这点与鸟类鲸鱼很相似。
　　Since then, researchers have been trying to find out whether the songs are programmed into the brains of mice from birth, or whether they learn them from their mothers.
　　之后，科学家们正努力的找出这些歌声是自出生起就存在于鼠类的大脑中，还是他们模仿父母的结果。
　 Now a team of Japanese scientists has found the answer. They used two strains of laboratory mice with distinct songs. Males from each strain were raised in litters of the opposite strain until they were weaned. 现在，有日本科学家声称找到了答案。他们利用了两组生性不同的小白鼠，将幼崽交于别组的老鼠哺育，直至断奶。
　　At the age of ten to 20 weeks their calls were recorded and analysed. Dr Takefumi Kikusui, who led the study, told journal PLoS that the mice sang the songs of their biological parents not their foster mothers.
　　在出生20周后，科学家们记录下了两组新生白鼠的发声，并加以研究，最后发现，他们的歌声并非来自父母的传授，而是一种天生的本领。
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