英语阅读：猫是上楼还是下楼？答案揭晓.docxVIP

OnThursday,apictureofacatwalkingonasetofstairsstartedtogoviral.Theoriginalpostaskedreadersifthecatwaswalkingupordownthestairs.4月9日，一张猫咪走楼梯的烧脑神图掀起讨论热潮。发布这张照片的原帖问道：这只猫到底是上楼还是下楼？Thestoryhassinceexplodedandnooneonlinecanagreeifthecatisrunningupordown.Commentersinbothcampskeepcitingarchitecturalandbiologicalreasonsfortheirconclusion.随后，这个帖子被疯狂转载，这只猫到底是上楼还是下楼，网上没人能取得一致意见。两大阵营纷纷引用建筑学和生物学知识，不断为他们的结论寻找依据。Butitsobviousthatthecatisgoingdownthestairs.但显而易见，这只猫是在下楼。First,lookatthearchitectureofthestairwell.Thenoseofthestairtreadsisoverhangingtheriser,whichhasapebbledtexture.先来看看楼梯的建造结构。楼梯梯面的收边条伸出了鹅卵石材质的梯级竖板。Thisiswhatthetexturedriseandstairnosemightlooklikeinreallife:下图或许可以还原梯级竖板和楼梯收边条在现实中的模样：Plus,ifyoulookclosely,theresevenaslightshadowundertheoverhangingnoseofthestairtreads.Theseshadowswouldonlybevisibleifthecatwasgoingdownthestairstowardstheviewerwhoislookingupstairs.Thelightcomingfromtheupstairslandingiscausingtheshadowofthetreadtofallontheriser:另外，如果仔细观察，你甚至还能在伸出梯面的收边条下方看到浅浅的阴影。只有当这只猫正在下楼，走向看向楼梯上方的观察者时，阴影才有可能出现。光线从上一级平台照射下来，在梯级竖板上投射下梯面的阴影。OneRedditorsuggestedthatwhatwereseeingarestairgrips—notastairnose—tokeeppeoplefromslipping.Butthatwouldmeanthestairgripwouldbeever-so-slightlyraised(weknowthisbecauseoftheshadows),whichwouldbeextremelydangerous—people(andcats)wouldbetrippingallthetime.社交新闻站点Reddit上的一名用户认为，我们看到的不是收边条，而是梯面上的防滑条，是为防止人们滑倒而设计。但这就意味着这些防滑条必须具有一定高度（从阴影来看），如此一来，这个楼梯就会变得极其危险——人（和猫）都会常常被绊倒。ThentheresthiscommentfromBusinessInsiderreaderfred-sof:Thecementedinbrick/stoneinthesidewallsareplacedinandontopofthesteplandings,theyarethelightgreybrickshapeitemsinthesidewalls.商业新闻网站BusinessInsider用户fred-sof则评论道：侧边墙上用砖块或石块砌成的水泥块一般位于楼梯平台内部或上方，就是侧边墙上那些浅灰色砖块形状的东西。Whathemeansisthatbricksorstonesaretypicallyplacedontopofsteptreadstobuildupthewallsurroundingthestairs.Hereswhatthatlookslikeinreallife:他的意思是，砖块或石块通常会位于梯面上方，用来搭建楼梯侧面的墙体。下图就是现实生活中的样子：Finally,numerouscommentersonRedditinsistthatthisissimplywhatacatlookslikewhenitsgoingdownthestairs—tailupforbalance,eyesfocusedontheground,and