It's four A.M.
早上四点，
You're tucked safely into a warm bed, savoring thelast few hours of sleep before daybreak.
你还在温暖的被窝里蜷着，享受着天亮前为数不多的睡眠时间。
And then, suddenly… (a rooster crows).
此刻却听到雄鸡打鸣…
It must be time to wake up, roll out of bed, and tend to the farm.
闻鸡起“床”，爬出被窝，开始农作。
Except it's four A.M., it's still dark out, and you're not a farmer.
但是，现在才四点！外面黑咕隆咚的，而且，你又不是农民。
It's that neighbor of yours, the one that for some unimaginablereason keeps a rooster as a pet.
公鸡是隔壁家的，因为什么难以理解的缘由把公鸡当做宠物。
A rooster that flaunts the most basic rules of neighborhoodetiquette by crowing every morning before sunrise. What gives?
每天的黎明前，公鸡都会打鸣，仿佛问候邻居早安。这是为什么呢？
Most people assume that roosters are programmed to crow at the first sign of sunlight toannounce the dawning of a new day, or some such romantic notion.
大多数人认为公鸡每当第一缕阳光照耀大地，就按规律打鸣，提示崭新一天的开始。另外，还有很多浪漫的解说。
Like all birds, roosters call in a daily cycle determined by circadian rhythms.
和其他鸟类一样，生理节律决定了公鸡每天都要打鸣。
That is, a rooster'sinternal clock allows it to anticipate the sunrise and prepare for another exciting day of looking forfood.
也就是，公鸡的生理钟让它期待日出，积极地为新的一天觅食。
But why must roosters crow as they prepare to start their day, and why do some roosters soundoff before dawn?
但是，为什么公鸡会打鸣呢？而且偏偏是在黎明前呢？
Roosters are territorial creatures and don't much like other roosters trespassing on their land.
公鸡有领地意识，自己的领地“决不许其它公鸡侵犯”。
They crow in order to establish their domain and warn other roosters to stay away or prepare to brawl.
公鸡以此来维护自己的领地，警告其它公鸡远离，否则一场争斗难以避免。
And because their internal clocks are sometimes set a bit early, some roosters begincrowing well before sunrise.
又因为公鸡的生理钟有时候设置得早一些，所以，一些公鸡打鸣在日出前。
