誰跑得更快？他OR它？

The fastest cheetah on Earth has done it again, breaking her previous world record for the 100-meter dash and setting a new best time of 5.95 seconds.

地球上奔跑速度最快的動物——獵豹又一次打破了之前的100米奔跑記錄，重新書寫了5.95秒的世界紀錄。

This feat surpasses the fastest of all human 100-meter sprinters by almost four seconds. Usain Bolt, a Jamaican sprinter now competing at the 2012 London Olympics, holds the human world record at 9.58 seconds in the 100-meter dash.

5.95秒的速度比人類最快的100米奔跑速度要快近4秒。牙買加短跑明星博爾特現(xiàn)在正在參加2012年倫敦奧運會并創(chuàng)造了100米短跑世界紀錄——9.58秒。

Cheetahs, of course, are built to run faster than humans, regularly clocking speeds of up to around 60 miles per hour (96.5 kilometers per hour). During a photo shoot with National Geographic Magazine, a cheetah from the Cincinnati Zoo named Sarah covered 100 meters at 61 mph (98 kph).

當然，獵豹天生就比人類的奔跑速度快，獵豹的奔跑速度大約為60 英里每小時(96.5千米每小時)。在國家地理雜志上的一張照片中，一只來自辛辛那提動物園名叫薩拉的獵豹，其奔跑速度達到98千米每小時。

The sprint broke Sarah's previous world record, set in 2009 when she ran the same distance in 6.13 seconds. That sprint broke the previous record set in 2001, when a male South African cheetah named Nyana ran 100 meters in 6.19 seconds.

薩拉這次的成績打破了她之前在2009年創(chuàng)下的6.13秒的世界紀錄。而2009年她以6.13秒的成績打敗了另一只名叫娜娜的南非豹，其100米奔跑速度為6.19秒。

Sarah is 11 years old and is part of the zoo's Cat Ambassador Program. Her sprint was documented with funding from the National Geographic's cat conservation effort the Big Cats Initiative.

11歲的薩拉參加了動物園貓科動物大使項目。她參加的100米短跑活動獲得了國家地理貓科動物保護機構(gòu)的基金支持，且其成績會被記錄在案。

The record-breaking run took place on a course designed by the Road Running Technical Council of USA Track & Field. Sarah chased a fluffy toy lure around the course, breaking the record on her very first run.

這次100米賽道由美國田徑運行技術(shù)委員會設(shè)計。薩拉是在追逐賽道上的一個毛絨誘餌，第一次參加該項目的薩拉便打破了記錄。

The secret to cheetah speed is in its long, flexible spine, which allows the animal to cover up to 22 feet (6.7 meters) on every stride. Cheetahs also vary their strides per second as they speed up, taking more strides per second as they run faster. That seems to be a special talent, researchers reported in June in the Journal of Experimental Biology. Other speedy creatures such as greyhounds keep a steady number of strides per second no matter how fast they run.

獵豹之所以能夠達到如此快的奔跑速度得益于它那又長又靈活的脊椎，這使得它可每次可以跨越6.7米的距離。獵豹加速時每秒還可以調(diào)整其跨越次數(shù)，跑得越快，每秒的跨越次數(shù)就越多。這似乎是一種特殊的天賦。而其他快速奔跑的動物如灰狗在奔跑時，無論跑多快，它均保持著穩(wěn)定數(shù)量的跨越次數(shù)。

Cheetahs' sharp claws also act like cleats when they run, giving the big cats traction.

獵豹奔跑時，它那鋒利的爪子也像楔子一樣，為這只大貓?zhí)峁┝司薮蟮臓恳Α?/p>

Cheetahs are endangered in the wild, with an estimated 9,000 to 12,000 living outside of zoos today.

野生獵豹正在瀕臨滅絕，現(xiàn)存數(shù)量僅為9000到12000只。