我们看的动画片里的狮子在说着人类的语言，蛇说出了邪恶的诅咒，小马们会爆发出快乐的笑声，小猪一家过着像人类家庭一样的生活。然而，在现实生活中，
如果动物真的会说话，那么我们该如何反应？
如果动物会说话，我们是否就一定可以听懂？
如果动物真的能感知世界，它们又是如何看待人类的?
当一只猫或狗到底是什么感觉?
猫和狗知道自己浑身是毛吗？
我们为什么把狗当作儿子，却把猫称为主子？
在《假如猫狗会说话》一书中，史文德森研究了人类是如何试图理解其他动物（从黑猩猩到章鱼，但他主要关注的是我们日常生活中最接近的动物——猫和狗）的生活的，并深入探讨了动物的交流、心智、自我意识、孤独和悲伤，但最基本的问题还是人类和动物如何共同生活并建立友谊。这本有趣而又发人深省的书，可以帮助动物爱好者和宠物主人对动物和人类自身有更进一步的理解。

In recent years, the Internet has come to dominate our lives. E-mail, instant messaging and chat are rapidly replacing conventional forms of correspondence, and the Web has become the first port of call for both information enquiry and leisure activity. How is this affecting language? There is a widespread view that as 'technospeak' comes to rule, standards will be lost. In this book, David Crystal argues the reverse: that the Internet has encouraged a dramatic expansion in the variety and creativity of language. Covering a range of Internet genres, including e-mail, chat, and the Web, this is a revealing account of how the Internet is radically changing the way we use language. This second edition has been thoroughly updated to account for more recent phenomena, with a brand new chapter on blogging and instant messaging. Engaging and accessible, it will continue to fascinate anyone who has ever used the Internet.