Bob 上礼拜去了外婆家,和外婆家的贵宾狗 (poodle) 玩得不亦乐乎,手机里也因此多了许许多多可爱小狗的照片。那么可爱的照片难道要私藏吗?不!他决定和朋友 Sofia 分享可爱、分享萌!
Bob: Sofia, are you a dog person?
Bob:Sofia,你是爱狗人士吗?
Sofia: I’m more of a hamster person. Why?
Sofia:我比较像爱鼠人士。怎么了?
Bob: Last week I went to my grandma’s house and took tons of pictures of her poodle. (showing Sofia pictures on his smartphone) Isn’t it cute?
Bob:我上周去我外婆家,给她的贵宾狗拍了一堆照片。 (给 Sofia 看他手机上的照片) 她是不是很可爱?
Sofia: Its eyes are so shiny!
Sofia:她的眼睛闪闪发亮!
Bob: Yes, but she’s actually a pretty naughty doggie. Whenever I walk her on the street, she barks at whatever is moving—cars, birds, pedestrians. She’s quite nervous, which is less than ideal because whenever she feels nervous, she poops, which is why I always have to bring some plastic bags with me when walking the dog.
Bob:对啊,但她其实是一只很调皮的小狗。每次我在街上遛她时,她都会对任何移动的东西吠——车子啊、鸟啊、路人啊。她很容易紧张,而且每当她紧张,她就会大便,这也是为什么我遛它的时候一定随身带一些塑胶袋。
Sofia: Sounds like she might have been the runt of the litter. Is she also nervous at home?
Sofia:听起来它可能是同窝最弱势的那只。她在家也很神经质吗?
Bob: No. She seems calm at home. And she often wags her tail when she sees me or my grandma approaching.
Bob:不会。她在家时看起来很淡定。而且她看到我或我外婆走近时常会摇尾巴。
Sofia: That sounds lovely!
Sofia:听起来真可爱!
dog person (n.) 爱狗人士
dog person 意指「爱狗人士」,亦可代表「狗奴」,如果换成 cat person 则成了「爱猫人士;猫奴」了,同理可以换成常见的其他宠物例如对话中提到的 hamster person (爱鼠人士)。
My uncle keeps up to eight dogs at a time. He’s a dog person.
我叔叔一次养了八只狗;他是个爱狗人士。
walk the dog (phr.) 遛狗
walk the dog 的意思可不是「让狗走路」,而是指「遛狗」,也可以说 take the dog for a walk。
She usually walks the dog in the morning.
她习惯早上遛狗。
the runt of the litter (n.) 同窝中最弱小者
runt 为名词,意思是同窝中「最弱小者」,而 litter 在此也当名词,表示「一窝刚出生的小动物」。
I think my dog must have been the runt of the litter. He gets really aggressive around food—like he’s worried you’re going to take it from him.
我觉得我家狗可能是它兄弟姊妹中最弱小的一个。它会护食,好像怕你把食物抢走一样。
I was always the runt of the litter growing up. I was quite small for my age and got bullied a lot.
我长大过程中都是最弱小的一个。我在同年龄的人里面比较小只而且常被霸凌。
wag (v.) 摇
wag 动名词同形,意思是「摇摆;摆动;晃动」,尤指摆动尾巴或手指,如:wag the tail (摇尾巴)、wag the finger (摆动手指)。
Tommy wags his finger and shakes his head.
Tommy 摆动手指、摇摇头。
Dogs wag their tails when they’re happy.
狗狗开心时会摇尾巴。
With a firm wag of the finger, Stephanie made it clear to the man at the bar that she was not interested.
Stephanie 坚决地摆动手指,像酒吧里的那名男子表示她对他没兴趣。
Sofia 也有养宠物吗?继续看下去!
Bob: How about your hamster? I heard that you got one recently.
Bob:妳的仓鼠呢?我听說妳最近养了一只仓鼠。
Sofia: He’s the cutest creature I’ve ever seen in my life!!
Sofia:他是我这辈子看过最最可爱的生物了!
Bob: Wow! How long have you had him?
Bob:哇!你养他多久了?
Sofia: So far only a week. Yesterday I took him to a vet for a health check. He’s just two months old, and he’s very healthy.
Sofia:目前才一个礼拜。我昨天带他去给兽医健康检查。他才两个月大,身体健康。
Bob: He’s so little!
Bob:他还好小!
Sofia: Yeah, and his body is tiny as well. He’s about half the size of my palm. Tiny as he is, he’s still my dearest fur baby.
Sofia:是啊,他的身形也很迷你。他才差不多我的半个手心大。不过他虽然小,仍是我最亲爱的毛小孩。
Bob: You must have a lot of pictures. Which is your favorite?
Bob:我相信你一定拍了很多它的照片。你最爱的是哪张?
Sofia: this one. (showing Bob a picture on her smartphone) Look at those whiskers!
Sofia:这一张。 (给 Bob 看她手机上的一张照片) 看看那些胡须!
vet (n.) 兽医
vet 为名词 veterinarian 的简称,意思是「兽医」。补充:veterinary clinic (兽医诊所),意思同 animal hospital (动物医院)。
Tommy dreams of becoming a vet but he’s squeamish around blood.
Tommy 梦想成为一名兽医,但是他很怕看到血。
fur baby (n.) 毛小孩
fur 意指「毛皮」,和 kid (小孩) 合在一起则成为了名词 fur baby (毛小孩)。
Many people nowadays choose to have a so-called fur baby instead of children.
现今许多人选择养毛小孩而不是人类小孩。
补充:furry「毛茸茸的」,相近的形容词还有 fluffy,不过 fluffy 更强调毛茸茸而且摸起来「蓬松的」。
This rabbit is very fluffy and furry. .
兔子看起来毛茸茸、蓬松蓬松。
whisker (n.) 胡须
whisker 意指动物的「胡须」,常见搭配动词 twitch (抽动;抽搐)。
The cat twitched its whiskers and jumped off the roof.
那只猫抽动了几下胡须,然后跃下屋顶。