美语三级跳:017B 宠物: 中级课程

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Tom说服了Mindy，俩人养了一只狗，可是这狗很不听话，经常惹麻烦，所以，Tom和Mindy打算训练训练它。

Professor: Right Winnie. Some dogs are so bad, they need to be trained by a professional.

Mindy: Gosh Tom, why did I ever agree to get this dog? It's so badly behaved!

Tom: It's OK, honey. We just have to train him. In a couple of weeks he's going to be totally obedient.

Mindy: In a couple of weeks? Tom, he will have totally destroyed our new house by then!

Tom: I know he's a little wild right now. But trust me, before you know it, he's going to obey every one of my commands.

Professor Bowman, Tom 还挺乐观的，他向Mindy保证，自己肯定能把狗训乖，让它很快就obey every one of his commands， 对主人言听计从。

Professor: What do you think? Will Tom be able to make the new dog obedient before it destroys their new house?

这可不好说。不过，刚入住的新家如果被狗弄得乱七八糟，哪个主人不心疼啊？

Tom: OK, the first thing I need to teach him is how to shake hands.

Mindy: That's the first trick he needs to learn? Tom, he isn't even house broken, and this morning he ripped apart all the pillows on the couch!

Tom: So.... you think I should teach him something else first? Like how to sit?

Mindy: Yes, Tom. That would be a good start. Then you can teach him how to heel.

如果换成我，第一件事就是要让狗"house broken"，也就是说，在经过训练后，能够到指定地点大小便，从而保持家里的整洁。

Professor: That's true. Teaching your dog how to shake hands isn't the number one priority.

Professor, Mindy说的"teach the dog how to heel"是什么意思呢？

Professor: It means to make the dog obey you. You can also say that you bring a person to heel. For example, "At first the boss couldn't control her employees. But after she threatened to start firing people, they all came to heel."

我明白了，come to heel就是听话，服从的意思。

Mindy: Tom, the dog is never going to obey you unless you punish him. When he misbehaves, you have to spank him.

Tom: You want me to hit our beloved dog, who is a member of our family? How can you be so cruel?

Mindy: Tom, that dog isn't going to be a member of our family much longer unless he learns to behave.

Tom: Well, I prefer to reward him for doing something good instead of punishing him for doing something bad.

Mindy好像已经失去耐心了。她说，如果这只狗还不听话，就不能继续住在这里了。

Professor: Right. But Mindy and Tom have different ways of training the dog, right?

是啊，Mindy说，如果狗不听话，就要spank，打屁股，可是Tom说这种惩罚太残忍。

Professor: So what does Tom say they should do?

Tom认为应该采取鼓励的方法，也就是说，如果狗狗表现得好，就reward--奖励它。

Mindy: Tom, this dog is really out of control. Maybe we should take him to the veterinarian to see if he has some health problem.

Tom: He doesn't need to go to the vet. He needs to go to a doctor who can cure him psychologically.

Mindy: Oh no Tom, you're not talking about a ......

Tom: Yes, Mindy. We have to take him to a pet psychologist.

Tom要带狗去看pet psychologist - 宠物心理医生？美国真有这种医生么?

Professor: I guess so.

可是宠物又不会开口说话，这些心理医生怎么能知道宠物的想法呢？八成是骗人的！对了，Professor, veterinarian，v-e-t-e-r-i-n-a-r-i-an 是兽医的意思，是不是和vet， v-e-t，是一回事?

Professor: Yes. The whole word is veterinarian, but most people in America just call them vets.

嗯，我倒很想见识见识这个宠物心理医生，看看他是不是真能读懂狗狗的心声!

Professor: Well, we'll have to listen next time to find out!

这次的美语三级跳就播送到这里。