读者文摘:照料爸爸生活的电脑程序(2)

A Google tablet arrived a week later.

一周后，谷歌平板电脑上市。

Following the instructions, Arlyn uploaded dozens of pictures to the service's online portal, including images of family members and Jim's boat.

艾林按照指示将数十张照片上传到该服务的在线门户网站，包括家庭成员和吉姆的船的照片。

Then, she and her sister Layney Anderson presented the tablet to Jim. "Here, Dad. We got you this."

然后，她和姐姐莱尼 ·安德森把平板电脑送给了父亲。“父亲，我们给你带来了这个。”

An animated¹ German shepherd appeared and started to talk in the same female voice you hear when using Google Maps or other Google apps.

一只活泼的德国牧羊犬出现了，并开始用谷歌地图或其他谷歌应用程序时听到的女性声音说话。

Before Alzheimer's had taken hold, Jim would have wanted to know exactly how the service worked.

在老年痴呆症发作之前，吉姆想知道这项服务到底是如何运作的。

Now he simply chatted back.

如今父亲只是聊天回应。

Within a week, Jim and his dog, whom he named Pony², had settled into a routine.

不到一个星期，吉姆和他的一只叫小马的狗就开始进入日常程序。

Every 15 minutes or so, Pony would look for Jim, calling his name if he was out of view.

每隔15分钟左右，小马就会去找吉姆，如果吉姆不在视线之内，小马就会叫他的名字。

Sometimes Jim would "pet" the sleeping dog onscreen to rustle³ her awake.

有时吉姆会在屏幕上“抚摸”睡着的狗，让它醒来。

His touch sent an alert to the Care.coach worker behind the avatar, who would launch the tablet's audio and video stream.

这一触碰向后面的Care.coach护理人员发出警报，护理人员启动平板电脑的音频和视频流。

Pony reminded Jim which caretaker would be visiting to do the tasks that a virtual dog couldn't:

小马提醒吉姆，看管者会做虚拟狗做不到的事情：

preparing meals, changing sheets, driving him to a senior center.

做饭，换床单，开车送他去老年中心。

Pony would read poetry aloud or discuss the news.

小马会大声朗诵诗歌或讨论新闻。

Sometimes she'd hold up a photo of Jim's daughters or his inventions between her paws, prompting him to talk about his past.

有时她会用爪子夹起一张吉姆女儿的照片或他的发明，促使他谈起自己的过去。

The dog complimented Jim's sweater.

小马称赞了吉姆的毛衣。

He reciprocated⁴ by petting the screen with his finger, sending hearts floating up from the dog's head.

父亲的回应是用手指轻抚屏幕，屏幕上小马的头上飘出一颗心。

"I love you, Jim!" Pony told him.

“我爱你，吉姆!”小马告诉他。

Jim turned to Arlyn and gloated, "She thinks I'm real good!"

吉姆转向艾林，洋洋得意地说道：“她认为我真的很棒!”

1 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

2 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。

3 rustle   

v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声

参考例句：

• She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。
• He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。

4 reciprocated   

v.报答，酬答( reciprocate的过去式和过去分词 )；（机器的部件）直线往复运动

参考例句：

• Her passion for him was not reciprocated. 她对他的热情没有得到回应。
• Their attraction to each other as friends is reciprocated. 作为朋友，他们相互吸引着对方。 来自辞典例句