美国国家公共电台 NPR Despite Partisan Rancor, Democrats And Republicans Can Agree On Dogs

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST: 

So I usually cover Congress. And one of the coolest secrets about my job is the furry¹, four-legged friend I get to bring to work every day.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Hi, Mickey.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Hey, Mickey.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Mickey.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Hey.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Hi. Hey, Mickey.

CHANG: Meet Mickey Chang, my effervescent, forever-loving, black-and-white Shi Tzu. You may not know this, but the U.S. Capitol is the most dog-friendly workplace you will ever find.

Jump up. Up, up, up. Good boy.

And come on, anyone who has to watch Congress all day needs a therapy dog. Besides, Mickey loves it here. He loves schmoozing with the senators.

ANGUS KING: Hi, Mickey.

CHANG: This is Senator Angus King.

KING: Mickey, the Senate dog - I like it.

CHANG: Yeah.

KING: How are you, Ailsa?

CHANG: I'm good. How are you?

KING: Good.

CHANG: OK. So at this point, you might be wondering - how is it that I get to bring a dog to the U.S. Capitol every day? The Senate historian's office didn't have anything on congressional canines² yet until we got assistant historian Dan Holt on the case.

DANIEL HOLT: I thought, we should definitely have a file on dogs. And now I have a stack of articles about this big, and they're going into a file. And we will be able to reference them in the future.

CHANG: I think you should mark your territory, so to speak...

HOLT: (Laughter).

CHANG: ...On this topic.

Holt says lawmakers have been bringing their dogs to the U.S. Capitol since the 1800s.

HOLT: So the first thing's that in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, all the reporting about dogs has to do with dogs fighting or being on the loose in some way.

CHANG: He says senators used to bring their hunting dogs into the old Senate chamber³ to sit right by their feet during floor debates.

HOLT: The best story I found was Senator George Edmunds of Vermont had a bull terrier. And there's this long story about how it was a dog that was bred for fighting, but he was very meek⁴ and didn't want to fight. And then one day, the dog got into a tussle⁵ with another dog. And from that day on, it had a taste for blood...

(LAUGHTER)

CHANG: Wait, so what...

HOLT: ...And got into other fights with other senators' dogs.

CHANG: Whoa.

Hi.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOG BARKING)

CHANG: As you can hear, a century and a half later, tensions still run high. This is Cali, a miniature dachshund who belongs to Republican Congressman⁶ Ken⁷ Calvert of California.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOG GROWLING)

CHANG: Apparently⁸, Cali has a habit of stowing away treats under the couch cushions.

KEN CALVERT: You never know when tough times are going to come around. So she's a saver, you know, a good conservative dog.

CHANG: (Laughter).

Calvert says it's nice to have one loyal friend in Congress. And there are plenty of people on the other side of the aisle⁹ who agree, like Democrat¹⁰ Bill Foster of Illinois.

BILL FOSTER: I think that the amount of love and trust on Capitol Hill is often in short supply. And having more dogs here would probably make this place work better and maybe in a more bipartisan manner.

CHANG: Roaming around Foster's office is an Alaskan Klee Kai, who looks like a small husky.

CHANG: Is this Shadow?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: This is Shadow.

CHANG: Hi, Shadow.

I watched Shadow and Mickey interact and wondered - can lawmakers learn a thing or two about love and trust from dogs?

(SOUNDBITE OF DOGS WHIMPERING, GROWLING)

CHANG: Maybe not.

(SOUNDBITE OF CAT STEVENS' "WAS DOG A DOUGHNUT")

1 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。

2 canines   

n.犬齿( canine的名词复数 )；犬牙；犬科动物

参考例句：

• For example, the teeth are more primitive. There are large canines and unusually shaped incisors. 譬如，牙齿更为原始，有大的犬齿和非常合适的门齿。 来自辞典例句
• Well-to-canines can attend doggy daycare centers while their owners work. 富人家的狗在主人上班的时候可以去狗狗托管中心。 来自互联网

3 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

4 meek   

adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的

参考例句：

• He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
• The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。

5 tussle   

n.&v.扭打，搏斗，争辩

参考例句：

• They began to tussle with each other for the handgun.他们互相扭打起来，抢夺那支手枪。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

6 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

7 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

10 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。