英语访谈对话 3 Dogs

 　　Todd: Hello, Matt!

　　Matt: Hello, Todd!

　　Todd: Matt, I'm going to ask you some questions about pet. (OK!) First question, do you have a pet?

　　Matt: Yes, in fact, my mom's house we have three, three pets; two dogs and a cat. My family actually raises dogs for helping¹ blind people.

　　Todd: Oh, really!

　　Matt: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

　　Todd: Wow, like how do they train the dogs?

　　Matt: How do they train the dogs? Well, I mean, it's a long process, right...we get them when they're puppies².....and so we train them basic...you know, sit, come... really basic things...then, after they're about two year old, they go a different training school.

　　Todd: Oh, wow , that's great!

　　Matt: Yeah, yeah!

　　Todd: Well, how many dogs do they train at a time?

　　Matt: Oh, just one! We have our own dog, and then we have a dog that we have that we are training.

　　Todd: Oh, OK.

　　Matt: Yeah, just one dog at a time.

　　Todd: Do you ever see the dogs you trained, like out on the street, or anything?

　　Matt: Sometimes we'll see them, they'll have like sort of conventions³ of reunions of the pets so, yeah, you get to see them once in awhile.

　　Todd: Oh, wow, that's cool. Um, why do people keep pets?

　　Matt: I guess the most important thing is companionship, right! So there is always somebody there for you that will like you no matter what.

　　Todd: Yeah, that's true. OK, besides cats, dogs, and fish, what are some other pets people keep?

　　Matt: Well, I guess if you are Sigreid and Roy you can keep a tiger or lion. I guess all types of things don't they.

　　Todd: Yeah.

　　Matt: I mean, my friend has a snake....I don't know if you mention that: snake and ferrets and insects, spiders...

　　Todd: OK.

　　Matt: All kinds of things.

　　Todd: All right, yeah, like there is so many. What are some costs associated⁴ with keeping a pet?

　　Matt: Food is probably the biggest cost, but also if you keep the dog, particiulary a dog in your house, when they are puppies, and we have a lot of puppies they'll chew⁵ up everything they can so we're constantly⁶ replacing shoes and, you know, cleaning up pee from the carpet and things like that..so.. it can be a hassle.

　　Todd: Yeah, OK. Thanks a lot, and by the way, where are you from?

　　Matt: I'm from the U.S.A., from Minnesota.

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 puppies   

n.（常指不满一岁的）小狗(puppy的复数)；小狗，幼犬( puppy的名词复数 )；浅薄自负的年轻男子

参考例句：

• a litter of puppies 一窝小狗
• The bitch bore six puppies. 母狗生了六只小狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 conventions   

（某一职业、政党等的人士召开的）大会( convention的名词复数 )； 协议； 习俗； （美国）全国代表大会

参考例句：

• They broke away from conventions. 他们打破了常规。
• They disregard social conventions without being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary. 他们不顾社会习俗，并未意识到自己在做些与众不同的事。

4 associated   

adj.联合的

参考例句：

• the risks associated with taking drugs 与吸毒有关的危险
• I don't want to be associated with your scheme; I'm contracting out. 我不想参与你们的计划，我要退出。

5 chew   

vt.咀嚼，嚼碎；vi.咀嚼，细想；n.咀嚼，咀嚼物

参考例句：

• This candy is so hard that no one can chew it.这种糖太硬，没人嚼得动。
• You should chew over this thing.你应当好好思量这件事。

6 constantly   

adv.不变地，不断地，时常地

参考例句：

• The two countries have been warring constantly for years.这两国多年来一直交战。
• We should constantly urge ourselves on to study hard.我们要经常鞭策自己努力学习。