英语PK台 第884期: 养猪趣事·养个精致的小居居

 Dialogue 1
Jingjing: Welcome back to Beijing, Mark. How was your trip?
京晶：欢迎回京，马克。旅途可好？
Mark: It was nice to get away for a few days. But I've been back for almost a week now.
马克：出去几天挺好的。不过我已经回来快一周了。
Jingjing: Wow, I just got back the day before yesterday. Anything new?
京晶：哇，我可是前天才回来的。有什么新鲜事？
Mark: Yeah, actually. I got a house pet. Can you guess what it is?
马克：还真有。我弄了一只家养小宠物，能猜到是什么吗？
Jingjing: A dog? A cat?
京晶：狗子？猫咪？
Mark: Nope. Think about what year it is.
马克：不是哦。想想今年是什么年头。
Jingjing: Huh? Don't tell me you got a pig.
京晶：啊？别跟我说是只猪哦。
Mark: Bingo! A friend of mine wanted me to take care of her piglet while she went on a long trip. It turns out the “teacup pig” she got is going to grow to be at least 50kg. So, I talked her into letting me keep it.
马克：猜对喽！有个朋友要我在她长途旅行这段时间帮忙照看她的小猪，结果呢，她这只“茶杯猪”要长到至少五十公斤。所以，我让她给我养。
Jingjing: Wow. Is it still pretty young?
京晶：哇哦，那它还是挺小的吗？
Mark: It drinks milk from a bottle, but we're getting ready to switch to solid food.
马克：它喝瓶装奶，但我们已经准备要换成固体食物了。
Jingjing: I heard they like to eat slop.
京晶：我听说它们喜欢吃泔水。
Mark: Yeah. We got some huge sacks of wheat and barley¹. We're going to soak 1 or 2 kg in boiling water overnight and then give it to her in the morning.
马克：我们准备了巨大袋子的小麦和大麦。我们要取个一两公斤在滚水里泡一晚，然后早上给她吃。
Jingjing: Oh, so it's a sow then.
京晶：噢，所以她是只母猪。
Mark: Yep, and she's pretty healthy. We turned the whole balcony into a pen. She's still getting used to it.
马克：是呢，她很健康。我们把整个阳台弄成了一个圈，她还在适应中。
Jingjing: Is it pretty dirty?
京晶：到处会很脏吗？
Mark: Naw. When I come back home, I don't smell it. We set up a cat litter box in the corner with a platform around it. That's her pen. We just need to get a trough of some sort, for when she gets big enough to tip over her water bowl.
马克：并没有。我平时回家是，什么也闻不到。我们在墙角放了一个猫砂盆，周围是一圈平台，那就是她的小圈，我们只需要弄一个饲料槽，她长大以后就该踢翻水碗了。
Jingjing: Well, it sounds like you've made a pretty good home for her. Let me know how she grows.
京晶：嗯，听上去你已经给她弄了一个很舒服的家了。到时候跟我说说她的成长情况啊。

New words : 习语短语
piglet 小猪，乳猪
a young pig
teacup pig 茶杯猪
a specially² bred pig that grows to be less than half the size of a normal adult
slop 剩菜剩饭的混合物，泔水
mixed food with liquid
sow 母猪
a female pig
trough 饲料槽
a long and heavy dish, from which animals like cows and horses eat

Dialogue 2
Jingjing: Hi again, Mark. How's it going with your pet pig?
京晶：嗨，又来了，马克，你的小猪猪怎么样了？
Mark: I have two now. We adopted another because we didn't want the first one getting bored and lonely during the day.
马克：我现在有两只了。我们又收养了一只因为不想第一只白天在家孤单又无聊。
Jingjing: Where did you get the second one?
京晶：第二只哪儿来的？
Mark: We went to a farm and got pick of the litter. I think the younger one will be a good influence. It's also a female, and was really calm with the mother.
马克：我们去了一家农场，挑崽儿。我想小的那只会表现更好，也是母的，和猪妈妈在一起时很乖。
Jingjing: Was your first pig getting into stuff and wrecking³ your house?
京晶：你家第一只小猪迷上什么物品，开始拆家了吗？
Mark: She was starting to—and squealing⁴ late at night. I've trained animals before, and know not to reward negative behavior.
马克：她已经有些趋势了——晚上会叫唤。我以前训练过动物，知道不奖励（动物的）坏行为。
Jingjing: Hmm. Good luck. Do you have pictures?
京晶：嗯，那祝你好运。有照片吗？
Mark: Yeah. The pink one's Princess, the first one we got.
马克：粉色这张就是公主，我家第一只。
Jingjing: Oh, the other one's a black pig. Will it grow to full size?
京晶：噢，另一只是黑猪呢，会长大吗？
Mark: Well, the mother was about 150kg. But Isabelle here was the runt of the litter. So, she won't get so big.
马克：他妈妈300斤左右吧。但伊莎贝拉是一窝崽里最瘦弱的，所以她长不了那么大。
Jingjing: It'll be interesting to see Isabelle outgrow⁵ her older sister, Princess.
京晶：看着伊莎贝拉长过她的公主姐姐才有趣呢。
Mark: That might happen. I already got separate troughs and made a pen for each of them at opposite ends of my balcony.
马克：有可能。我已经在阳台两头给它们各自准备了食槽和小圈。
Jingjing: Do you take them out for walks?
京晶：你带他们出去散步吗？
Mark: At least once a day. They've gotten used to harnesses.
马克：每天至少一次。他们已经习惯了戴上牵引绳。
Jingjing: I bet they get tons of attention.
京晶：我打赌回头率超高。
Mark: They sure do, especially from kids.
马克：当然啦，尤其小朋友投来的目光。
Jingjing: Well, they're the fifth smartest animal in the world. So, you'll probably be happy with them.
京晶：他们可是世界上第五聪明的动物。所以，你应该和他们相处挺愉快的。

New words : 习语短语
pick of the litter 挑崽儿
getting to choose one from 8-10 newborn animals, when they are still with their mother
getting into stuff 宠物的一些室内活动，俗称拆屋的开始
opening doors and packages that are not meant for a pet
squeal 猪的尖叫声
the noise a pig makes
runt 一窝中最弱小的幼崽儿
an abnormally small pig, less massive than its siblings
harness 保护带，挽具套
a kind of collar that holds the chest of an animal also, to attach a leas

1 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

2 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

3 wrecking   

破坏

参考例句：

• He teed off on his son for wrecking the car. 他严厉训斥他儿子毁坏了汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Instead of wrecking the valley, the waters are put to use making electricity. 现在河水不但不在流域内肆疟，反而被人们用来生产电力。 来自辞典例句

4 squealing   

v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard. 猪在院子里哼哼地叫个不停。
• The pigs were squealing. 猪尖叫着。

5 outgrow   

vt.长大得使…不再适用；成长得不再要

参考例句：

• The little girl will outgrow her fear of pet animals.小女孩慢慢长大后就不会在怕宠物了。
• Children who walk in their sleep usually outgrow the habit.梦游的孩子通常在长大后这个习惯自然消失。