英文短篇故事（纽约）393 Cows, Cats, and Dogs

 　　"I don't understand those people in India," Lester said. His wife Lucy asked, "What about them?" He said, "They're hungry. They're surrounded by millions of cows. But their religion doesn't allow them to eat cows. It's crazy to have all that fresh meat and not eat it." She said, "But we do the same thing in America." He said, "I don't think so. There isn't a cow in America that we don't eat sooner or later." She said, "I'm not talking about cows. I'm talking about cats and dogs. How many million strays¹ do we put to sleep every year? First, we put them in shelters². Then, if nobody adopts them, we put them to sleep. Then we bury them, or burn them, or whatever. We should eat them. Pet meat is still meat." Lester said, "Eat our pets?! Forget it! That's un-American!" Lucy said, "Well, eating cows is un-Indian!"

1 strays   

v.走失( stray的第三人称单数 )；偏离正题；走入歧途；（已婚者或有固定关系者）有外遇

参考例句：

• There are lots of waifs and strays living on the streets here. 这里有很多露宿街头的无家可归者。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My wife is always inviting various waifs and strays from work to our house.She seems to attract them. 我妻子总是邀请公司里各种各样的单身男女到家中作客，他们很愿意和她交往。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 shelters   

n.居所( shelter的名词复数 )；避难所；（无家可归者或受虐待者的）收容所；遮蔽

参考例句：

• During the blitz we spent the night in underground shelters. 空袭期间，我们在防空洞过夜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wall shelters the garden from the north wind. 围墙给园子挡住了北风。 来自辞典例句