VOA常速英语2019--犬类运动俱乐部备受欢迎

This five-year-old vizsla named Stella is a regular at Frolic Dogs, a canine¹ sports club in Alexandria Virginia. She’s so active. And so I see how happy she is when we’re at the gym. And she’s playing and she’s able to, you know, jump through the hoop² or go up on the balance beam. And she’s very proud of herself which, of course, then makes me happy. Dog lovers Kim Gilliam and her husband opened the first canine gym in the Washington DC area four years ago. We definitely got some eye rolls and some scratching heads when we told them, you know, folks, we were opening a dog gym.

这只5岁大的维斯拉名叫斯特拉，它是嬉皮犬俱乐部的常客。嬉皮犬是一家犬类运动俱乐部，位于弗吉尼亚州的亚历山德里亚。她太活泼了。我能感受到，她在俱乐部的时候有多开心。她可以在这里玩耍，可以跳过篮圈，或者爬到平衡木上。她为自己感到十分骄傲，我当然也为此开心。爱狗人士金姆·吉莉安和丈夫4年前在华盛顿特区开办了这家犬类俱乐部，这是这里的第一家。我们当然遭受过白眼，也有人不解我们的举动，每次我们告知别人“伙计们，我们开了一家犬类俱乐部”的时候，都是如此。

But once you come in, and you really see how people are working with their dogs, bonding with their dogs, and also getting them that exercise that they so badly need, it really does make sense. This pudgy dog named Ziggy was brought to the Sports Club for the first time to get a workout. It is the new year, so I think everybody’s getting in the gym and you’re just trying to, you know, lose some extra pounds. Like a human sports club, the dog owners can pay a fee each time they come or get a monthly membership. Besides keeping fit, the workout also helps keep the dogs stimulated³ and reinforces good behavior. I love see him jump around and play with the other dogs here and see what all the other dogs can do, so then we can learn from that. The gym also helped poodle mix Scooter who was found as a stray living on the streets. When I first got him, he spent the first year of agility⁴ class hiding under chairs.

但一旦来了这里，你就能真正感受到主人和爱犬的相处模式，感受到他们建立感情的方式，也能让狗狗们得到它们所需要的锻炼。这样就很有意义了。这个小胖墩儿名叫齐格，它是第一次来这家俱乐部锻炼。新年来了，我想大家应该都在健身房里锻炼，掉点儿肉。跟人类的运动俱乐部相似，主人们可以办此卡，也可以办月卡。除了保持健康之外，在这里锻炼也能帮助保持狗子们的兴奋，固化好的习惯。我喜欢看他跳来跳去，看他跟其他狗子们玩儿，看别人家的狗子有什么绝活儿，我们也好学习学习。这家俱乐部还帮助了这只卷毛狮子狗斯科特，它之前是一只流浪狗。我发现他之后，他第一年的敏捷训练课一直都躲在凳子下面。

He was terrified of everything. We worked with him and he is now a pretty outgoing way. This five-year-old German Shepherd is staying fit after taking part in hundreds of local agility competitions. He takes first place a lot of times quite often. He beats dogs that are well above him in the levels. Gilliam says the pet parents get a workout, too, by running around with their dog. They’re just as tired as their dog when they leave.

他什么都害怕。我们帮助他之后，他现在已经很外向了。5岁的它是一只德国牧羊犬，它现在状态健康，因为之前参加了几百节当地敏捷性比赛。他动不动就拿第一。比它个头大的狗子也输给了它。吉莉安说，宠物的主人们也能得到锻炼，因为要跟爱犬一起跑动。离开俱乐部的时候，主人和狗子都是呼哧带喘的。

1 canine   

adj.犬的，犬科的

参考例句：

• The fox is a canine animal.狐狸是犬科动物。
• Herbivorous animals have very small canine teeth,or none.食草动物的犬牙很小或者没有。

2 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

3 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

4 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。