欧美人文风情第2篇:自闭症小男孩与他的狗狗

 I think all of us, who have dogs, know that our dogs innately¹ understand our feelings. 我认为我们所有人，有养狗的人，都知道我们的狗天生能了解我们的感受。

So if we come home, and we're feeling great, the dog instinctively² picks up—You feel great. 所以如果我们回到家，而且我们心情很好，狗儿直觉地注意到－－你心情很好。

That means you're gonna play with me. And if we're feeling less than great, and especially if we're feeling down and depressed³, 那代表你会陪我玩。但如果我们心情不太好，而且特别是我们感到低落又沮丧时，

the dog will feel, You're looking a bit low. I think I'll just come over quietly and sit down beside you. 狗儿会感受到：你看起来有点低落。我想我还是安静地过来在你旁边坐下吧。

So they can pick up our feelings and emotions. 所以他们可以了解我们的感受和情绪。

What that means is that there's mute communication between the two species. 那所代表的东西是有种无需言语的沟通存在两种物种之间。

You don't have to articulate in words the way you and I have to talk about things. 你不必用像你和我讲事情那样的方式来用言语表达。

Dog will understand how we feel, because it just picks up something about our body language. 狗儿就会明白我们感觉如何，因为它就是了解关于我们肢体语言的一些东西。

Nowhere is this more important than with service or assistance dogs. 没有任何地方比这里对服务犬或协助犬来说更重要了。

Unlike other service dog and guide dog providers, when you're dealing⁴ with autism, 不像其他服务犬和导盲犬的提供者，当你处理的是自闭症时，

you need dogs that are very, very calm, very quiet, very laid-back. 你需要非常、非常沉着冷静、非常安静、非常自在的狗。

So we, over the last sixteen years, have been working towards breeding really calm, very relaxed, easygoing dogs. 所以我们在过去的十六年中一直致力于培育十分沉着、非常放松、好相处的狗儿。

Chester joined our family six weeks ago. And he's from National Service Dogs, so he is officially NSD Chester. Chester 在六星期前加入我们的家庭。而他是来自全国服务犬协会，所以它是正式的 NSD Chester。

He is two and a half years old, and he's a lab retriever mix. Max was diagnosed with autism at the age of thirty-two months. 它两岁半，而它是只混种拉不拉多犬(注一)。Max 在三十二个月大时被诊断出自闭症。

When we got Chester, one of the first things I really look forward to doing with Max was going for a walk. 当我们得到 Chester 时，我非常期待和 Max 一起做的首要事之一是去散个步。

Because at the age of six, I've never really been able to go for walk with Max; 因为从他六岁起，我就从没真正能和 Max 一起散步过；

because what he does, like many children with autism, is he bores. 因为他做的事，就像许多有自闭症的孩子一样，是他觉得无趣。

So, for him, it's a very fun game to run away from you. 所以，对他来说，从你身边跑走就是个非常好玩的游戏。

With Chester's vest that he wears, he has a hookup, and there's a handle that Max holds on to. 有了 Chester 穿着的背心， 它有一条狗链，而那有一个 Max 可以握住的把手。

So the first time we went out for a walk by ourselves, Chester was an all-star, and Max was just so thrilled to be out with his dog. 我们第一次自己出去散步时，Chester 像是个大明星，而 Max 就是超级兴奋能和他的狗一起出去。

He never dropped the handle once. 他从未扔下把手一次过。

One other thing that Max does to cope—when he's frustrated⁵, or express his frustration⁶—is to strike out. 另一个 Max 处理事情会做的事是－－当他感到挫折，或表达他的沮丧时－－是他会用力打。

And, you know, it's hard, you know, to have your child striking you. 而且，你知道，这很难受，你要知道，让你自己的孩子打着你。

We brought Chester home, and that aggression⁷ and frustration just disappeared. 我们把 Chester 带回家，而那种攻击性和挫折感就消失了。

Now that we have Chester here for six weeks, and Max has stopped. 而今我们有 Chester 在这六星期了，Max 就停下来了。

Do they still have outbursts? Yes, but there are fewer. 他们还是有情绪爆发吗？有，但比较少了。

They're less intense, and they die down faster. 那些爆发比较不激烈，而且它们平息得较快。

Many of the dogs, once they're bonded⁸ with their kids, will anticipate those anxiety levels building. 许多狗儿会预测到那些焦虑程度增加，一旦它们和它们的小朋友建立起情感来。

Chester sleeps with him. And since Chester came home, you know, we don't get outburst in the middle of the night any more. Chester 和他一起睡。而且自从 Chester 来家里后，你知道，我们不再在大半夜碰到情绪失控的状况。

So Max stays in his bed, and he's got Chester there. Now that he has Chester, he doesn't call out. Max 待在他的床上，而他有 Chester 陪着。现在因为他有 Chester，他就不大叫了。

He might be awake. I don't know, because I am asleep, which is fantastic. And I don't really...I don't worry about Max, because I know that Chester is in there. 他可能醒来。我不知道，因为我睡着了，那真是太好了。而我不完全...我不担心 Max，因为我知道 Chester 在那里面。

I didn't really understand what a blessing⁹ Chester would be to a family, and not just to Max, 我那时并未真正了解 Chester 对一个家庭来说会是一份多大的福气，而且不只是对 Max，

but, you know, he very much is a healing balm for a family. 而是，你知道，他算是一个家庭的疗愈慰藉物。

Over the last sixteen, seventeen years, we focused on our autism program, 在过去十六、十七年中，我们专注在我们的自闭症计画上，

and have recently expanded out to train dogs for individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder¹⁰, specifically veterans. 而最近已经扩展到为有创伤后压力症候群的个人来训练狗，特别是为退役军人。

And we're developing a new program that will put Canine¹¹ Assisted Intervention¹² dogs into facilities, partnered with doctors, physicians, therapists, 我们正在发展一项把犬只辅助介入计画的狗儿们放置到各个机构中的新计画，将狗儿和医生、治疗师、理疗师搭挡，

so that they can use fully¹³ trained service dogs in helping¹⁴ all of their patients, or a collection of their patients in various forms of... 他们就可以用受过完备训练的服务犬来帮助他们所有的病人，或他们各个不同类型的病人们...

whether it's addiction¹⁵ therapy, mental health issues, behavioral issues, and... 无论是成瘾治疗、心理健康问题、行为问题，还有...

so that will expand out the role of our dogs in the coming year. 那会在来年扩展我们狗儿的角色。

 

1 innately   

adv.天赋地；内在地，固有地

参考例句：

• Innately conservative, Confucius was fascinated by the last of these disciplines. 由于生性保守，孔子特别推崇“礼”。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• Different individuals are innately fitted for different kinds of employment. 不同的人适合不同的职业，这是天生的。 来自互联网

2 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

7 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

8 bonded   

n.有担保的，保税的，粘合的

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee.威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• This adhesive must be applied to both surfaces which are to be bonded together.要粘接的两个面都必须涂上这种黏合剂。

9 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

10 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

11 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。

12 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

13 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

14 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。

15 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。