品味人生篇09：Puppies for Sale待售的小狗

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising¹ the pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug² on his overalls³. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.
一位农夫有几只小狗要出售。他画了一个广告牌子，并把它钉在院子边的一根柱子上。正当他在敲最后一颗钉子的时候，他觉得有人在扯他的工装裤。他低下头，看见一个小男孩。

"Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."
“先生，”小男孩说，“我想买一只小狗。”

"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."
“呃，”农夫一边擦拭着脖子后面的汗水一边说，“这些小狗都是纯种的，所以贵得很啊。”

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. "I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?"
小男孩低下了头。过了一会，他伸手摸进口袋，掏出了一把零钱，高高地递到了农夫的眼前说：“我有39分。这样可以让我看一眼小狗吗？”

"Sure," said the farmer.
“当然可以，”农夫说。

And with that he let out a whistle, "Here, Dolly!" he called.
话音刚落，他吹了一声口哨，喊道：“多利，过来！”

Out from the doghouse and down the ramp⁴ ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight.
只见多利从狗屋里跑了出来，奔下了斜坡，身后还跟着四个小家伙。小男孩把脸紧紧贴在了铁丝网上，眼里跳动着喜悦的神采。

As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared; this One noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner the little pup began 1)hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up….
这五只小狗跑过来的时候，小男孩发现狗屋里还有些动静。慢慢地，又一只小狗出现了。这只小狗明显弱小得多，他从斜坡上滑了下来，步履蹒跚，努力想赶上同伴们……

"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt.
“我想要那一只，”小男孩指着那只弱小的狗崽说。

The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would."
农夫在小男孩的身旁蹲了下来说：“孩子，那只不好。他跑不了，不比其余几只可以陪你玩。”

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace⁵ running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially⁶ made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.".
听完这番话，小男孩往后退了一步，坐下来，卷起一只裤脚。只见一只钢制的支架护着他小腿的两侧，底部连接着一只特制的鞋子。小男孩转过头，抬头看着农夫说：“先生，你看，我自己也不太能跑，那只小狗需要一个理解他的人。”

The world is full of people who need someone who understands
同样,我们的世界也有许许多多需要理解的人。

1 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

2 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

3 overalls   

n.（复）工装裤；长罩衣

参考例句：

• He is in overalls today.他今天穿的是工作裤。
• He changed his overalls for a suit.他脱下工装裤，换上了一套西服。

4 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

5 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

6 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。