听力文摘：养狗才能释放压力

As most dog owners will attest¹, having a dog is great for severalreasons.

大多数养狗人士都能证明养狗确实有很多好处。

For one, dogs are typically loyal, steady companions.

首先，狗十分忠心，是长久的伙伴。

Many studies have shown that caring for a dog is a great wayto get more exercise, relieve stress, and generally improve quality of life.

很多研究显示养狗是锻炼身体、释放压力及提高生活质量的好方法。

And, according to one study, bringing your dog to work can also make you and your co-workers more productive.

同时，一项研究指出，带狗去上班可以提高你和同事们的工作效率。

But wait. Wouldn't having a bunch of dogs running around the office create chaos²?

等等。一群狗狗在办公室里相互追逐难道不会引起骚乱吗？

They need tobe walked, fed, played with, and what happens when two or more dogs don't get along.

它们需要散步、吃东西、和人玩，如果两只或者更多只狗无法和平相处又会发生什么事。

Who wants an office dog fight?

谁会希望办公室里上演狗狗大战呢？

According to the study, though, as long as dogs are properly screened and are generally friendly,their presence in the workplace may enhance productivity by lowering stress and increasing camaraderie³ and physical activity.

研究表明，只要狗狗经过适当的筛选，选择那些温顺的狗狗带去工作，他们的出现就能够帮助缓解压力，增进同事间的感情，增加锻炼进而提高工作效率。

The researchers studied around 500 workers for one week at a service manufacturing retailcompany.

研究人员对一家服务制造零售公司的500名员工进行了为期一周的考察。

Their most interesting finding was that self reported stress remained low throughout theday for employees who brought dogs to work and increased for workers without dogs.

最有趣的发现是，带狗上班的员工称自己当天的工作压力较小，而没有带狗的员工则表示自己工作压力较大。

The researchers also observed many non dog owners asking dog owning co workers to take their petsout for a walk.

研究人员还注意到非养狗人士会让那些养狗的同事带着他们的狗狗去散步。

Now, the study is preliminary and involves a relatively⁴ small sample size.

研究现在还处于初步阶段，涉及的样例相对较少。

And, of course, thebenefits of having dogs at work depends in part on the workplace.

当然，带狗工作的好处还与工作场所有关。

But in general, job relatedstress is one of the biggest causes of burnout and absenteeism.

但一般来说，工作压力是导致倦怠和旷工的最主要原因。

So bringing dogs and perhapsother pets to work may prove to be an easy, low cost way to lower stress and make you a betterworker.

因此，带狗狗或其他宠物去工作也许是减少压力的一种简单、低成本的方法，同时还能够使你在工作中表现得更好。

1 attest   

vt.证明，证实；表明

参考例句：

• I can attest to the absolute truth of his statement. 我可以证实他的话是千真万确的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place. 这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

2 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

3 camaraderie   

n.同志之爱，友情

参考例句：

• The camaraderie among fellow employees made the tedious work just bearable.同事之间的情谊使枯燥乏味的工作变得还能忍受。
• Some bosses are formal and have occasional interactions,while others prefer continual camaraderie.有些老板很刻板，偶尔才和下属互动一下；有些则喜欢和下属打成一片。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。