英语听力：自然百科 狗狗天堂在美国

 

 From the playful to the practical. To the cute, to the honored, dogs are everywhere in America. Today there are about 70 million dogs in United States alone, one for every four people. But what is our obsession¹ with them, and how much do we really love them? To find out, we travel to see the love firsthand. Doggie pampering² is a big business. Billions of dollars each year are spent to keep them happy, healthy and well groomed³.

This is Samson and this is Delilah with the ponytails. They are Yorkshire terriers, and they were bred to be tiny. So they are not gonna be much more than four pounds.

Patricia Young lives in the suburb outside Washington D.C.

They have plenty of clothes; they have almost as many clothes as I do. I can’t go anywhere without somebody stopping us. I guess they're filling my emptiness because I have grown children and there is nobody here. So they are good company for me.

They have robes when they come out of the shower or the bath. They have a couple of vests, a couple of jackets here. They have hat too; they also have boots. They don’t like wearing the hats or the boots. It's a little cold for them but I think this is cute, this is such crowdy outfit⁴, and since it is so cold, I will put these on them.

When we get ready to go to Old Town, so we have to get dressed and then they will have to get into our little bag so that I can take them to the car to their car seat.

Samson and Delilah aren’t just closehorses or dogs; they also enjoy the delights of some R n R at the spa.

This is the Old Town Pet Resort in Fairfax County, Virginia, the most luxurious⁵ largest pet resort in the, probably in the world. We have a truly dedicated⁶ staff that loves animals. We hear many customers and dog owners say “You know, my dog is so happy here, he doesn’t seem to wanna go home.” Because the dogs can play up to 12 hours a day if they are in day camp, and they get walked three to four times a day.

This is our grooming⁷ salon⁸ and it's state of the art (一流的，采用了最新技术的)and may be nicer than a lot of your barber shops. Here we have Laird, Ginger⁹ Biscuit and Toots who are sharing a Rotunda¹⁰ Five Star Luxury Suite¹¹. These guys all have television. And if you really miss your dog, you can watch your dog on the Internet camera provided here.

She just loves it. She wants to get into the water so bad.

Here we have our hydrotherapy(水疗) room, originally we designed it with hip¹² dysplasiatic(那个speaker也许是想说dysplastic发育异常的) and geriatric (衰老的)dogs in mind, but increasingly we have a lot of Labs and Goldens, just real high-energy dogs. They all wear life jackets unless they are really talented or they’ve been coming for a long time. Maybe this seems indulgent and over luxurious for dogs, but you know, that, that is how Americans are living, and the dogs sort of are cheaper than psychotherapy.(心理治疗)

And as people in our lives come and go, it is comforting to know we’ll always have someone to play with and call family.

1 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

2 pampering   

v.纵容，宠，娇养( pamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• But you need to make an appointment because these people are usually very busy pampering pets. 但是你需要先预约，因为这些人通常都在忙于照顾宠物们。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• He had been pampering, and coaxing, and indulging that individual all his life. 他一生都在姑息、迁就、纵容那家伙。 来自辞典例句

3 groomed   

v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗

参考例句：

• She is always perfectly groomed. 她总是打扮得干净利落。
• Duff is being groomed for the job of manager. 达夫正接受训练，准备当经理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

5 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

6 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

7 grooming   

n. 修饰, 美容，（动物）梳理毛发

参考例句：

• You should always pay attention to personal grooming. 你应随时注意个人仪容。
• We watched two apes grooming each other. 我们看两只猩猩在互相理毛。

8 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

9 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

10 rotunda   

n.圆形建筑物；圆厅

参考例句：

• The Capitol at Washington has a large rotunda.华盛顿的国会大厦有一圆形大厅。
• The rotunda was almost deserted today,dotted with just a few tourists.圆形大厅今天几乎没有多少人，只零星散布着几个游客。

11 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

12 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。