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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
这里是VOA慢速英语《健康和生活方式报道》节目。
For many blind people and those with vision difficulties, life can be made easier with a guide dog.
对于许多盲人和视力有问题的人来说，有了导盲犬，生活可以变得更容易。
But making a good guide dog takes much work.
但是，培养一只好的导盲犬需要做很多工作。
And for many, the long road begins when the dog is a puppy.
对许多人来说，这条漫长的道路要从小狗开始。
Take for example, the five 8-week old puppies that arrived at the Tipton Airport in Fort Meade, Maryland early in February.
以2月初抵达马里兰州米德堡蒂普顿机场的5只8周大的小狗为例。
At that time, they were loving, playful animals--like all puppies.
在那个时候，它们是可爱的、顽皮的动物——就像所有的小狗一样。
Now however, the Labrador retriever and German shepherd puppies are on the road to becoming useful members of society.
然而，现在，拉布拉多寻回犬和德国牧羊犬的幼犬正在成为有用的社会成员。
If they prove themselves able, they could become guide dogs.
如果它们证明自己有能力，它们可能会成为导盲犬。
They will help to improve the lives of people with vision loss and vision impairment.
它们将有助于改善视力丧失和视力障碍患者的生活。
The faithful-friends-to-be are part of a training program of an organization called Guiding Eyes for the Blind.
这些未来的忠实朋友是一个名为“盲人之眼”的组织的培训计划的一部分。
The puppies flew from the organization's head office in Yorktown Heights, New York, to Maryland onboard a "Pilots To The Rescue" flight.
这些小狗从该组织位于纽约约克敦高地的总部搭乘一架“救援飞行员”的航班到达马里兰州。
Pilots to the Rescue is a not-for-profit organization that transports "…animals as well as people at risk," it states on its website.
“救援飞行员”是一个非营利性组织，该组织在其网站上表示，其运送“……动物以及处于危险中的人”。
The puppies were born in Yorktown Heights.
这些小狗在约克敦高地出生。
And they spent the first two months of their lives with their moms and siblings1.
它们一生的前两个月是和它们的妈妈和兄弟姐妹一起度过的。
The young dogs were bred for health and temperament2.
这些小狗是为了健康和性情而培育的。
Here, "temperament" means how they respond to their environment.
在这里，“temperament”指的是它们对周围环境的反应。
However, breeding alone will not be enough to turn these puppies into guide dogs.
然而，仅靠培育还不足以将这些小狗变成导盲犬。
They will need training from dog training experts.
它们需要犬类训练专家的训练。
They also will need to be nurtured3 by volunteers called Puppy Raisers.
它们还需要被称为“小狗饲养者”的志愿者养育。
The goal of this nurturing4 by Puppy Raisers and their families is to turn the energetic, playful puppies into well-behaved and well-socialized dogs.
“小狗饲养者”和他们的家人的养育目标是把精力充沛、顽皮的小狗变成规规矩矩、善于社交的狗。
These are the qualities needed for a successful guide dog: well-bred, well-trained, well-behaved, and well-socialized.
这些是一只成功的导盲犬所具备的品质：有教养、训练有素、行为规矩、善于社交。
The process will take about 14 to 16 months of weekly classes and testing.
这一过程将需要大约14到16个月的时间，每周都会有课程和测试。
Training starts with the basics: name recognition, behavior, and commands such as "sit" and "down."
训练从基本技能开始：名字识别、行为和命令，如“坐”和“向下”。
The trainers then move on to more complex commands.
然后，训练员继续更复杂的命令。
After that, the puppies are given to the Puppy Raisers.
在那之后，小狗会被交给“小狗饲养者”。
The raisers and their families will show the puppies the world and how to act in it.
饲养者和他们的家人将带小狗们认识世界以及教给它们如何在其中行动。
A manager for Guiding Eyes for the Blind's Puppy Program is Cindy Tait.
辛迪·泰特是“盲人之眼”的小狗训练项目的经理。
She told the Associated Press that other experts will keep a watchful5 eye on the training and help with any problems the raisers may have along the way.
她告诉美联社，其他专家将会密切关注训练，并帮助饲养者解决在训练过程中可能会遇到的任何问题。
Once a solid, loving foundation is in place, puppies must leave their raisers and return to the Guiding Eyes training center for official guide dog training.
一旦有了坚实的、充满爱的基础，小狗们就必须离开饲养者，回到“盲人之眼”训练中心接受正式的导盲犬训练。
Formal training is where the dogs demonstrate whether they will become a guide dog for the blind, a different kind of service dog, or someone's pet.
正式训练是让狗证明它们是否会成为盲人的导盲犬、不同种类的服务犬或某人的宠物。
This means there is almost always a tearful goodbye.
这意味着几乎总是会有催人泪下的告别场景。
Denali is one of four bigger puppies.
德纳利是四只较大的小狗之一。
He was placed aboard a return flight to Guiding Eyes the day the new puppies arrived.
在新的一批幼犬到达的那天，它被送上了去往“盲人之眼”的返程航班。
Tait got tears in her eyes as she watched Puppy Raiser Carolyn Schaefer say goodbye to the yellow Labrador and walk him to the plane.
当泰特看到小狗饲养员卡罗琳·谢弗和这只黄色的拉布拉多犬告别并送它到飞机上时，她的眼睛里含着泪水。
"This is the hard part," Tait said.
泰特说：“这是最难的部分”。
But she said a guide dog has the power to help people.
但她说，导盲犬有帮助人们的能力。
And that softens6 the blow, an expression that means "makes a hard thing easier."
这减轻了打击，这个短语的意思是“让困难的事情变得更容易”。
Even though it can be very hard to leave the puppies, puppy raisers come back over and over.
尽管离开小狗可能非常困难，但小狗饲养者还是会一次又一次地回来。
Tait herself has raised many.
泰特自己也饲养了许多小狗。
She lists them all: Roxanne, Katrina, Velour, Gus, Mystic, Oregon, Kelby, Tad, Eagle, Winnie, and now Kenji, her 11th future guide dog puppy.
她列出了她养的所有狗的名字：洛克珊，卡特里娜，韦鲁尔，格斯，米斯丁，俄勒冈，凯尔比，泰德，老鹰，温妮，和现在的肯吉，她未来的第11只导盲犬。
And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo.
以上是本期《健康和生活方式报道》节目的全部内容。我是安娜·马特奥。
收听单词发音 |
1
siblings
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| n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 ) | |
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2
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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3
nurtured
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| 养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长 | |
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4
nurturing
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| 养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长 | |
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5
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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6
softens
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| （使）变软( soften的第三人称单数 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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