读者文摘:宠物长寿指南(3)

Five. Brush Their Teeth. According to Banfield Pet Hospital, 68 percent of cats and 76 percent of dogs have dental disease,

给他们刷牙。根据班菲尔德宠物医院，68%的猫和76%的狗都有牙齿疾病，

and it may be linked to the development of heart and kidney disease.

而且它可能与心脏病和肾病的发展有关。

To avoid that, brush your pet's teeth every day. It's not as daunting¹ as you might think!

为了避免这个，每天给你的宠物刷牙。这没有你想象中的那么难！

Kneel behind your pet and gently lift his or her lips, then brush the teeth and gums with a pet-friendly toothbrush or finger brush and pet toothpaste.

跪在你的宠物后面，轻轻地抬起他或她的嘴唇，然后用宠物友好型牙刷或手指刷和宠物牙膏刷牙和牙龈。

(Dogs especially dislike the taste of mint, and you don't want Fido swallowing fluoridated paste.)

(狗狗尤其不喜欢薄荷的味道，你也不希望他们吞下含氟的牙膏。)

You should also get your pet's teeth professionally cleaned by your vet² at least once a year.

你也应该让你的兽医给宠物做专业口腔清洁，每年至少一次。

Six. Consider Pet Insurance. Think about what kind of care you want to provide your pet.

考虑宠物保险。考虑你想给你的宠物提供什么保险。

Some policies cover only accidents; others cover everything, including wellness care. All have deductibles.

有些保险只涵盖意外事故；其他的则包含所有项目，包括健康保健。所有的都有免赔额。

"If you're a do-it-all pet parent, then insurance will take most of the financial concerns out of your mind," Dr. Lands says.

兰茨医生说，“如果你是个包办一切的宠物家长，那么保险会让你免去大部分财务方面的担心。”

Premiums³ obviously vary, averaging about $10 a month for limited coverage⁴ and $100 a month for comprehensive care, according to petinsurancereview.com.

根据petinsurancereview.com网站的数据，保费显然有所不同，有限的医疗保险平均每月10美元，综合医疗保险每月100美元。

Seven. Protect Against Parasites⁵. "All pets are susceptible⁶ to infectious diseases and parasites," Gale⁷ says.

预防寄生虫。盖尔表示，“所有的宠物都容易感染传染病和寄生虫。”

For example, according to Lilian Wong, DVM, a veterinarian with Banfield Pet Hospital, you'll find heartworm wherever you find mosquitoes.

例如，根据班菲尔德宠物医院兽医莉莲·王的说法，无论你在哪里找到蚊子，你都能找到“犬恶丝虫”。

Check your pet for ticks regularly and ask your vet about preventive tools such as medications and monthly injections.

定期检查宠物身上的扁虱，并向兽医咨询预防措施，如药物治疗和每月注射一次。

Eight. Think About a DNA⁸ Test. It may sound crazy, but pinpointing⁹ your dog's true genetic¹⁰ history can help protect against breed-specific diseases.

考虑做DNA测验。这听起来很疯狂，但是精确的查明你的狗的真实的基因历史可以帮助防止特定品种的疾病。

For example, Labrador retrievers and German shepherds are likely to develop hip¹¹ dysplasia.

比如，拉布拉多寻回犬和德国牧羊犬有可能出现髋关节发育不良。

DNA tests aren't 100 percent accurate—neither are the commercial tests for humans—but they'll help narrow down the possible breeds.

DNA测验并不是100%准确的-对人类的商业测验也是如此-但是他们能帮助减少可能的品种。

For $189, the Embark¹² Dog DNA Test screens for breed traits, ancestry¹³, and risk of more than 160 genetic canine¹⁴ health conditions.

只需189美元，登船犬DNA测试就可以筛查犬种特征、血统和160多种犬类遗传健康状况的风险。

Nine. Help Them Age Gracefully¹⁵. Cats reach senior status when they're 11 to 14 years old; for dogs, it's around 7 or 8.

帮助他们优雅地老去。猫在11岁至14岁时会进入老年；狗则大概是7、8岁进入老年。

If your cat has arthritis¹⁶, consider a litter box with lower walls. Has your pet's vision deteriorated¹⁷?

如果你的猫有关节炎，那请考虑高度低一些的便盆。你的宠物的视力下降了吗？

Place extra lights on stairs and in dark hallways. Finally, put rugs on slick floors and baby gates at the top of stairs to prevent falls.

在楼梯和暗黑的走廊里安装更多的灯。最后，把地毯铺在光滑的地板上，把婴儿门放在楼梯顶部，以防摔倒。

1 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

2 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

3 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

6 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

7 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

8 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

9 pinpointing   

准确地找出或描述( pinpoint的现在分词 )； 为…准确定位

参考例句：

• The difficulty of pinpointing primitive and derived characters remains. 要正确地指出原始性状和次生性状仍然感到困难。
• Pinpointing the true source of power in Japan is a notoriously slippery task. 要准确指出日本真正的权力来源，是一项非常困难的任务。

10 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

11 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。

12 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

13 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

14 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。

15 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

16 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。

17 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。