读者文摘:我在寒冷冬日救了一条狗

UPS driver Ryan Arens was making his rounds near a pond in Bozeman, Montana, when he heard an unearthly sound.

联合包裹的司机瑞恩·阿伦斯在蒙大拿州波兹曼的一个池塘附近送货时，听到了一个奇怪的声音。

“Like a cry for help,” he told thedodo.com, a website for animal lovers.

他对动物爱好者网站thedodo.com说：“那声音就像在呼救。”

It was December 2018, and about 15 feet from the frozen banks was the source of that cry—

那是2018年12月的一天，哭叫声是从距冰封的河岸15英尺的地方传来的。

a half-submerged brown-and-white wirehaired hound, struggling to cling to a thin layer of ice.

一只半浸在水里的棕白色猎犬，挣扎着抓住一层薄薄的冰面。

How she got there no one knows, but an elderly man was already on the scene, determined¹ to save her.

没人知道她是怎么到那里的，但是一位老者已经过去，决定要救她。

He’d entered the pond in a rowboat and was hacking² away at the ice with a rock to create a path to the dog.

他是乘小船进入池塘的，正在用一块石头凿开冰面，为狗开辟一条路。

It was slow going, and Arens, 44, thought he stood a better chance.

老者速度很慢，44岁的阿伦斯觉得自己有更大的机会。

“Animals are my weakness,” he told the Great Falls Tribune,

他告诉《大瀑布论坛报》，“动物们是我的弱点。”

explaining why he stripped down to his boxers³ and socks, even though the temperature was in the 30s, and commandeered the rowboat.

所以，即使当时气温只有零下30多摄氏度，他还是脱下衣服，只穿平角裤和袜子，征用了小船。

His heart thumping⁴, Arens slid closer to the dog and used the other man’s rock to smash away at the ice.

阿伦斯的心怦怦直跳，他滑行到狗身边，用另一个人的石头砸开冰面。

He gave one strong heave too many and slipped off the boat, crashing into 16 feet of frigid⁵ water.

他用力一甩，就滑下了船，撞进了16英尺深的冰冷的水中。

He resurfaced in time to see the dog going under.

他重新浮出水面时，正好看见狗沉了下去。

Using nervous energy to keep warm, he swam about five feet toward her, grabbed hold of her collar, and pulled her to the ice.

阿伦斯用紧张的能量取暖，向她游了大约五英尺，抓住她的项圈，把她拉到冰上。

He then boosted the dog into the boat and slid it back to the shore,

然后他把狗抬到船上，把船滑回岸边，

where anxious bystanders carried the dog to the home of the rowboat owner, a retired⁶ veterinarian.

焦急的旁观者把狗带到船主的家里，他是一名退休的兽医。

Once in the house himself, Arens jumped into a warm shower with the dog until they both defrosted.

一进屋，阿伦斯就和狗一起洗了个热水澡，直到解了冻。

A few more minutes in the pond, the vet⁷ told Arens, and she would have likely suffered cardiac arrest.

兽医告诉阿伦斯，在池塘里再待几分钟，她可能就会心脏骤停。

The next day, Arens was back working the same neighborhood when the dog’s owner came over to thank him for saving Sadie.

第二天，阿伦斯又回到原来的社区工作，这时狗的主人过来感谢他救了赛迪。

“Would you like to meet her?” he asked. He opened the door to his pickup⁸, and Sadie bolted out.

“你想见见她吗？””他问道。他打开他的小货车的门，赛迪冲了出来。

She made a beeline for Arens, leaping on him and bathing him in wet kisses.

她径直向阿伦斯跑去，跳到他身上，用湿吻把他吻得浑身湿透。

That special delivery, says Arens, “was the highlight of my UPS career.”

阿伦斯说，那次特别的快递“是我在UPS工作的高光时刻。”

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

3 boxers   

n.拳击短裤；（尤指职业）拳击手( boxer的名词复数 )；拳师狗

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boxers slugged it out to the finish. 两名拳击手最后决出了胜负。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 thumping   

adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持

参考例句：

• Her heart was thumping with emotion. 她激动得心怦怦直跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was thumping the keys of the piano. 他用力弹钢琴。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 frigid   

adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的

参考例句：

• The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨，他在下面呆不了太长时间。
• She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 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。

8 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。