英文短篇故事（纽约）98 A Killer House Cat

 　　A dead bird was on the kitchen floor. Sam had left a "present" again. Sam was their black cat. He hunted at night. He was a good hunter. He brought home birds and lizards². Usually he left them outside on the patio³. Sometimes he brought them into the house. Ted¹ didn't mind. He was proud of his hunter cat. But Molly minded. "This cat is killing⁴ innocent animals," she told Ted. He said, "But that's the nature of cats. They're born killers⁵." Molly didn't care. She told Ted to stop the killing. "These animals are wild," she said. "They might have diseases. Caroline might catch a disease from one of these dead animals. Do something, please." Caroline was their young daughter. Ted didn't want to lock Sam in the house at night. That would be cruel. There was only one thing to do. Ted tied a bell around Sam's neck.

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 lizards   

n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nothing lives in Pompeii except crickets and beetles and lizards. 在庞培城里除了蟋蟀、甲壳虫和蜥蜴外，没有别的生物。 来自辞典例句
• Can lizards reproduce their tails? 蜥蜴的尾巴断了以后能再生吗？ 来自辞典例句

3 patio   

n.庭院，平台

参考例句：

• Suddenly, the thought of my beautiful patio came to mind. I can be quiet out there,I thought.我又忽然想到家里漂亮的院子，我能够在这里宁静地呆会。
• They had a barbecue on their patio on Sunday.星期天他们在院子里进行烧烤。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。