VOA标准英语2013--Service Dogs to Walk in Inaugural Parade

 

Service Dogs to Walk in Inaugural¹ Parade

Caroline Elgin in The Plains, Virginia, got her service dog Sajen when she was almost 10 years old. Elgin has cerebral² palsy, which has affected³ her speech and motor skills, but not her intelligence. Now 19, she says Sajen makes her happy. 

Sajen knows more than 60 commands and helps Caroline by picking up items and giving them to her, pulling off her socks, and retrieving⁴ his leash⁵. He can also shut a door.

Elgin’s mother, Carina, says Sajen has given her daughter more confidence.

“Since Caroline has had Sajen, her personality has really been able to blossom. She was very shy. But once she got the dog she was proud to have him sitting next to her and more comfortable going into public settings, and it’s just really changed her life completely I think," she said. 

Caroline Elgin says people are more at ease approaching her when Sajen is next to her. 

In nearby Middleburg, Virginia, 11-year-old Bobby Slater is teaching basic commands to Shiloh, in hopes she will become a service dog to help people like Caroline. These dogs are especially bred and trained by Canine⁶ Companions for Independence, or CCI, a non-profit group that provides service dogs to people with disabilities for free. When they are two months old, they are sent to live with volunteer puppy raisers, like Slater. 

He brings Shiloh to school to teach her socialization skills. “When I tell her to sit, she’ll sit halfway⁷ and see if you’ll give her a treat, but I tell her to sit all the way, and then she’ll sit," he said. 

His classmate, Sucie Jones, also helps with Shiloh. 

“I feel like it’s a good experience to have a dog in our classroom, because we all take some time taking turns to take her outside and telling her words to teach her how to do stuff," she said. 

When CCI puppies are a year and a half, they leave the volunteers for advanced training at the organization’s regional centers. Only 40 percent pass and become service dogs. The rest are often adopted by their puppy raisers. 

Bobby Slater’s older sister, Meg Ann, has also trained CCI puppies. “It’s really hard knowing you have to give them up, but it’s also great knowing that they’re going to go and change someone’s life and make their life a lot easier," she said. 

Her brother and Shiloh will be in the inaugural parade. 

It is an experience that will be shared by Caroline Elgin and Sajen, and 135 other people and 50 dogs.

She hopes the thousands of people watching the parade will appreciate Canine Companions for Independence, and some may even be able to get a best friend of their own. 

1 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

2 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 retrieving   

n.检索（过程），取还v.取回( retrieve的现在分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• Ignoring all, he searches the ground carefully for any cigarette-end worth retrieving. 没管打锣的说了什么，他留神的在地上找，看有没有值得拾起来的烟头儿。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Retrieving the nodules from these great depths is no easy task. 从这样的海底深渊中取回结核可不是容易的事情。 来自辞典例句

5 leash   

n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住

参考例句：

• I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳，但被狗挡住了路。
• The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带，想挣脱开去。

6 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。

7 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。