◎By Kate Dicamillo
从小生长在南方小镇的女孩欧宝和不苟言笑的父亲一同搬到了寒冷的北方。一个偶然的机会,欧宝从超市领回了一只闯了祸的流浪狗,取名温迪克。这只狗虽然又丑又脏,但它有一个神奇的本领就是会对人咧嘴笑。
“Come on, Winn-Dixie,”I said to the dog. I started walking and he followed along behind me as I went out of the produce department and down the1)cereal2)aisle and past all the3)cashiers and out the door.
Once we were safe outside, I checked him over real careful and he didn't look that good. He was big, but skinny; you could see his4)ribs. And there were bald5)patches all over him, places where he didn’t have any fur at all. Mostly, he looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.
1) cereal [ˈsɪəriəl] n.麦片
2) aisle [aɪl] n.走廊;过道
3) cashier [kæˈʃɪə] n.收银台
4) rib [rɪb] n.肋骨
5) patch [ˈpætʃ] n.斑点
“You’re a mess,” I told him. “I bet you don't belong to anybody.” He smiled at me. He did that thing again, where he pulled back his lips and showed me his teeth. He smiled so big that it made him sneeze. It was like he was saying, “I know I’m a mess. Isn't it funny?”
It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.
“走吧!温迪克。”我对着狗说。它跟着我走过蔬菜区,穿过卖希瑞尔玉米片的过道,又经过所有的收银台,走出了大门。
等我们稳稳当当地站在超市外,我又仔细打量起这只狗,它好像并没有刚才那么可爱。它虽然很大,可是很瘦,瘦得连肋骨都看得到。身上还长着瘌痢。大致说来,它看起来就像一块淋了雨的咖啡色地毯。
“你很邋遢。”我跟它讲,“我猜你一定是只流浪狗。”它总是龇牙咧嘴地冲着我笑,笑到都要打喷嚏了,那个样子好像在说:“我知道我很邋遢,可是我很好玩,不是吗?”
要知道,要想不爱上一只有幽默感的狗是很难的。
词组加油站
check over 检查
belong to 属于
pull back 拉回
fall in love with 爱上