Cats and Dogs: Advanced

大家好！今天我们为您播出“美语三级跳”节目“宠物”单元的高级课程。

Tom和Mindy养的狗不听话，今天带它去看 pet psychologist——宠物心理医生。

Tom: Thank you so much for seeing us today, Doctor. Our dog is having some mental problems and needs a professional evaluation.

Psychologist: Of course. I understand that you are very concerned about your dog's mental health. What's the problem?

Tom: Well you see, he is always running around wild, tearing the furniture up and breaking things.

Psychologist: Is that it?

Tom: Well... he also doesn't listen when I give him commands, and he tries to eat the food off of the table. He is really wreaking havoc in our house.

Psychologist: I see ...

Professor Bowman, 你说Tom是不是有点小题大作了？他说的这些“症状”，比如乱跑，撕咬东西，吃桌上东西什么的，不是所有小狗都会做的么？

Professor: Yeah. It probably needs a professional dog trainer more than it needs a pet psychologist.

对了，Tom说the dog is "wreaking havoc." 这是什么意思？

Professor: To wreak havoc means to ruin or damage. For another example, I could say that the really powerful typhoon wreaked havoc on the coastal cities. 原来wreak havoc 就是毁坏，造成很大破坏的意思。

Tom: What do you think, Doctor? Is he depressed? He probably needs to be on some strong anti-depressants, right?

Psychologist: Well, it's perfectly normal for a young puppy to have this kind of temperament. How often do you take him out to get some exercise?

Tom: Not that often. You see, I promised my wife that I would always take him for walks. But I started getting really tired of running after him all the time, so I stopped.

Psychologist: It's pretty important that he gets lots of exercise to use up his energy. He shouldn't be cooped up in the house all day.

我就知道Tom很难做到每天出去遛狗! 瞧，连医生都说，Tom的狗精力过盛。

Professor: Right. The dog shouldn't be cooped up in the house all day. Cooped up? 就是指被关起来么？

Professor: Exactly. You can use it in lots of different ways. For example, it's important you have someone to talk to when you're sad so that you don't keep your emotions cooped up inside yourself. 哦，就是说难过的时候不要把感情憋在心里，应该找人聊聊天，发泄一下。对了，这个心理医生还说到一个词，“temperament”， 这是什么意思？

Professor: The word temperament means character or personality. For example, it's important for doctors to have a calm temperament so they can handle the stress of their job. 哦，就是性情。那even temperament是性格随和，好脾气喽？

Professor: That's right.

Psychologist: Tom, I really wouldn't worry about it. As he grows up he will mellow out.

Tom: I hope so, because I have such high hopes for him! Even though, my parents never loved me and never thought I could achieve anything, I'm going to make sure this dog is a winner!

Psychologist: I see ... so you're treating your dog the way you wish your parents had treated you?

Tom: Exactly! And when we win first prize at all the dog shows, I'll show all those people who made fun of me when I was a kid.

Psychologist: Right. Well Tom, I'm happy to say your dog is totally healthy. You, on the other hand, need some serious professional help!

Professor: So Winnie, what is the psychologist's conclusion? 他说，狗没病，人有病! 需要看心理医生的是Tom自己! 对了，professor, 他说 the dog will "mellow out"，是什么意思？

Professor: Someone is mellow if he is very relaxed, calm and not worried about things. 所以医生是说Tom的狗随着年龄的增加，脾气会越来越好。Tom还说，等他的狗在宠物比赛中得了冠军，他会show all the people who made fun of him as a kid. 他要向这些嘲笑过他的人show什么呢？

P: Winnie, if you prove that you were right and another person is wrong, you can say you "showed" that person. For example, I never thought Andy was very smart. But when he got into Harvard, he really showed me.

噢，就是让别人服气，见识自己的厉害! 原来Tom养狗是这个目的，他还真得去看看心理医生!

A: 原来Tom养狗的初衷是he wants to show all the people who made fun of him as a kid! 诊断出炉：小狗没问题，是Tom该去看心理医生了！

B: Gosh.. uh.. Tom's a pretty weird guy, huh? I think most people want to have pets because they love them, not because they want to show off to other people.

A: 大千世界无奇不有呗！

B: 说的对。Alright, enough about pets. Now let's go learn some tips for climbing up the corporate ladder—today's tip is playing golf!