第47課 狗——人類的朋友
Cats usually like the house in which they live better than they like the people who live in it. They will leave a kind mistress and go back to their old homes. But if we are kind to our dogs, they will love us, and will follow us all over the world.
貓非常重視生活的屋子環(huán)境,相對就不那么重視屋子里的人。貓可能會離開和善的女主人,回到自己原來的住處。不過,我們要是好好地對待自己的狗,狗就會愛我們,跟著我們走到天涯海角。
Dogs were once wild animals. Wild dogs are still found in some countries. They hunt in packs, and feed on the flesh of the animals which they kill.
狗以前曾經(jīng)是野生動物。現(xiàn)在的一些地區(qū)還能找到野狗。野狗成群地狩獵,以殺死的動物為食。
The dog has a long pointed nose or muzzle. If a dog's nose feels cold and wet, this shows that he is quite well; when he is ill, his nose feels hot and dry.
狗的鼻子又長又尖,學名叫“口鼻部”,狗在健康的時候,鼻尖是又濕又冷的;病了,鼻子就變得又熱又干。
Under the loose skin of the dog we can feel his strong backbone, and also the muscles or lumps of flesh by which he moves his legs and all the other parts of his body.
狗的皮膚比較松弛,皮膚下面,我們能摸到強壯的脊椎骨,還有大塊的肌肉,狗就用這些肌肉,活動四條腿,也活動身體的其余部分。
The dog has five toes on each of his fore-feet, but only four toes on each hind-foot. Each toe has a strong nail or claw, with which the dog can scratch and dig in the ground. Perhaps you have seen him digging a hole, and burying in it the bones which he has not finished eating.
狗的每條前腿上都有五個腳趾,但是后腿上只有四個腳趾。每個腳趾都長著一個堅硬的“指甲”或者“爪”,狗可以用爪子抓地、刨地。也許你見過狗在地上挖洞,把沒吃完的骨頭埋在洞里。
The cat has sheaths or cases into which it draws back its claws when they are not wanted. The dog has not. For this reason, a dog's claws are never sharp like those of the cat.
貓在不用爪子的時候,可以把爪子縮回到“爪鞘”或者“爪套”里面,這個部分的學名是“球套”。狗卻沒有這個部分,所以狗的爪子始終不會像貓一樣鋒利。
The dog cannot walk so quietly as the cat; for although his feet have soft pads under the toes, the points of the hard claws strike against the ground, and make a noise when he walks or runs.
狗走路的時候,不像貓那么安靜,因為狗的腳盡管也有軟墊,但也是硬硬的爪尖會碰著地面,狗在走動或者跑動的時候就會發(fā)出聲音。