Some will protest that in a world with so much human suffering it is something between eccentric and obscene to mourn a dog. I think not. After all it is perfectly normal indeed deeply human to be moved when nature presents us with a vision of great beauty. Should we not be moved when it produces a vision—a creature—of the purest sweetness?
据我所知，狗狗们召开过一次大会。哦，或许是在两万年前。那是一次大型集会——一次各地代表都参加的国际性会议。就是在那次会议上，它们提出了一项决议：人类是追求上进的物种，狗应与他们同甘苦共患难。很显然，这一决议并未获得全票通过。狼和野狗立即表示反对并愤然离去。
猫的反应更为消极。它们得知这一消息后，便召开了紧急内部会议，当然地点是巴黎——它们痛斥狗屈服于人类强权的懦弱行为。（它们发表的声明——《猫的状况》在书店仍可以看到。）必须承认，猫干得不错。它们用诱骗的手段，让人类喂养它们，因此，不至挨饿，又保持目中无人的高贵派头，真是个绝招儿。忠厚老实的狗签署并发表了那项声明，人狗之间的美好友谊就这样开始了。
必须得承认，我最初并没有对狗产生好感。我出生在一个不喜欢宠物的家里。狗在我们家中并不重要。父亲对宠物毫无兴趣，他并不憎恶宠物，只是认为它们是个累赘。
我的父母对我们养宠物确实迁就了许多。我养过一只乌龟，弟弟养过一只长尾鹦鹉。但两者都有不幸的结局。我的龟掉到了一个散热器的后面，等发现时已经晚了。而那只鹦鹉，上帝保佑他，一次飞出窗外，自此不见踪影。在管理出现如此糟糕的状况后，我们就没敢提想养狗的事。
倒是我的妻子罗宾让我开始对狗的神奇有所了解。她是澳大利亚人。而澳大利亚这个国家正如比尔·布莱森在《太阳烧焦的乡村》中热情歌颂的那样，在这种地方，你所珍重的是动物王国里的儒雅，而那些动物都不及狗儒雅。
罗宾开始领着我们慢慢地了解狗。儿子6岁时，她弄回一只叫雨果的博德牧羊犬。她知道我会喜欢的，因为这种狗是世界上最聪明的狗。首先，我们在后院打垒球时，雨果能给我们打外场；其次，他会无懈可击地把守前门；再次，他是灵通的气象员，每次雷暴来临前他都会长吠一声。
当我们的儿子丹尼尔10岁时，他想要只属于自己的狗。我不赞成，用防核扩散研讨会上的论点加以驳斥，但毫无作用。只要一声哀求“求您了，爸爸”，我便彻底投降了。罗宾去了一趟弗吉尼亚的温切斯特，发现了一窝拉布拉多小黑狗，就这样，她将切斯特带回了家。
切斯特的行为就是精神病学家所说的那种绝对的爱的表现。更确切地说是无所顾忌的爱。只要他看到你一走进门，便会高兴地把你撞倒，因此，送货人学会了把东西放到我们家门口。
在某些方面——比如获得某个博士学位什么的——我对切斯特没有太高的要求。当我要到家的时候，我猜到了雨果会在那里读报纸，而不是切斯特，切斯特会用自己的方式使劲儿地从狭窄的拉门中探出头来，半截身子卡在里边，然后用真诚而茫然的眼神盯着我看。我认为他或许从不知道他的后半截身子实际是和前半截相连的。
切斯特将爱自然而然地施予他人，就如他的呼吸一样，不假思索。他让我想起了那个很久以前就订立的人狗之间的契约。喜欢猫的人和讨厌宠物的人对这种恋狗行为不屑一顾，可我情不自禁。切斯特总是在你的脚下或手边，期待着你的拍打和爱抚，期待着你与他嬉闹和交谈。他那个漂亮结实的脑袋，奇妙肥硕的身段，那男中音式的狗吠，传遍了房间和心间的每个角落。
就在上个月，刚满8岁的他就猝然而去了。我们曾预料的那漫长的、流着口水的、懒散的衰老过程不会有了。在得知这一噩耗时，一位常遭切斯特发自内心的爱弹袭击的年轻朋友悲痛地说：“他是我见过的最可爱的动物，也是我见过的唯一一只亲吻猫的狗。”
有些人会持反对意见，在这个充斥着人类痛苦的世界上，因一只狗而悲伤，是近乎怪癖和可憎的行为。我却不以为然。毕竟，这是人性的表现，深深地为自然界所呈现给我们的美景而感动是完全正常的事。当它呈现给我们一个最可爱的景象——一个动物时，难道我们不该为之感动吗？
拉布拉多猎犬【Labrador Retriever】
强健、柔顺、功能全面，位居全世界最受欢迎犬种排行榜榜首。
产 地：加拿大
概 述：拉布拉多猎犬体格强健、服从指挥、容易训练；性情温顺、聪明伶俐、善解人意，对主人重视，很讨人喜欢，既是功能全面的猎犬，也是最受欢迎、最值得信赖的家庭犬。
unanimous [ju(:)' n鎛ims] adj. 全体一致的；一致同意的
The people are unanimous in their condemnation.
人们一致表示谴责。
seminar [' semin:] n. (大学的)研究班；研讨会
World environment development series seminar and so on many
unitactivities are successful.
世界环境发展系列研讨会等多个单元的活动获得成功。
genuine [' denjuin] adj. 真正的；真实的；诚恳的
Her smile looked genuine.
她的笑容看上去很真诚。
mourn [m:n] v. 哀悼；忧伤；服丧
The son mourn for the dead mother.
儿子为已死的母亲感到悲痛。
人类是追求上进的物种，狗应与他们同甘苦共患难。
切斯特将爱自然而然地施予他人，就如他的呼吸一样，不假思索。
在这个充斥着人类痛苦的世界上，因一只狗而悲伤，是近乎怪癖和可憎的行为。
She knew that would appeal to me because the Border collie is the smartest species on the planet.
appeal to：向……呼吁；向……请求；恳求
... I don' t make any great claims for Chester.
make... claim for：对（赔偿等）提出要求
他有一个温暖的家
Home
佚名 / Anonymous
A freezing downpour washed che black asphalt street in front of the small town bar. I sat gazing into the watery darkness, alone as usual. Across the rain-drenched roadway was the town park:five acres of grass, giant elm trces and, tonight, an ankle-deep covering of cold water.
I had been in that battered old pub for half an hour, quietly nursing a drink, when my thoughtful stare finally focused on a medium-sized lump in a grassy puddle a hundred feet away. For another ten minutes, I looked out through the tear-streaked windowpane trying to decide if the lump was an animal or just a wet and inanimate something.
The night before, a German shepherd looking mongrel had come into the bar begging for potato chips. He was mangy and starving and just the size of the lump in question. Why would a dog lie in a cold puddle in the freezing rain? I asked myself. The answer was simple: either it wasn' t a dog, or if it was, he was too weak to get up.
The shrapnel wound in my right shoulder ached all the way down to my fingers. I didn' t want to go out in that storm. Hey, it wasn' t my dog, it wasn' t anybody' s dog. It was just a stray on a cold night in the rain, a lonely drifter. So was I, I thought, as I tossed down what was left of my drink and headed out the door.
He was lying in three inches of water. When I touched him, he didn' t move. I thought he was dead. I put my hands around his chest and hoisted him to his feet. He stood unsteadily in the puddle, his head hung like a weight at the end of his neck. Half his body was covered with mange. His floppy ears were just hairless pieces of flesh dotted with open sores.
"Come on." I said, hoping I wouldn' t have to carry his infected carcass to shelter. His tail wagged once and he plodded weakly after me. I led him to an alcove next to the bar, where he lay on the cold cement and closed his eyes.