You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats his dogs.
For many years, I enjoyed living with my dogs, Tilly and Chance. Their (41) was nearly enough to keep my loneliness at bay. Nearly. Last year, I started dating, but with (42) . When I first dated Steve, I (43) he had a dog, Molly, and a cat, Flora. While I was (44) that he was an animal lover, I (45) that three dogs were perhaps too many, and my dogs might attack (46) , the cat.
The next week we (47) our dogs together. It was a hot day. When we paused to catch our (48) , Steve got down on one knee. Was he proposing( 求婚 )? I liked him too, but so (49) ? He poured water from a bottle into his hand and offered it to my dogs. (50) , I began to fall for him.
We (51) to date, though neither of us brought up the future. And then in late November, Tilly had an operation on her (52) . I took the dogs out four times a day, and I worried that Tilly (53) climbing the stairs could reopen the wound. Then Steve (54) his house. All worked (55) . The three dogs formed a pack that, with coaching, (56) Flora's space; Steve and I formed a good team (57) for Tilly. We made good housemates.
A year later, much to my (58) , this man produced a little box with a ring and proposed to me. He did not kneel( 跪 )down, nor did I (59) him to. That's only for giving (60) to the dogs that brought us together.
41. A. ownership B. membership C. companionship D. leadership
42. A. reservations B. expectations C. confidence D. prejudice
43. A. feared B. doubted C. hoped D. learned
44. A. unsatisfied B. amused C. terrified D. thrilled
45. A. predicted B. worried C. regretted D. insisted
46. A. Flora B. Chance C. Molly D. Tilly
47. A. tied B. walked C. bathed D. fed
48. A. breath B. balance C. attention D. imagination
49. A. calm B. sure C. soon D. real
50. A. By the way B. In that case C. By all means D. In that moment
51. A. continued B. decided C. intended D. pretended
52. A. eye B. tail C. ear D. leg
53. A. secretly B. constantly C. eventually D. unwillingly
54. A. left B. sold C. suggested D. searched
55. A. late B. hard C. fine D. free
56. A. emptied B. respected C. occupied D. discovered
57. A. looking B. caring C. waiting D. calling
58. A. delight B. credit C. interest D. disadvantage
59. A. beg B. trust C. need D. aid
60. A. toys B. awards C. food D. water
1. treat v. 对待
2. ownership n. 所有权
3. membership n. 会员
4. companionship n. 陪伴
5. leadership n. 领导
6. date v. / n. 约会
7. reservation ★ n. 保留
例: She is an excellent worker and I commend her to you without reservation . 她工作出色,我毫无保留地把她推荐给你。
8. expectation n. 期望
9. confidence n. 信心
10. prejudice n. 偏见
11. unsatisfied adj. 不满意的
12. amused adj. 逗笑的
13. terrified adj. 害怕的
14. thrilled adj. 非常兴奋的
15. tie v. 系
16. walk ★ v. 遛
例: My father walks our dogs every day. 我父亲每天遛狗。
17. bathe v. 给…洗澡
18. feed v. 喂养
19. pause v. 暂停;停顿
20. knee n. 膝盖
21. pour v. 倒
22. intend v. 打算
23. pretend v. 假装
24. operation n. 手术
25. secretly adv. 秘密地
26. constantly adv. 不断地
27. eventually adv. 最终
28. unwillingly adv. 不情愿地
29. coach ★ v. 训练
例: He has coached Olympic rowers and helped them to overcome race anxiety using his technique. 他训练过奥运会划船手,并用他的方法帮助他们克服了比赛时的焦虑。
30. empty ★ v. 清空
例: She seized her bowl and emptied it eagerly, as if the stuff in it was the most wonderful thing she had ever tasted. 她抓起碗,迫不及待地把它吃完了,仿佛里面的东西是她尝过的最好吃的东西。
31. occupy ★ v. 占据; 使忙于
例: I desperately needed something to occupy me during those long, lonely nights. 在那些漫长又孤独的夜晚,我拼命想找点事做。
32. delight n. 高兴
33. credit n. 信用
34. disadvantage n. 缺点
35. beg v. 乞求
1. catch one's breath 喘口气
例: Recently we are so busy that there's not a minute to catch our breath , let alone relax or meditate. 我们最近太忙了,连停下来喘口气的时间都没有,更别提放松或思考一下了。
2. get down 俯身
例: She got down on her hands and knees on the floor. 她双手撑地跪在地上。
3. fall for sb. 爱上某人
例: He fell for the girl the moment he saw her. 他对那个女孩一见钟情。
4. by the way 顺便说一句
例: By the way , this will probably keep happening each time you travel internationally. 顺便说一下,在你每次出国旅行时这可能会不断发生。
5. in that case 那样的话
例: In that case , how should I respond? 在那种情况下,我该如何回应?
6. by all means 务必
例: If reading sends you to sleep, by all means use this method. 如果阅读令你犯困,就务必用这种方法!
7. in that moment 在那一刻
例: In that moment , can you start to look at what you do have? 在那一刻,你能否开始审视你已拥有的一切?
8. bring up 提出;养育
例: He brought up a subject rarely raised during the course of this campaign. 他提出了一个在这次运动中很少被提及的话题。
9. to one's delight 使某人高兴的是
例: To my delight , I was chosen from hundreds of applicants to attend the opening ceremony. 令我高兴的是,我从数百名申请者中被选出来,去参加开幕式。
10. to one's credit ★ 某人值得称赞的是
例: She had managed to pull herself together and, to her credit , continued to look upon life as a positive experience. 她已经努力振作起来,而且值得称赞的是,她仍然把生活当作是积极乐观的体验。
11. to one's disadvantage ★ 对某人不利的是
例: Her accent will be very much to her disadvantage if she wants to be an actress. 她要是想当演员,她的口音是个很大的不利条件。
你可以从一个人对待他的狗的方式了解他很多。
多年来,我喜欢和我的狗蒂莉和钱思住在一起。他们的 (41) 陪伴 几乎足以不让我感到孤独。几乎就是如此。去年,我开始约会,但有所 (42) 保留 。当我第一次和史蒂夫约会时,我 (43) 得知 他有一条狗莫莉和一只猫弗洛拉。虽然我很 (44) 高兴 他是一名动物爱好者,但我 (45) 担心 三条狗可能太多了,而且我的狗可能会攻击 (46) 弗洛拉 ,那只猫 。
第二周,我们一起 (47) 遛 狗 。那天很热。我们停下来喘口 (48) 气 时 ,史蒂夫单膝跪下了。他要求婚吗?我也喜欢他,但是这么 (49) 快 吗 ?他把瓶子里的水倒在手里,并喂给我的狗喝。(50) 就在那一刻 ,我开始爱上他。
我们 (51) 继续 约会,虽然我们都没有提到未来。然后在11月下旬,蒂莉的 (52) 腿 做了一次手术。我一天带狗出去四次,我担心蒂莉 (53) 不停地 爬楼梯会让伤口再次开裂。然后史蒂夫 (54) 推荐 了他的家。一切都很 (55) 顺利 。三条狗组成了一个团队,而且经过训导,它们(56) 尊重 弗洛拉的空间;史蒂夫和我组成了一个 (57) 照顾 蒂莉的好团队。我们成为很好的室友。
一年后,令我非常 (58) 高兴 的是,这个男人拿出一个带戒指的小盒子向我求婚。他没有跪下,我也不 (59) 需要 他跪下。他跪下只是给让我们走到一起的狗喂 (60) 水 。