英语PK台 第884期: 养猪趣事·养个精致的小居居

 Dialogue 1

Jingjing: Welcome back to Beijing, Mark. How was your trip?

京晶：欢迎回京，马克。旅途可好？

Mark: It was nice to get away for a few days. But I've been back for almost a week now.

马克：出去几天挺好的。不过我已经回来快一周了。

Jingjing: Wow, I just got back the day before yesterday. Anything new?

京晶：哇，我可是前天才回来的。有什么新鲜事？

Mark: Yeah, actually. I got a house pet. Can you guess what it is?

马克：还真有。我弄了一只家养小宠物，能猜到是什么吗？

Jingjing: A dog? A cat?

京晶：狗子？猫咪？

Mark: Nope. Think about what year it is.

马克：不是哦。想想今年是什么年头。

Jingjing: Huh? Don't tell me you got a pig.

京晶：啊？别跟我说是只猪哦。

Mark: Bingo! A friend of mine wanted me to take care of her piglet while she went on a long trip. It turns out the “teacup pig” she got is going to grow to be at least 50kg. So, I talked her into letting me keep it.

马克：猜对喽！有个朋友要我在她长途旅行这段时间帮忙照看她的小猪，结果呢，她这只“茶杯猪”要长到至少五十公斤。所以，我让她给我养。

Jingjing: Wow. Is it still pretty young?

京晶：哇哦，那它还是挺小的吗？

Mark: It drinks milk from a bottle, but we're getting ready to switch to solid food.

马克：它喝瓶装奶，但我们已经准备要换成固体食物了。

Jingjing: I heard they like to eat slop.

京晶：我听说它们喜欢吃泔水。

Mark: Yeah. We got some huge sacks of wheat and barley 1. We're going to soak 1 or 2 kg in boiling water overnight and then give it to her in the morning.

马克：我们准备了巨大袋子的小麦和大麦。我们要取个一两公斤在滚水里泡一晚，然后早上给她吃。

Jingjing: Oh, so it's a sow then.

京晶：噢，所以她是只母猪。

Mark: Yep, and she's pretty healthy. We turned the whole balcony into a pen. She's still getting used to it.

马克：是呢，她很健康。我们把整个阳台弄成了一个圈，她还在适应中。

Jingjing: Is it pretty dirty?

京晶：到处会很脏吗？

Mark: Naw. When I come back home, I don't smell it. We set up a cat litter box in the corner with a platform around it. That's her pen. We just need to get a trough of some sort, for when she gets big enough to tip over her water bowl.

马克：并没有。我平时回家是，什么也闻不到。我们在墙角放了一个猫砂盆，周围是一圈平台，那就是她的小圈，我们只需要弄一个饲料槽，她长大以后就该踢翻水碗了。

Jingjing: Well, it sounds like you've made a pretty good home for her. Let me know how she grows.

京晶：嗯，听上去你已经给她弄了一个很舒服的家了。到时候跟我说说她的成长情况啊。



New words : 习语短语

piglet 小猪，乳猪

a young pig

teacup pig 茶杯猪

a specially 2 bred pig that grows to be less than half the size of a normal adult

slop 剩菜剩饭的混合物，泔水

mixed food with liquid

sow 母猪

a female pig

trough 饲料槽

a long and heavy dish, from which animals like cows and horses eat

Dialogue 2

Jingjing: Hi again, Mark. How's it going with your pet pig?

京晶：嗨，又来了，马克，你的小猪猪怎么样了？

Mark: I have two now. We adopted another because we didn't want the first one getting bored and lonely during the day.

马克：我现在有两只了。我们又收养了一只因为不想第一只白天在家孤单又无聊。

Jingjing: Where did you get the second one?

京晶：第二只哪儿来的？

Mark: We went to a farm and got pick of the litter. I think the younger one will be a good influence. It's also a female, and was really calm with the mother.

马克：我们去了一家农场，挑崽儿。我想小的那只会表现更好，也是母的，和猪妈妈在一起时很乖。

Jingjing: Was your first pig getting into stuff and wrecking 3 your house?

京晶：你家第一只小猪迷上什么物品，开始拆家了吗？

Mark: She was starting to—and squealing 4 late at night. I've trained animals before, and know not to reward negative behavior.

马克：她已经有些趋势了——晚上会叫唤。我以前训练过动物，知道不奖励（动物的）坏行为。

Jingjing: Hmm. Good luck. Do you have pictures?

京晶：嗯，那祝你好运。有照片吗？

Mark: Yeah. The pink one's Princess, the first one we got.

马克：粉色这张就是公主，我家第一只。

Jingjing: Oh, the other one's a black pig. Will it grow to full size?

京晶：噢，另一只是黑猪呢，会长大吗？

Mark: Well, the mother was about 150kg. But Isabelle here was the runt of the litter. So, she won't get so big.

马克：他妈妈300斤左右吧。但伊莎贝拉是一窝崽里最瘦弱的，所以她长不了那么大。

Jingjing: It'll be interesting to see Isabelle outgrow 5 her older sister, Princess.

京晶：看着伊莎贝拉长过她的公主姐姐才有趣呢。

Mark: That might happen. I already got separate troughs and made a pen for each of them at opposite ends of my balcony.

马克：有可能。我已经在阳台两头给它们各自准备了食槽和小圈。

Jingjing: Do you take them out for walks?

京晶：你带他们出去散步吗？

Mark: At least once a day. They've gotten used to harnesses.

马克：每天至少一次。他们已经习惯了戴上牵引绳。

Jingjing: I bet they get tons of attention.

京晶：我打赌回头率超高。

Mark: They sure do, especially from kids.

马克：当然啦，尤其小朋友投来的目光。

Jingjing: Well, they're the fifth smartest animal in the world. So, you'll probably be happy with them.

京晶：他们可是世界上第五聪明的动物。所以，你应该和他们相处挺愉快的。



New words : 习语短语

pick of the litter 挑崽儿

getting to choose one from 8-10 newborn animals, when they are still with their mother

getting into stuff 宠物的一些室内活动，俗称拆屋的开始

opening doors and packages that are not meant for a pet

squeal 猪的尖叫声

the noise a pig makes

runt 一窝中最弱小的幼崽儿

an abnormally small pig, less massive than its siblings

harness 保护带，挽具套

a kind of collar that holds the chest of an animal also, to attach a leas