【大紀元9月3日訊】
Larry到李華住的地方，去看她新領養的貓咪小雪球。今天李華會學到兩個常用語：mental和pro.
LL: Snowball is adorable! She’s so little and fluffy!
LH: 就是啊，我的貓咪小雪球是很可愛，可它也夠瘋的。你看看它把我的家具抓成什麼樣了！
LL: Oh, don’t worry. Your cat isn’t mental. All cats love to scratch furniture. You just need to give her a scratching post to scratch instead.
LH: 你是說有辦法讓小雪球不再抓我的家具？噢！謝天謝地。我明天馬上去買你說的那種專門讓貓抓的柱子。不然，我的家具都要完蛋了。對了，你剛才說小雪球不是mental,那是什麼意思啊？
LL: To be “mental” means to be crazy.
LH: Mental就是發瘋，瘋狂的意思。所以你覺得小雪球很正常，一點也不瘋啊？
LL: She’s just being a kitten. You need to get her a scratching post. She also might be doing this because she’s lonely when you’re gone.
LH: Larry, 看不出來你對貓還有一套呢！你說小雪球太孤單了，才會到處抓，你該不是要我再領養一只貓和它做伴吧？你要真是那麼想，那你可真的是mental，瘋了！
LL: Well, maybe you could adopt an older cat that’s a little calmer.
LH: 再領養一只大貓？你出什麼餿主意呀！我絕對應付不了兩只貓。那樣，我會被逼瘋的，成了mental。
LL: Okay, well then try getting her something to scratch. You should cut her claws, too.
LH: 對呀！我前天是要給小雪球剪指甲，可它像瘋子一樣，一直叫，一直抓我，最後還躲到床底下。
LL: Hmmm….maybe you need some professional help. When you take her to the vet to get her shots, then the vet can help you cut her claws.
LH: 我也希望獸醫能幫忙。我真不知道怎麼幫貓剪指甲。不過我怕小雪球到時候發瘋抓人，連獸醫都會受不了。
LL: Don’t worry, I’m sure the vet sees mental cats all day long.
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LH: 小雪球現在好多了。我帶它看過獸醫，也找了幾本有關養貓的書。我現在比較懂得怎麼照顧它了。
LL: See, you’re already becoming a pro. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to handle a whole house full of cats.
LH: 哎喲！一只貓已經夠我頭疼的了，一屋子的貓？甭提了！你剛才說我可以變成pro, 那又是什麼意思？
LL: Pro is short for “professional.” If you say someone is a pro, it means that she is really good at something.
LH: 原來，pro就是專業的意思。嗯，我還不敢說自己在這方面很專業啦！
LL: That’s understandable. You can’t become a pro overnight. It takes time and practice.
LH: 當然嘍！要當專業人員可不是一天一夜的事，需要花很多時間來實踐，積累經驗。
LL: Hey, I’m sure that Yao Ming got frustrated once in a while when he was training to become a pro basketball player.
LH: 姚明在訓練過程中還會煩惱？ 他根本不用練球，他是一個“天生的”籃球好手！
LL: Hey, even naturally talented people have to work hard to become a pro.
LH: 嗯，我從小就夢想成為職業排球運動員。能夠在沙灘上打排球一定是件很過癮的事！
LL: I’m sure it’s not as much fun as it seems. Pro sports players have to work hard and they travel a lot. There’s a lot of pressure on them to perform well.
LH: 是沒有象我們想像的那樣好玩。訓練是很辛苦的，還要到處旅行，壓力好大。可是，這些職業選手能賺大錢。那些美式足球和籃球明星，年薪都上百萬呢！
LL: Don’t you wish you’d get that much money for being a pro at caring for Snowball?
LH: 唉！專業管理寵物有什麼好處？唯一的報酬就是有一只快樂健康的貓！
今天李華學到兩個常用語。第一個是mental,是指發瘋，瘋狂的意思。另一個常用語pro是指專業人員。
(轉載自《美國之音》)(//www.dajiyuan.com)
