http://www.sina.com.cn 2005/05/12 21:11 《Speak 2 Me》
Mistreat your animals and someone might take them from you.
Allen (not his real name) is driving north out of Virginia in the middle of the night, with stolen property in the back of his van. But Allen isn’t a criminal – in fact he normally would never dream of breaking the law.
The “property” he stole is a dog he calls Flash. Allen doesn’t particularly want Flash – in fact, in a few hours he’ll drop him off at a stranger’s house and never see him again. “I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing,” he explains. “The owner was plainly neglecting the dog, but the police wouldn’t do anything about it.”
For over a year, Flash had been tied to a tree in front of someone’s house. “He was sick and malnourished,” says Allen. “More than once I saw [the owner] kick him for no reason at all.” Allen had repeatedly tried to get the owner to take better care of the animal, or to give it away to someone who would. Finally, he took matters into his own hands – in the dead of night, he took Flash off his chain and drove away with him.
Within an hour, Flash had a new license tag and was being treated by a veterinarian who knew better than to ask questions. Pictures of the dog were put up on animal rescue websites, asking for someone to adopt the dog. A couple in New York offered to take the dog, and animal lovers in states along the way agreed to provide transportation.
Nobody can say for sure how many animals like Flash are ‘rescued’ every year – receiving stolen property is a crime, so rescuers tend to stay in the shadows. But a growing number of empty collars attests to their work as more and more animals find their way to loving homes.
Pet Rescue 拯救受虐動物
如果虐待你的動物，別人可能會把它帶走
艾倫﹙非真名﹚半夜駕車向北離開弗吉尼亞州，他的貨車后座還放著贓物。但艾倫并不是罪犯──事實上，他通常從不會想到去做違法的事。
他偷的“贓物”是只狗，他叫它“閃光”。艾倫并不特別想要“閃光”──事實上，幾個小時之后他就會把這只狗放在一個陌生人的家里，再也不會跟它見面。“我沒辦法站在一邊什么都不做。”他解釋道，“那個主人明顯忽視他的狗，但是警察不愿意對此采取行動。”
一年多來，“閃光”一直被綁在某人屋前的樹上。“他生病了，而且營養(yǎng)不良。”艾倫說，“我不止一次看到主人無原無故就踢它。”艾倫反復(fù)嘗試要主人對待那只動物好一點，或者把它送給可以好好對待它的人。最后，他主動去處理了──在深夜里，他把“閃光”的鏈子解下，駕車帶它離開。
一個小時后，“閃光”有了新的牌照，得到了一位不至于蠢到去發(fā)問的獸醫(yī)的治療。這只狗的照片被登在動物救援網(wǎng)站上，請求別人領(lǐng)養(yǎng)它。一對紐約的提出愿意照顧這只狗，沿途幾個州里熱愛動物的人士同意提供交通工具。
沒有人能切確地知道每年有多少像“閃光”這樣的動物被“拯救”──接受贓物是種犯罪行為，所以救援的人往往會躲起來。但是，隨著越來越多的動物找到有愛心的人家，有越來越多的空項圈為愛心人士的工作做證。
[Focus]
take matters into your own hands 主動處理
We can’t wait around any more – we have to take matters into our own hands.
know better than to 不至于笨到去…
You should know better than to drink and drive.
[Vocabulary]
1.property [`prZpXtI] n. 所有物；財產(chǎn)
My property insurance paid to replace my stolen bicycle.
2.criminal [`krImKnT] n. 罪犯
The three criminals escaped in a stolen car.
3.never dream of chk. 從沒想過
We’d never dream of selling this house. It means too much to us.
4.drop s/th or s/b off v. chk. 讓…下車
On your way from dropping the kids off at school, will you stop and buy some milk?
5.neglect [nIg`lAkt] v. 忽視
If you continue to neglect your teeth, you’ll end up losing them.
6.malnourished [mGl`nSIBt] adj. 營養(yǎng)不良的
The lost hiker was found at last – slightly malnourished but otherwise healthy.
7.for no reason at all chk. 完全沒有原因
She started an argument with me for no reason at all.
8.license tag n. chk. 許可牌；車牌
Did you get a look at the car’s license tag before it drove off?
9.veterinarian [ˊvAtKrK`nArIKn] n. 獸醫(yī)
He loves animals, so he wants to grow up to be a veterinarian.
10.adopt [K`dZpt] v. 領(lǐng)養(yǎng)
They couldn’t have children of their own, so they adopted a baby girl.
11.collar [`kZlX] n. 項圈
The collar broke and the dog ran away.
12.attest to v. chk. 為…做證；證明
I’ve known him all my life and can attest to his character.
