奇速英语时文阅读：失聪的牧羊犬学习“手语”后又能继续放牧了

作者：未知　时间：2021-06-15 阅读：( )

导读：一只名叫佩吉（Peggy）的诺福克牧羊犬一生的大部分时间都在农场工作，帮助她的主人从一个地方放牧到另一个地方。她对自己的工作很在行，但是在佩吉突然无缘无故地失聪之后，一切都变了。

【本文章内容摘选奇速英语时文阅读原创部分内容（未经授权，不能转载）】

A Norfolk sheepdog named Peggy spent most of her life working on a farm and helping her human herd(放牧) animals from place to place. She was great at her job, which requires keen intelligence and the ability to listen to a shepherd’s signals. But everything changed when Peggy suddenly went deaf for unknown reasons.

Peggy was sent to an animal shelter in 2018. With the shelter full, staffers tried to find a foster(寄养的) family for her to spend the holidays with. Thankfully, animal welfare manager Chloe Shorten stepped up to take her in! Chloe turned out to be the perfect foster mom for Peggy. Not only does she have two other sheepdogs, but her husband Jason is actually a shepherd! “We decided she could stay with us temporarily while we found somewhere more permanent to take her in, but we completely fell in love with her almost immediately and it soon became clear that she wouldn’t be going anywhere!” Chloe said.“She was greasy and out of condition, untrusting, and frightened,” the shelter added.

Peggy spent the first few weeks decompressing from the stress of being forced to leave her home. She had recently given birth to a litter of puppies, so she also needed time to heal and get her bearings.

难句解析

permanent / ˈpɜːmənənt / adj. 永久的
例句：They are now living together on a permanent basis.他们现在永久住在一起。
greasy / ˈɡriːsi / adj. 油腻的，肥胖的
例句：We’d better eat less greasy food now. 我们现在最好少吃些太油腻的食物。
decompress / ˌdiːkəmˈpres / v.（使）减压
例句：Experts say we can’t even count on vacations to help us decompress.专家说，我们甚至不能指望通过度假来帮助自己减压。
adjust / əˈdʒʌst / v. 调整；调节
例句：You’ll quickly adjust yourself to student life. 你将很快适应学生生活。
blossom / ˈblɒsəm / v. 变得更加健康(或自信、成功)
例句：She has visibly blossomed over the last few months. 她近几个月以来身体明显好多了。
despondent / dɪˈspɒndənt / adj. 苦恼的；沮丧的
例句：I feel despondent when my work is rejected. 作品被拒后我感到很沮丧。
She was great at her job, which requires keen intelligence and the ability to listen to a shepherd’s signals.
她对自己的工作很在行，这需要敏锐的智慧和倾听牧羊人信号的能力。which引导非限制性定语从句，修饰her job。
Several months on and Peggy has blossomed into a wonderful dog who is continuing to improve daily.
几个月过去了，佩吉已经成长为一只很棒的狗，每天都在不断地进步。who引导定语从句，修饰先行词a wonderful dog。