in search of：寻找
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2. ... if he happened to be around when the dinner bell rang.
happen to be：恰巧是，碰巧是
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患难见真情
A Friend in Need Is a Friend Indeed
佚名 / Anonymous
Brownie and Spotty were neighbor dogs who met every day to play together. Like pairs of dogs you can find in most any neighborhood， these two loved each other and played together so often that they had worn a path through the grass of the field between their respective houses.
One evening， Brownie’s family noticed that Brownie hadn’t returned home. They went looking for him with no success. Brownie didn’t show up the next day， and， despite their efforts to find him， by the next week he was still missing.
Curiously， Spotty showed up at Brownie’s house alone. Barking， whining and generally pestering Brownie’s human family. Busy with their own lives， they just ignored the nervous little neighbor dog.
Finally， one morning Spotty refused to take“no” for an answer. Ted，Brownie’s owner， was steadily harassed by the furious， adamant little dog. Spotty followed Ted about， barking insistently， then darting toward a nearby empty lot and back， as if to say， “Follow me！ It’s urgent！”
Eventually， Ted followed the frantic Spotty across the empty lot as Spotty paused to race back and bark encouragingly. The little dog led the man under a tree， past clumps of trees， to a desolate spot， a half mile from the house. There Ted found his beloved Brownie alive， one of his hind legs crushed in a steel leg hold trap. Horrified， Ted now wished he’d taken Spotty’s earlier appeals seriously. Then Ted noticed something quite remarkable.
Spotty had done more than simply led Brownie’s human owner to his trapped friend. In a circle around the injured dog， Ted found an array of dog food and table scraps—which were later identified as the remains of every meal Spotty had been fed that week！
Spotty had been visiting Brownie regularly， in a single-minded quest to keep his friend alive by sacrificing his own comfort. Spotty had evidently stayed with Brownie to protect him from predators， snuggling with him at night to keep him warm and nuzzling him to keep his spirits up.
Brownie’s leg was treated by a veterinarian and he recovered. For many years thereafter， the two families watched the faithful friends frolicing and chasing each other down that well-worn path between their houses.
布朗尼和斯波蒂是邻居，它们每天都会在一起玩耍。与几乎能在任何邻里间找到的成对的狗一样，它们互相倾慕，常在一起，以至于两家之间的草地上已经被它们踏出了一条小路。
一天傍晚，布朗尼的主人发现它没有回家，找了一番也没找到。第二天，依然没有见到布朗尼。尽管人们还在努力寻找，可直到第二周，还是没有找到。
让人不解的是，斯波蒂独自跑到布朗尼的主人家，吠叫、哀嚎，还总是缠着布朗尼的主人们，但他们忙于自己的事，根本不理会邻居家这只精神有点儿问题的小狗。
一天早上，斯波蒂再也不满意被拒绝。这只暴怒的、不依不饶的小狗围着布朗尼的主人特德叫个不停。斯波蒂死死跟着特德，汪汪地叫着，然后冲到近处的空地上，又跑回来，似乎在说：“跟我来！有情况！”
最后，特德跟着这只发疯似的小狗穿过空地，小狗停步奔回，吼叫着，催特德快点儿。他领着特德从一棵树下穿过，经过树丛，最后在离房子半英里远的一处荒地停了下来。在那里，特德发现他心爱的布朗尼还活着，只是一条后腿被一个钢制捕捉器夹着。特德很吃惊，为当初没有认真对待斯波蒂的求助而感到后悔。随后，他看到了惊人的一幕。
斯波蒂不仅把布朗尼的主人带到了它被困的朋友跟前，而且在受伤的布朗尼的身旁，特德还发现了一圈狗食和餐桌上的残羹剩饭——后来证实那是那个星期他们每餐喂斯波蒂吃剩下的食物！
斯波蒂一直定时来看望布朗尼，下决心要让它的朋友活下去，为了朋友，它不辞劳苦。显然，斯波蒂陪伴着布朗尼，以免其他捕食动物侵袭它，夜里偎依着它，把温暖送给它，用鼻子拱它使它振作精神。
兽医把布朗尼的腿伤治好了。此后多年中，两家邻居不时会看到这对忠实的朋友嬉戏玩耍，在两家房子之间的小路上你追我赶。
心灵小语
在布朗尼被困的日子里，斯波蒂陪伴着它，以免其他动物侵袭它，夜里偎依着它，把温暖送给它，用鼻子拱它使它振作精神。患难见真情。当你需要他，他就在身边，不离不弃，这才是真正的朋友。
记忆填空
1. One evening， Brownie’s family noticed that Brownie hadn’t home. They went looking for him with success. Brownie didn’t show up the next day， and， despite their efforts to him， by the next week he was still missing.
2. Horrified， Ted now wished he’d Spotty’s earlier appeals seriously. Then Ted noticed quite remarkable.
3. Spotty had stayed with Brownie to protect him from predators， snuggling with him at to keep him warm and nuzzling him to keep his spirits .
佳句翻译
1. 这只暴怒的、不依不饶的小狗围着布朗尼的主人特德叫个不停。
译
2. 斯波蒂一直定时来看望布朗尼。
译
3. 此后多年中，两家邻居不时会看到这对忠实的朋友嬉戏玩耍。
译
短语应用
1. Finally， one morning Spotty refused to take“ no”for an answer.
refuse to：拒绝做某事
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2. ... snuggling with him at night to keep him warm and nuzzling him to keep his spirits up.
keep up：保持；继续；维持；跟上（时代）
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老农夫的卡车
That Old Black Dog
基姆·格尔登 / Jim Golden
Once upon a time in my life， way up on this great big hill there lived this really old farmer. That old man didn’t have any cows， horses， pigs or chickens， in fact， that old famer didn’t even have an old farm wife to help take care of him. Everyone around town knew that this old guy was a very mean person. He was so mean that he could hardly wait for the rain to stop so he could run outside and chase all the birds away who were coming out to sing and eat grain on his farm. That is just how mean this old farmer really was.
“Ain’t gonna shoot you right here because it’s too big a mess， ” said the farmer， as he lowered his shot gun. Then he reached down and grabbed the scared old female dog by the back of the neck and drug her on her side all the way over to his pick-up truck. The old dog was just a-crying and a-whining the whole time. But that did not matter to that mean old farmer. He just took the old black dog and flung her， as hard as he could， into the back of his old run down pick-up. Then hit her in the rump a couple of times with the butt of his shot gun until she laid down. Then he jumped in the truck and headed as fast as he could down the long winding dirt road， towards the woods.
Faster and faster the old farmer drove， just a talking and cursing out loud the entire time. That beat up old truck was a-slipping and a-sliding all over the wet dirt road. First sliding this away and then sliding that away. Then all of a sudden the truck slid sideways and ran completely off the dirt road， hit the ditch and began rolling over and over. There were bushs， leaves， dirt and all kinds of stuff being flung everywhere. Finally everything became very still and quiet， except for the crackle of a small fire that was coming out from underneath the old pick-up truck.