克林顿时期第一猫“袜子”去世

Socks, the White House cat during the Clinton administration who waged war on Buddy the pup, has died. He was around 18.

Socks had lived with Bill Clinton's secretary, Betty Currie, in Hollywood, Md., since the Clintons left the White House in early 2001.

Currie confirmed Socks' death Friday evening and said she was "heartbroken." She did not give details, referring calls to the Clinton Foundation office.

The foundation released a statement from the Clintons:

"Socks brought much happiness to Chelsea and us over the years, and enjoyment to kids and cat lovers everywhere. We're grateful for those memories, and we especially want to thank our good friend, Betty Currie, for taking such loving care of Socks for so many years."

Socks had reached his late teens — an advanced age for a cat — when reports surfaced in late 2008 that he had cancer and Currie had ruled out invasive efforts to prolong his life.

"It's not a happy prognosis," presidential historian Barry Landau, a friend of Currie's, said at the time.

Socks was what feline-lovers call a tuxedo cat — mostly black with white down the front and belly and on his feet, suggesting a fashionable dandy in a black satin evening jacket with a snowy shirt peeping out. He had markings that looked a bit like a mustache and goatee.

日前，美国前总统克林顿当政时期的白宫第一猫“袜子”去世，“享年”约18岁。“袜子”生前与白宫第一宠物狗巴迪关系不合，

2001年初，克林顿携全家离开白宫时把“袜子”托付给了他的秘书贝蒂．柯里，此后“袜子”一直随柯里生活在马里兰州的好莱坞（Hollywood）。

柯里于上周五晚间证实了“袜子”的死讯，并称自己“非常伤心”。她没有透露“袜子”的具体死因，只称如有问题可以联系克林顿基金会办公室。

该基金会发布了一份来自克林顿全家的声明：

“这些年来，‘袜子’给切尔西和我们带来了无尽欢乐，各地的孩子和爱猫人士也非常喜爱他。我们对这些美好的记忆感激不尽，同时我们要特别感谢好友贝蒂．柯里多年来对‘袜子’的悉心照料。”

去年年底，就有消息称“袜子”罹患癌症，但柯里拒绝使用介入疗法延长其生命。当时袜子它已经十几岁，在猫中属于“高龄”。

当时柯里的朋友、总统历史学家巴里．兰道称：“这种疗法预后并不乐观”。

“袜子”被爱猫人士称为“燕尾服猫”，它的身体大部分为黑色，但面部、腹部和爪子是白色，很像一位身着黑绸晚礼服、露出雪白衬衣的时尚绅士。它的面部还有看起来有点像小胡子的斑纹。

Vocabulary: 

marking:斑纹