跟艾米丽一起学口语(MP3+文本) 第707期:养宠物

That guy couldn't feed himself, let alone the pets.

那个人连自己都养不活，更别说养宠物了。

let alone

更不用提...;更别说...

He doesn't have enough money for food, let alone books.

他没有足够的钱买食物，更别提书了。

The boy has no time to take care of the dogs, so he has to give it away.

这男孩没时间照顾他的狗，所以他不得不把它送人。

A: Do you have a pet?

你养宠物了吗？

B: I want to keep a pet, but my wife doesn't like any pets. She is not getting a pet.

我想养一只宠物，但是我的妻子不喜欢任何宠物，她是不会养宠物的。

A: Why not? You can keep a cute little puppy or a kitty.

为什么不？你可以养一只可爱的小狗或者小猫。

B: But my wife won't look after a dog or cat.

但是我的妻子是不会照看狗或者猫的。

look after表示“照看”，“照顾”。类似的表达还有：take care of, give consideration to, care for等。

A: You can feed it, bath it and walk it everyday.

你可以喂它，带它洗澡，每天出去带它遛弯。

B: What if we want to go on holiday? Nobody can look after the pet. Plus, my wife thinks our house is so small that we can't feed a pet. What kind of pet do you want?

如果我们想去度假怎么办？没有人可以照看宠物。而且我妻子认为我们的房子太小了，不能养宠物，你想养什么宠物？

A: I want to keep a dog.

我想养一只狗。

B: Dogs are regarded as the most loyal friends by human. But they are energetic, and you need to make sure they get enough exercise every day.

狗是人类最忠实的朋友，但是它好动，你每天都带它出去溜溜。

be regarded as...表示“被看做...”，是一个被动语态。主动语态为regard...as...

A: What about cats?

那猫怎么样？

B: Cats are more independent.

猫没有那么粘人。

A: That's great. But we're planning to have a baby in the future, so it is not suitable to get a pet in our house.

那听起来不错，但是我们计划将来要个孩子，所以在家里面养宠物不合适。