When people think of pets in France, they think dogs. Tiny, fluffy poodles poking their heads out of fashionable pocketbooks.[1]
As for my wife and me, when we think back on the two years we lived on rue St. Didier[2] in Paris, we think of a very different sort of pet. We think of Chuck. Our Rhode Island-bred, orange-and-white, tiger-striped, sometimes biting cat, Chuck.[3]
Not long before moving to our cramped sixth-floor Parisian apartment, we were introduced to Chuck at the Providence Animal Rescue League.[4] Unlike the kittens there who eagerly poked their paws through the bars of their cages, Chuck just sat in the back of his pen and looked up at us with a wounded expression.[5] “I know you’re not going to choose me since I’m a full-grown cat,” he seemed to be saying, “so I’m not going to try and sell myself.”
But when my wife gently lifted him out, Chuck allowed himself to purr very softly and we adopted him on the spot.[6] A few months later, when it became clear that we would have to move overseas because of her job, most French people we talked to urged us to bring our new pal[7] along.
During those first few months in Paris, when we could understand little that was said to us and felt like strangers right down to the soles of our shoes[8], Chuck’s new European-style habits gave us much-needed laughter and encouragement. He was delighted with French food—rabbit-flavored Friskies—and he cheerfully rode the bus in a cat carrier that allowed curious passengers a full view of his impressive mane.[9]
“Il est superb! ” exclaimed one delighted French matron in a high-necked Chanel suit.[10] A construction worker gravely examined and lightly prodded him,[11] then declared that “he must be Spanish.” Chuck even developed a nodding friendship with a nightingale that sang its song each evening from on top of a nearby hotel.[12] And he made us realize, seeing his round, fluffy shape up on one of our many windowsills[13], that we were not, in fact, alone.
We soon found out, however, that the French windows Chuck loved so much could swing wide during a windy night, as could the French doors that led to our minuscule balcony.[14] When my wife awoke for work one morning and saw those doors banging in the wind, she instinctively began to search the apartment. Chuck wasn’t in any of his usual hiding places, and since the drop from our balcony was probably a fatal one, we feared the worst.
The sidewalk below held no clues, nor did the neighbors we questioned in nervous, flailing bursts of English and French.[15] We taped cardboard signs with a crayon drawing[16] of Chuck and our phone number up and down rue St. Didier, but as the day passed by, we felt more and more hopeless. An indoor cat who had had his claws taken out by a previous owner, Chuck wouldn’t have known what to do or where to turn if he had found himself without a roof over his head. And now it was nighttime. “Bon courage,” said our concierge, clasping her tortoiseshell cat, Violette, in strong arms.[17]
The hours dragged on that night before my wife and I came to terms with the simple fact that we had lost our best friend.[18] “It’s my fault,” I said again and again. “I should have put in locks or something so he couldn’t get out.” “No, it’s both our faults,” said my wife. “We should have let Chuck stay in Rhode Island where he would have been safe.”
The apartment seemed to hold nothing but useless Friskies boxes, sweaters with orange-and-white hair on them, and cat toys that jingled as we accidentally brushed past them.[19] My wife tried taking a bath, but it wasn’t a real bath without Chuck there to jump up on the bidet and watch the water foam and gurgle as it swirled down the drain.[20] I tried flipping through Paris Match,[21] but what was the point without the fat, furry body that always inserted itself if you spread open a magazine or book.
It was early the next morning when the telephone jangled[22] us out of sleep. “I think I have your cat,” said the voice, and proceeded to give an address at the far end of our block. Though I didn’t believe it could possibly be Chuck, I grabbed his basket and ran.
I can’t remember now what the building looked like or the elevator that took me to the seventh floor. All I can recall is the image of our chubby, longhaired pet lounging casually in the corner of this stranger’s bedroom and looking pompous.[23]
When visitors came to our small apartment in the weeks and months after that, they never failed to comment on the green garden fencing that was sloppily nailed over each of our lovely French windows.[24] Most also noticed the rickety wooden gate I had hammered into place to block the door to our balcony.[25] “Why are you obscuring[26] these beautiful views?” they would ask.
When my wife and I heard this we would simply smile at each other and explain nothing. But as a certain orange-and white friend purred safely down in the crack between two pillows, we would think, “Chuck has had his Paris adventure. It’s time for him to hold the fort[27], so we can have ours.”
Vocabulary
1. fluffy: 有绒毛的;poodle: 卷毛小狗;poke: 伸出;pocketbook: 女用手提包。
2. rue St. Didier: 巴黎一条街道名。
3. Rhode Island-bred:(美国)罗德岛产的;tiger-striped: 带虎皮纹的;biting: 人的。
4. cramped: 狭窄的;Providence Animal Rescue League: 普罗维登斯(美国罗得岛州的首府)动物救援联合会。
5. kitten: 小猫;pen: 围栏。
6. purr:(猫发出的)咕噜声;on the spot: 立即,当场。
7. pal: 朋友,伙伴。
8. down to the soles (鞋底) of one’s shoes: 彻头彻底地。
9. Friskies: 某猫粮品牌;carrier: 装载篮( 或箱、袋等) ;mane: 鬓毛。
10. Il est superb! : 〈法〉棒极了;exclaim: 大叫;matron: 夫人,妇人。
11. gravely: 严肃地;prod: 捅,戳。
12. nodding friendship: 点头之交;nightingale: 夜莺。
13. windowsill: 窗台,窗沿。
14. swing: 转动,摇动;minuscule:极小的。
15. 楼下的人行道上毫无线索,我们又紧张地以英语和法语连环炮般询问邻居,但他们也毫不知情。
16. crayon drawing: 粉笔画,蜡笔画。
17. Bon courage:〈法〉加油,祝你好运;concierge: 看门人,门房;tortoiseshell cat:(毛色为黄褐黑白相间的)花斑家猫。
18. drag on: 拖延,过得很慢;come to terms with: 妥协,接受。
19. jingle: 叮当作响;brush past: 擦过。
20. bidet: 坐浴盆;gurgle: 发汩汩声;drain: 排水管。
21. flip: 迅速翻阅;Paris Match:《巴黎竞赛》,巴黎出版的一本杂志。
22. jangle: 丁零作响。
23. chubby: 胖乎乎的,圆滚的;lounge: 懒散地倚或坐;pompous: 自高自大的,自负的。
24. fencing: 围栏,栅栏;sloppily: 不合身地;nail: 钉牢,使固定。
25. rickety: 不牢固的;hammer: 锤打(进)。
26. obscure: 使……模糊,掩盖。
27. hold the fort: 守住堡垒,坚守岗位。
2016高考英语一轮复习 Unit1《Festivals around the world》知能达标训练 新人教版必修3
日常英语:寒冷的气候
2016高考英语一轮总复习 课时作业12 Module 6《Films and TV Programmes》外研版必修2
2016高考英语一轮复习 Unit3《Travel journal》知能达标训练 新人教版必修1
你会捡起书本么 Will You Pick Up the Books
2016高考英语一轮总复习 课时作业10 Module 4《Fine Arts—Western,Chinese and Pop Arts》外研版必修2
为了更好地睡眠 从你卧室中要清除5种东西
为什么成年人不能有新的爱好呢
2016高考英语一轮总复习 课时作业7 Module 1《Our Body and Healthy Habits》外研版必修2
Why do cities make us rude? 为什么城市会让人变得无礼?
2016高考英语一轮复习 Unit4《Wildlife protection》知能达标训练 新人教版必修2
2016高考英语一轮复习 Unit1《Friendship》知能达标训练 新人教版必修1
2016高考英语一轮复习 Unit2《Women of achievement》知能达标训练 新人教版必修5
2016高考英语一轮总复习 课时作业16 Module 4《Sandstorms in Asia》外研版必修3
2016高考英语一轮总复习 课时作业9 Module 3《Music》外研版必修2
2016高考英语一轮复习 Unit3《A taste of English humour》知能达标训练 新人教版必修4
2016高考英语一轮复习 Unit2《Healthy eating》知能达标训练 新人教版必修3
2016届高考英语一轮复习 Unit1 Making a difference随堂检测 新人教版必修2
2016高考英语一轮总复习 课时作业11 Module 5《Newspapers and Magazines》外研版必修2
撒哈拉沙漠近40年来首次降雪 美到令人心醉
2016高考英语一轮复习 Unit2《English around the world》知能达标训练 新人教版必修1
2016高考英语一轮总复习 课时作业1 Module 1《My First Day at Senior High》外研版必修1
2016高考英语一轮复习 Unit1《Cultural relics》知能达标训练 新人教版必修2
玛利亚·凯莉跨年夜演砸了!看外媒如何报道“车祸现场”
2016高考英语一轮总复习 课时作业13 Module 1《Europe》外研版必修3
2016高考英语一轮复习 Unit2《The Olympic Games》知能达标训练 新人教版必修2
Art may reveal early signs of dementia 艺术作品可显示失智症前兆
20年跟踪研究证明常蒸桑拿可预防痴呆症
2016高考英语一轮复习 Unit4《Body language》知能达标训练 新人教版必修4
2016高考英语一轮复习 Unit4《Astronomy the science of the stars》知能达标训练 新人教版必修3
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |