2024年5月16日发(作者：)

高三英语培优·名著阅读之心灵鸡汤精选 At Face Value（答案在最后）

班级：____________学号：____________姓名：____________

心灵鸡汤精选At Face Value

话题归类

关爱动物

阅读难度

四星

词数

961

【文章梗概】五年前，我做了一个梦，指引我去一个地方收养一只狗。我很好奇，于是去了

指定地方看了所有的狗，都没有发现梦里的那只狗。就在我快要离开的时候，无意中发现了

它，却被告知已经被别人收养。后来那家人把那只狗送给了我。小狗两岁时，我患上癫痫。

About five years ago I had a recurring dream. The message was clear and precise, directing

me to go to a specific shelter and adopt a particular dog. It was obvious from the dream that I

would know the dog by something unusual about its face. But when I woke up, I could never

recall what the unique facial feature was. I could only remember it was important for identifying

the right dog.

I was very curious and felt compelled to follow the instructions in the dream. So early one

Saturday morning, I went to the specified shelter to check the available canine adoptees. After

looking carefully at all the dogs, I was disappointed that not one dog had anything unusual about

its face. There were lots of cute puppies and just as many appealing older dogs, but I didn’t feel a

connection to any of them.

On my way out of the shelter, I noticed a box of puppies just outside of view from the main

area. My attention was drawn to one puppy in particular, and I decided to take a closer look. The

one puppy appeared to have no fur on his face, while the rest of the litter were all black with spots

of white. I was worried about the strange-looking pup, and hoped he hadn’t been injured. The

puppies were a mix of black Lab and Chesapeake Bay retriever, called Chesapeake Labs. Each

pup was named after a type of pasta. The one who had captured my interest was Fettuccine. On

closer inspection, I realized he did have fur on his face, but it was a very odd shade of gray that

made it look like skin. Satisfied that he was okay, I turned to leave the shelter.

And then it hit me: The face—it’s the dog with the unusual face! Immediately, I returned to

the puppy and picked him up. As I lifted him from the box, his large and clumsy paws reached

over my shoulders to cling tightly to my back. We bonded instantly, and I knew we belonged

together. I could not leave without him, so I headed for the adoption desk. In that short amount of

time, the gray-faced pup had wrapped his paws around my heart.

Meeting with the adoption counselor, I was informed that a family had already selected him.

There was, however, still a slight chance since the family had not made their final decision. They

were choosing between Fettuccine, the gray-faced pup, and his littermate, a female named Penne.

I decided to wait for their decision. I hung around outside, watching the door. After an

anxiety-filled hour, I saw the family leaving the shelter carrying Fettuccine. I began to cry inside.

Then I realized a member of the family, the mother, was walking straight toward me. They knew I

was awaiting their decision, and I was prepared for the worst. My heart pounded and I stood

frozen in place as she approached. For a moment she didn’t say a word or give any indication of

her decision, then, with a broad grin, she said, “Here’s your dog.”

I was speechless as grateful tears gushed from my eyes. I hugged the puppy to me and again

felt those big front paws securely hugging my back. Although I was thankful to have him then, I

didn’t know how thankful I would be later.

I took the gray-faced pup home and named him Dominic, keeping Fettuccine as his middle

name. From the start, he was not at all a typical, rambunctious puppy. He was very calm, serious

and didn’t play much. However, he was obedient, intelligent and very attentive. We lived happily

together, and as Dom grew into a healthy, robust dog, he became my valued companion.

When Dominic was two years old, I was diagnosed with a seizure disorder. I was having

full-blown grand mal seizures as well as milder petit mal types. These seizures caused me to

collapse into unconsciousness. Upon awakening, I would always find Domon top of me. At first I

was not at all happy to have a ninety-pound dog lying on top of me, until I came to realize he was

preventing me from hurting myself by restricting my thrashing movements.

During mild seizures, Dom stood rock solid, so I could hold onto his front legs until the

seizure passed. He was also helpful after a seizure. As I began to regain consciousness, I was

aware of his “voice.” Focusing on his barking became a means to bring me back to full

consciousness. I soon came to rely on Dom to warn me before a seizure would take hold, and we’d

work through it together, each of us knowing what we had to do till the crisis passed. Dom was my

four-legged medical assistant.

During my worst period, I had five grand mal seizures a day. They came without warning, but

the force of the seizures and the physical injuries I received were minimized when the vigilant

Dom sprang into action. Dominic, the puppy I was led to in a dream, turned out to be a

natural-born seizure-assistance dog—a one-in-a-million pup with astounding instincts.

For about a year I had seizures every day, then they gradually started to subside. I am now

well, and seizure-free. Dom has returned to his previous daily doggy activities, though still

watchful of me and ready to be of assistance. He finds ways to help out around the house—and I

indulge his sense of duty, since that is what he lives for.

Some heroes wear a uniform or a badge; my hero wears fur.

Linda Saraco

【词汇过关】

请写出下面文单词在文章中的中文意思。

ing [rɪˈkɜːrɪŋ] adj._____________________________

[kəmˈpel] v._____________________________

[ˈkeɪnaɪn] n._____________________________

ver [rɪˈtriːvə(r)] n._____________________________

e [ˈkæptʃə(r)] v._____________________________

[klɪŋ] v._____________________________

lor [ˈkaʊnsələ(r)] n._____________________________

[ɡrɪn] v._____________________________

ctious [ræmˈbʌŋkʃəs] adj._____________________________

e [ˈsiːʒə(r)] n._____________________________

[ˈpetɪ] adj._____________________________

ciousness [ʌnˈkɒnʃəsnəs] n._____________________________

nt [ˈvɪdʒɪlənt] adj._____________________________

e [səbˈsaɪd] v._____________________________

e [ɪnˈdʌldʒ]v._____________________________

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