The Right Decision正確的決定

It was a pleasant Sunday as John roamed1 the garden of his uncle’s house.John stayed with Uncle Tim and Aunt Melanie. They had a Golden Retrievercalled Oliver.

這是一個愉快的星期天，約翰在他叔叔家的花園里漫步。約翰同蒂姆叔叔和梅蘭妮嬸嬸住在一起。他們有一只叫奧利弗的金毛獵犬。

From the first day John realized that Oliver was unhappy in the house. He wasnot given his meals on time， nor was he taken for a walk. Oliver was shouted at andabused2 all day.

從第一天起，約翰就意識到奧利弗在家里很不開心。沒有人按時給它吃飯，也沒有人帶它去散步。奧利弗整天被人吼罵和虐待。

“Your uncle bought Oliver so that the dog could protect his house from thievesbut actually neither he nor his wife love him，”the gardener told John one day.

“你叔叔買下奧利弗是為了讓這只狗能保護他的房子不被盜，但實際上他和他的妻子都不愛它?！眻@丁有一天告訴約翰。

John felt sad. At night he could hear Oliver whimpering3 in the cold.“Whydon’t you make a coat for your pet？”John paused and said. “He must feels cold.”His aunt snorted4，“I have much better things to do.”

約翰感到很難過。晚上，他能聽到奧利弗在寒冷中嗚咽的聲音?！澳銈?yōu)槭裁床唤o你們的寵物做一件外套呢？”約翰遲疑了一下，說，“它一定很冷?！彼膵饗鸷吡艘宦曊f：“我有更重要的事情要去做?！?/p>

One day John went out for a walk with Oliver， when the sky suddenly becameovercast5 and a fierce6 storm started raging7. People ran here and there forprotection， as rain started falling. John ran to take shelter in a sweet shop.

有一天，約翰和奧利弗出去散步，這時天空突然變得陰云密布，一場猛烈的風暴開始肆虐。人們四下亂跑找地方躲雨，因為開始下雨了。約翰跑到一家糖果店里躲雨。

It was only after a few minutes that he realized that Oliver was not with him.

幾分鐘后，他才意識到奧利弗沒有和他在一起了。

“The storm separated us，”John lamented8 on returning home. “I searchedthe entire place with the help of the sweet shop owner after the storm and rainhad subsided9 but I couldn’t find him.”John’s uncle put an advertisement in thepaper. After all he had spent a lot of money buying Oliver and did not want tolose him.

“暴風雨把我們分開了?！奔s翰在回家后失落地說，“暴風雨平息后，我在糖果店老板的幫助下找遍了整個地方，但我沒能找到它?！奔s翰的叔叔在報紙上登了一個廣告。畢竟他花了很多錢買來了奧利弗，并不想失去它。

It was a half an hour ride by bus. The house was a beautiful brick coloredstructure， with creepers10 adorning11 the walls. The middle aged lady who greetedJohn was a motherly sort of a woman. She and her husband had answered John’suncle’s advertisement in the paper. Since John’s uncle was out on a business trip，John had been sent to check on the dog.

約翰乘坐公交車花了半個小時的時間。這所房子是一個漂亮的磚色結構，墻上爬滿了爬山虎。迎接約翰的中年女士是一位慈母般的女性。她和她的丈夫回應了約翰的叔叔刊登在報紙上的廣告。由于約翰的叔叔出差了，約翰被派去查看狗的情況。

“He is asleep，”the lady said.“Come and have a look.”A checked coat drapedover the sleeping Oliver. There was a warm quilt on the small bed where Oliverslept. A pot of milk stood in a corner of the room possibly for Oliver’s next feed.

“它在睡覺?！边@位女士說，“來看看吧?！币患褡哟笠律w在睡著的奧利弗的身上。奧利弗睡著的小床上有一床溫暖的被子。房間的一個角落里放著一碗牛奶，可能是為奧利弗的下一餐準備的。

“I found him on the back seat of our car. He must have crept12 in during thestorm. I had opened the back door of the car to load the groceries that I was going tobuy， but due to the storm and rain I changed my mind and decided to do theshopping the next day. The poor dear was shivering with cold， when I first noticedhim after arriving home，”the lady said.

“我在我們車的后座上發(fā)現了它。它一定是趁著暴風雨悄悄溜進來的。當時我打開車的后門，準備裝我要買的雜貨，但由于暴風雨，我改變了主意，決定第二天再去購物。當我到家后第一次注意到它時，這個可憐的家伙正冷得發(fā)抖?！边@位女士說。

John looked at the dog. Yes it was Oliver， his uncle’s dog all right. He bentdown and gently parted the fur on the neck. The identifying13 white spot was there.The lady was speaking when her husband came in. “In a few days he has become apart of the family. Ever since Sheela， our spaniel14 died， we decided not to keep anypets and then suddenly...”her voice quivered15.

約翰看了看那條狗。是的，它是奧利弗，是他叔叔的狗沒錯。他彎下腰，輕輕地撥開狗脖子上的毛，那個標志性的白色斑點就在那兒。在這位女士說話的時候，她的丈夫走進來了。“幾天來，它已經成為這個家庭的一員。自從我們的小獵犬希拉死后，我們決定不再養(yǎng)任何寵物，然后突然……”她的聲音顫抖起來。

“When your uncle put in the advertisement， for a moment we thought of notreplying”， the gentleman said. “My wife has become attached16 to the dog in thesefew days.”

“當你的叔叔刊登廣告時，有那么一瞬間我們想過不回應?！边@位紳士說，“在這幾天里，我的妻子已經對這只狗產生了感情?！?/p>

John smiled as he shook his head. “I am sorry to have bothered you. Sir，Madam， but this is not our Oliver.”

約翰微笑著搖了搖頭。“我很抱歉打擾了你們。先生，夫人，但這不是我們的奧利弗?！?/p>

There was a cry of delight from the lady. John would have to lie to his unclethat the dog was not Oliver but in return Oliver would get a life of love， care andcompanionship17. He would be safe from a life of misery18 in his uncle’s house.

那位女士發(fā)出了開心的呼聲。約翰不得不對他的叔叔撒謊，說那條狗不是奧利弗，但作為回報，奧利弗將得到有愛、照料和陪伴的生活。它將遠離在他叔叔家的苦日子。

John knew he had taken the right decision. At the bus stop he pulled out theletter sent in answer to his uncle’s advertisement and tore19 it to pieces beforegetting into the bus.

約翰知道他做出了正確的決定。在公共汽車站，他掏出為回應他叔叔的廣告而寄來的信，在上車前把它撕成了碎片。

（英語原文選自：shortstoriesforkids.com）

▏Notes

1. roam. 漫步，閑逛

2. abuse. 虐待；濫用

3. whimper. 嗚咽，啜泣

4. snort. 發(fā)哼聲

5. overcast. 陰天的，陰暗的

6. fierce.（天氣等）狂暴的，惡劣的

7. rage. 肆虐；激烈進行

8. lament. 對……感到悲痛，對……表示失望

9. subside. 趨于平靜，平息

10. creeper. 爬行者

11. adorn. 裝飾；使生色

12. crept. 匍匐爬行

13. identify.認出，識別；查明

14. spaniel. 西班牙獵犬

15. quiver. 顫抖，抖動

16. attached. 非常喜歡……的，熱愛……的

17. companionship. 情誼，友誼

18. misery. 痛苦，苦難

19. tear. 撕碎，撕裂