“Oh no, senora. Not more dogs. We have too many now.” He radiated resignation and regret, but there was nothing angry in what I felt coming off him. The woman turned and approached him. “We have two puppies, and their mother. They are maybe three months old. One of them got away, and one of them died.”
“Oh no.”
“The mother was feral, poor thing. She’s terrified.”
“You know what they told you the last time. We have too many dogs and they will not give us a license.”
“I don’t care.”
“But senora, we have no room.”
“Now Bobby, you know that’s not true. And what can we do. Let them live as wild animals? They’re dogs, Bobby, little puppies, you see?” the woman turned back to the cage, and I wagged my tail to show her I had been paying rapt, if uncomprehending, attention.
“Yeah, Bobby, what’s another three more?” one of the grinning men asked.
“One of these days there will be no money to pay you; it will all go to the dog food,” the man called Bobby replied. The men just shrugged, grinning.
“Carlos, I want you to take some fresh hamburger and go back out there to that creek（小溪）. See if you can find the one that got away,” the woman said.
The man nodded, laughing at Bobby’s expression. I understood that the woman was in charge of this family of humans, and gave her another lick on the hand so she would like me best.
“Oh, you’re a good dog, a good dog,” she told me. I jumped up and down, my tail wagging so hard it whipped Fast in the face, who irritably blinked it off.
The one called Carlos smelled of spicy meat and exotic oils that I couldn’t identify. He reached in with a pole, snagging Mother, and Fast and I followed willingly as she was led around the side of the house to a large fence. The barking here was deafening, and I felt a slight flicker of fear----just what were we getting into?
Bobby’s scent had a citrus quality, oranges, as well as dirt, leather, and dogs. He opened the gate a little, blocking the way with his body. “Get back! Get back now; get back! Go on!” he urged. The barking lessened just a little, and when Bobby pulled the gate all the way open and Carlos thrust Mother forward it ceased completely.
radiated英 ['reɪdɪeɪtɪd adj. （装饰物等）有辐射棱线的，辐射的 v. 发射出（光、热等）( radiate的过去式和过去分词 );（使品质或情感）显出，流露;射出，向四周伸出
The rising sun radiated myriads of golden rays. 初升的太阳放射出万道金光。
feral 英 [ˈferəl]adj. （动物）野生的，未驯的，野蛮的
Feral cats kill our native animals.
野猫弄死了我们的家猫。
rapt 英 [ræpt] adj. 全神贯注的，入迷的
Phillips had a rapt expression on his face
菲利普斯表情很专注。
uncomprehending 英 [ʌnˌkɒmprɪˈhendɪŋ] adj. 不了解的，不谅解的
He gave the bottle a long, uncomprehending look.
他困惑地盯着那个瓶子看了好一会儿。
irritably 英 ['ɪrɪtəblɪ]adv. 暴躁地;性急地;易怒地;<医>过敏地
'What do you want me to do?'she said irritably.
“你要我做什么？”她急躁地问。
exotic 英 [ɪgˈzɒtɪk] adj. 异国的;外来的;异乎寻常的，奇异的;吸引人的 n. 舶来品，外来物;脱衣舞女
He sent a basket of exotic fruit and a card .他送了一篮子异域水果和一张卡片
flicker 英 [ˈflɪkə(r)] v. 闪烁;飘扬，摆动;昏倒 n. 闪烁;闪光;电影;假装昏倒的乞丐.
He felt a flicker of regret
他突然感到一丝悔意。
citrus 英 [ˈsɪtrəs] n. [植]柑橘属果树;柠檬，柑橘
The origin and development of Citrus fruits.
标题柑桔类的起源和发展。
恭喜你学会了8个新单词。
喜欢就关注吧！
看更多英语原著请关注微信公众号：
