Take Away English-Assistance Dogs 帮家犬

Can she change how you behave?

Dogs that can retrieve¹ cash from ATMs and empty washing machines help disabled people lead more independent lives, but can they also help change disruptive teenagers' behaviour?

A unique TV experiment, "Dog House", follows five unruly youngsters as they're taught to become dog trainers. The idea is simple. Kids really like dogs. But can the skills involved in training them - patience, consistency², rewarding good behaviour – give these teenagers the discipline they need in their own lives?

The teens involved were put forward by local schools in West Sussex, who had run out of ideas of how to deal with them.

Liam was typical - 14 years old, sullen³, aggressive, foul⁴ mouthed and about to be permanently⁵ excluded from school. Allie, Rob and Ellie, had similar problems – they couldn't concentrate, they didn't like being told what to do and they had serious anger problems. Katrina was different. She was so shy that she had developed agoraphobia, she suffered from depression and had taken herself out of mainstream⁶ education.

Gradually, working with the dogs began to have an impact on the kids. But, in order to fully⁷ appreciate the significance of what they were doing, they needed to meet the disabled people who benefited from having these dogs. The meetings had a profound impact on the teenagers. After meeting Eileen Hobson and her dog Sailor, Liam changed his ways and his unlikely friendship with severely⁸ disabled wheelchair user Eileen blossomed.

Two months into the course Liam began to connect with the dogs too - particularly a young yellow Labrador called Aero. The relationship flourished so much that the dog often knew instinctively⁹ what the teenager wanted him to do before he'd even asked. "He just knows," says Liam.

Liam's school noticed a huge change in his whole outlook. His teacher Nick Brown said "More than anything I see a confident and happy young man. It's been superb."

GLOSSARY 词汇表
ATMs 提款机 disruptive 调皮捣蛋的 dog trainers 训狗人 discipline 纪律 to deal with 处理 foul mouthed 满口脏话 being told what to do 受人教诲 taken herself out of 自我脱离某个地方 blossomed 开花，繁荣 （在文章中指两人成了好朋友） flourished 蒸蒸日上	disabled people 残疾人 unruly 任性的 consistency 一贯性 put forward by 由…挑选出 sullen 阴沉的，不高兴 permanently excluded (from school) 永远被驱逐出(学校) agoraphobia 广场恐怖症 to fully appreciate 完全领悟 to connect with 和…达成了共鸣，有默契 knew instinctively 本能反应

 

1 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

2 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

3 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

4 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

5 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

6 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

9 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》