The Dog that Talked

     A man was entering a village inn one day, when a large sheepdog lying beside the door looked up, and said to him, “Good morning, sir.” The man stopped in astonishment¹, thinking he must be mistaken, but the dog said again, “Good morning, sir.”

    “Er—good morning,” he managed to reply, and going indoors, he said to the landlord, “That’s an extraordinary dog of yours just outside.”

    “Oh, I don’t know, sir,” answered the man, “I don’t know there’s anything special about him.

    ”

    “Nothing special!” exclaimed the other. “He said ‘Good morning, sir’ to me as I came in.”

    “Impossible!” said the landlord. “But he did—he said it twice.” “Oh, no, sir, you must be mistaken,” said the man again. Then, after a pause, he asked, “Was there another dog there as well?” “I don’t think so,” said the guest; “but wait a minute. There was a little white terrier, but he was lying quite a way off.”

    “Ah! that’d be it,” the landlord said. “He’s a ventriloquist!”

1 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。