奧黛麗：堅韌與救贖的故事

劉菲

（江西省師范大學附屬中學）

作者在救治一只名為奧黛麗的小狗的過程中，學到了在生活中珍惜每一件小事的重要性，領悟到耐心和無條件的愛的真諦，并理解到將時間、精力和資源奉獻給他人的價值所在。奧黛麗的存在不僅改變了主人公的生活，也讓她以嶄新的視角審視整個世界，使這段經歷成為一次關于友誼、韌性和無私奉獻的深刻思索。

I am a country music singer and although I love animals,I didn’t have a pet for several years due to all of the traveling that comes with performing.Back in 2020,it was going to be my biggest year of touring yet: five months straight in 14 countries.When everything fell apart due to COVID-19,I was devastated,but I knew there had to be a reason and a bigger plan for me.

In a state of extreme sadness from all my hopes and dreams being ripped away,I was sitting in my living room scrolling Instagram when a beautiful little face popped up on my feed.Along came a dog.

She had been found in an abandoned house in Texas with a spinal injury and both of her back feet severed.She was bleeding,had no food or water,and was riddled with infection.She urgently needed fostering due to the extreme care she required to heal her wounds.Her face stopped me dead in my tracks,and I knew that my husband and I had to take her.I called Steve into the room and said,“We are taking this dog.”I named her Audrey.

The next day Audrey was dropped off at our house with a box full of diapers,gauze and wound tape.

It was love at first sight.We immediately gave her everything she needed and anything she wanted,and we were determined to provide her with the life she deserved.Still,it wasn’t easy — far from it.Healing her physical and mental wounds has been one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life.After six harrowing surgeries,five different sets of prosthetic legs,years in a wheelchair,and so much heartache,she was finally ready to try to walk.

Adjusting to her new legs was tough for Audrey,but she prevailed.Finally,after three years and nine surgeries on each leg,an experimental fish skin graft by Dr.Tomas Infernuso of Animal Surgical Center healed her legs for good.

We could say we saved Audrey’s life,but I don’t think that would be the truth because she really saved our lives.She became a beacon of light for me during a very dark time in my life.She showed me that terrible things can happen to you,and you can be resilient and move on stronger than you were before.If she can overcome what she went through,I feel like I can overcome anything that comes my way.

Caring for Audrey truly changed my life.She taught me to enjoy the little things in each and every day.She taught me patience and unconditional love,and that you give your time,energy and resources to others because it makes you feel good,not because you deserve or wish for something in return.I am a better person because of Audrey,and I look at the world in a very different light.

【故事背景簡介】

本文是“人與自然”主題語境下一個關于人與狗互相救贖的故事。該文章曾刊登于HuffPost（《赫芬頓郵報》）。

故事中的主人公原本是一位熱愛動物但因巡演頻繁而無法養寵物的音樂人，然而，2020 年的疫情使得原本充滿期待的巡演計劃夭折，讓她感到無比沮喪。在這段人生低谷中，她偶然發現了一只被遺棄在廢棄房屋中的狗，名叫奧黛麗。奧黛麗身患重傷，需要關懷和治療。主人公和丈夫毅然決定收養她，經歷了多次手術、假肢更換以及實驗性手術等一系列困難，奧黛麗最終順利適應新的腿部，并治愈了身體上的創傷。在這個過程中，奧黛麗不僅成了主人公生活中的拯救者，更是一盞明燈，為她帶來了友誼、韌性和無私奉獻的深刻體驗。作者通過對奧黛麗的照顧學到了在生活中珍惜每一件小事的重要性，領悟到了耐心和無條件的愛的真諦，并理解到將時間、精力和資源奉獻給他人的價值所在。奧黛麗的存在不僅改變了主人公的生活，也讓她以嶄新的視角審視整個世界。

全篇譯文

我是一名鄉村音樂歌手，雖然我喜歡動物，但由于表演需要經常旅行，我已經好幾年沒有養寵物了。2020 年將是我迄今為止巡演最多的一年：連續五個月在 14 個國家巡演。當一切都因新冠疫情而分崩離析時，我感到非常沮喪，但我知道對我來說必須有一個理由和一個更大的計劃。

我所有的希望和夢想都被剝奪了，我感到極度悲傷，當時我正坐在客廳里瀏覽Instagram，這時一張美麗的小臉突然出現在我的動態中。一只狗來了。

她被發現在得克薩斯州一所廢棄的房子里，脊椎受傷，雙后腳被切斷。她流血不止，沒有食物或水，并且全身感染了。她迫切需要寄養，因為她需要極度小心來治愈她的傷口。她的臉讓我完全愣住了，我知道我和我丈夫必須帶走她。我把史蒂夫叫到房間里，說：“我們要帶走這只狗。”我為她取名奧黛麗。

第二天，奧黛麗和一個裝滿尿布、紗布和纏繞膠帶的盒子被送到我們家。

這是一見鐘情。我們立即給了她需要的一切和她想要的任何東西，我們決心為她提供她應得的生活。盡管如此，這并不容易——遠非如此。治愈她身體和精神上的創傷是我一生中做過的最困難的事情之一。在經歷了六次痛苦的手術、五套不同的假肢、多年坐在輪椅上以及如此多的心痛之后，她終于準備好嘗試走路了。

對于奧黛麗來說，適應她的新腿很困難，但她做到了。最后，經過三年時間以及每條腿進行的九次手術，動物外科中心的 Tomas Infernuso 博士進行的實驗性魚皮移植手術治愈了她的雙腿。

我們可以說我們拯救了奧黛麗的生命，但我不認為這是事實，因為她確實拯救了我們的生活。在我人生最黑暗的時期，她成了我的燈塔。她向我展示了可怕的事情可能會發生在你身上，而你可以保持韌性并比以往更堅強地繼續前進。如果她能克服她所經歷的一切，我覺得我就能克服我遇到的任何事情。

照顧奧黛麗確實改變了我的生活。她教我享受每一天的小事。她教會我耐心和無條件的愛，以及你把時間、精力和資源給予他人是因為這讓你感覺良好，而不是因為你值得或希望得到某些回報。因為奧黛麗，我成了更好的人，我以一種截然不同的眼光看待世界。

人教版課標單詞復現

fall apart崩潰；瓦解（必修一Unit 3）

abandonvt.舍棄;拋棄;放棄（選必三 Unit 4）

bleedvi./ vt.流血；放血（選必二 Unit 5）

riddlevt./ n.謎語；打洞（必修三 Unit 1）

infectionn.感染；傳染（選必二 Unit 1）

urgentlyadv.緊急地；急迫地（選必二 Unit 5）

trackn.跑道；足跡；鐵路軌道vt.&vi.追蹤；跟蹤（必修一Unit 3）

determinedadj.堅定的；有決心的（必修二Unit 4）

deservevt.應得；值得（選必四 Unit 4）

surgeryn.手術；外科手術（選必三 Unit 2）

adjustvt./ vi.調整；適應（選必一 Unit 4）

toughadj.困難的；堅強的（必修二Unit 3）

experimentaladj.實驗的；試驗性的（必修一Welcome Unit）

overcomevt.克服；戰勝（選必一 Unit 5）

patiencen.耐心；忍耐力（必修二Unit 5）

resourcen.資源；手段（必修二Unit 4）

詞匯積累

devastatedadj.extremely upset and shocked 極為震驚的；毀滅性的

如：His family is absolutely devastated.他的一家感到極為震驚。

ripv.to tear sth or to become torn,often suddenly or violently（突然或猛烈地）撕破，裂開

如：She ripped the letter open.她撕開那封信。

popv.to suddenly appear,especially when not expected（讓人意外地）突然出現；冷不防冒出

如：The window opened and a dog's head popped out.窗子打開了，冷不防一只狗探出頭來。

severvt.to cut sth into two pieces;to cut sth.off sth.切斷；中斷

如：His hand was severed from his arm.他的手從胳膊上截斷了。

harrowingadj.very shocking or frightening and making you feel very upset 令人痛苦的；令人心碎的

如：You’ve had a harrowing time this past month.過去的這個月你過得太痛苦了。

resilientadj.able to feel better quickly after sth unpleasant such as shock,injury,etc.有彈性的；能復原的

如：He’ll get over it ─young people are amazingly resilient.他會克服這些的——年輕人的適應力驚人。

一詞多義

scrolln.卷軸；vi.滾動

如：I covered the scroll in sealing wax,and affixed a red ribbon.我用封蠟將卷軸封好，并系上一根紅絲帶。

如：Scroll down to the bottom of the document.向下滾動到文件末尾。

fostervt.促進；培養；養育；收養

如：The club’s aim is to foster better relations within the community.俱樂部的宗旨是促進團體內部的關系。

如：They have fostered over 60 children during the past ten years.在過去十年間，他們撫育了60 多個兒童。

prevailvi.盛行；流行；戰勝

如：Those beliefs still prevail among certain social groups.這些信念在某些社會群體中仍很盛行。

如：Justice will prevail over tyranny.正義必將戰勝暴虐。

美句賞析

She taught me patience and unconditional love,and that you give your time,energy and resources to others because it makes you feel good,not because you deserve or wish for something in return.

翻譯：她教會我耐心和無條件的愛，以及你把時間、精力和資源給予他人是因為這讓你感覺良好，而不是因為你值得或希望得到某些回報。

結構分析：本句是一個復合句。這個句子由兩個主句組成，它們被并列連詞“and”連接。第一個主句描述了“她”所教導的內容，而第二個主句引入了一個關于給予他人的普遍陳述或原則。這一原則通過一個原因狀語從句進一步解釋，指明人們應該給予他人，不是期望得到回報，而是因為這給予給人帶來滿足感。

閱讀小練

一、用括號中所給單詞的正確形式填空。

1.With a sense of urgency,the firefighters__________ (urgent) entered the burning building to rescue the trapped residents.

2.The athlete’s __________(determine) efforts in training paid off when she won the gold medal at the international competition.

3.__________(adjust) to a new culture and lifestyle can be difficult,but with time and effort,one can find a sense of belonging.

4.The __________(abandon) building,with broken windows and crumbling walls,stood as a reminder of neglect.

5.The news of the economic downturn left many small businesses feeling __________(devastate),unsure of their financial future.

二、根據文章內容，選出最佳答案。

1.How did the author discover Audrey?

A.On Instagram.

B.In an animal shelter.

C.On a pet adoption website.

D.Through a friend’s recommendation.

2.Why did Audrey urgently need fostering?

A.She was a stray dog.

B.She was too young to be left alone.

C.She was aggressive towards other animals.

D.She had a spinal injury and severed back feet.

3.How did Audrey’s physical condition change over the years?

A.She remained in a wheelchair.

B.She became completely immobile.

C.She gradually recovered without surgeries.

D.She underwent multiple surgeries and prosthetic fittings.

4.According to the author,what did Audrey teach about giving to others?

A.Give to receive.

B.Give for personal gain.

C.Giving is a sign of weakness.

D.Give to feel good,not for something in return.

答案與解析

一、1.urgently 2.determined 3.Adjusting 4.abandoned 5.devastated

二、1.A。細節理解題。根據文章第二段內容可知，作者在瀏覽Instagram 時看到了Audrey 的照片，即通過社交媒體Instagram 發現了Audrey。故選A。

2.D。細節理解題。根據文章第三段第一句和第三句可知，Audrey 在得克薩斯州的一座廢棄房屋中被發現，脊椎受傷，兩只后腿截肢。由于她的傷勢需要極端細心的照料，因此她急需寄養。故選D。

3.D。細節理解題。根據文章第五段最后一句可知，Audrey 經歷了六次手術，嘗試了五套不同的假肢，多年來一直使用輪椅，并最終通過多次手術和假肢更換來治愈她的腿。這是Audrey 多年來身體狀況變化的描述。故選D。

4.D。推理判斷題。根據文章最后一段第三句可知，Audrey 教會了作者，將時間、精力和資源給予他人是因為這讓你感覺良好，而不是期望得到回報。故選D。