如果想讓你的孩子高考取得好成績(jī)，成為人生贏家，那么趕快養(yǎng)只狗吧。研究證明，有狗狗陪伴的兒童，學(xué)語(yǔ)言會(huì)更快，閱讀能力更強(qiáng)，詞匯量更大。而有狗狗陪伴的青少年，感情會(huì)更穩(wěn)定，人也更自信。

By David Blair

The first time I saw Feifei she was chasing a motorcycle.
第一次見(jiàn)菲菲，她正在追一輛摩托車。

My China Daily colleague, Greg Fountain, was chasing her. And, his adult dog was looking on skeptically at the antics of the crazy three-month-old puppy.
我在《中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)》的同事格雷格正在追她，他的大狗滿眼疑惑的看著這只3個(gè)月大的小奶狗撒歡耍瘋。

Feifei and her litter mates had been left in a trash box on a sidewalk in the Sanlitun area of Beijing. Some kind people rescued them, then Greg and his lovely bride, Maria, volunteered to be foster parents until they could find her a permanent family.
菲菲和同窩小崽被遺棄在北京三里屯路邊的一個(gè)垃圾箱里。他們被善良的人救助，格雷格和他美麗的新婚妻子瑪利亞在找到收容他們的家庭前，自愿撫養(yǎng)他們。

I took Feifei home that afternoon and sent a Wechat message to my Chinese wife that I had a surprise waiting for her. She probably thought I meant good food, or flowers. She had never had a dog before and was a bit afraid of them.
把菲菲帶回家那天下午，我發(fā)了一條微信給我的中國(guó)媳婦兒，說(shuō)有個(gè)驚喜給她。她覺(jué)得我可能準(zhǔn)備了一頓豐盛的晚餐或是一捧玫瑰。她從沒(méi)養(yǎng)過(guò)狗，還有點(diǎn)害怕狗狗。

I’m sure that she initially agreed that we could keep Feifei just because I had been badly missing having a dog. I had to go on a four-day reporting trip the first week after Feifei moved in. My wife would call frequently and say, “She’s barking. What does she want?!!!” Now, a month later, I hear her whispering, “I love you, little girl.”
我確信，她一開始同意把菲菲留下來(lái)，只是因?yàn)槲覍?shí)在太想養(yǎng)狗了。菲菲搬來(lái)的第一周，我有個(gè)報(bào)道任務(wù)要出差四天。我老婆一開始總是抱怨，“她又在叫！她到底想干什么！”一個(gè)月過(guò)去了，我聽到她柔聲細(xì)語(yǔ)對(duì)著菲菲說(shuō)：“我愛(ài)你，小寶貝。”

I’ve found that Chinese culture and American culture is usually not that different. In many aspects, I think Chinese culture is better. But, I have to say, with respect to dogs, Americans have it right. It saddens me to see small kids shying away in fear from a five-kilogram puppy. In the US, they would run up and give her a hug.
我發(fā)現(xiàn)，中美文化沒(méi)那么大差異。很多方面，我覺(jué)得中國(guó)文化更棒。但我必須要說(shuō)，在尊重狗狗方面，美國(guó)人更勝一籌。中國(guó)小朋友看到10斤的小狗都嚇得直往后躲，這讓我挺難受的。在美國(guó)，孩子們會(huì)沖上去，給她一個(gè)大大的擁抱。

On the other hand, this attitude is changing. I walk Feifei every morning in the great park by the Yuan dynasty (1271-1378) walls, where many people walk dogs. Feifei craves her morning play-dates when she can romp with other dogs.
但是，這種態(tài)度正在改變。我每天早上都帶菲菲去元大都公園，好多人都在那兒遛狗。菲菲特別期待每天早上和小伙伴們打鬧的時(shí)光。

Growing up, my big collie named Lad was my best friend. I can’t imagine going through the difficult middle-school years without him.
牧羊犬Lad是我孩童時(shí)期最好的朋友。如果沒(méi)有它，我無(wú)法想象該怎么度過(guò)那艱苦的中學(xué)時(shí)代。

A 2017 paper in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health concluded: “The review found evidence for a wide range of emotional health benefits from childhood pet ownership; particularly for self-esteem and loneliness.” It also concluded: “Studies also showed evidence of an association between pet ownership and educational and cognitive benefits; for example, in perspective-taking abilities and intellectual development.”
2017年《國(guó)際環(huán)境研究與公共衛(wèi)生雜志》的一篇文章稱，“研究證明，童年有寵物陪伴對(duì)情感健康有諸多好處，特別是對(duì)自負(fù)和孤獨(dú)?！边€稱：“有證據(jù)表明，寵物對(duì)教育和認(rèn)知也有好處；例如，有助于培養(yǎng)換位思考能力和智力發(fā)展?！?/p>

Young children with dogs were found to learn language faster, read better, and have larger vocabularies. Adolescents with dogs are more emotionally stable and self-confident.
幼兒有狗狗的陪伴，學(xué)語(yǔ)言會(huì)更快，閱讀能力更強(qiáng)，詞匯量更大。而有狗狗陪伴的青少年，感情會(huì)更穩(wěn)定，人也更自信。

In other words, if you want your child to do well on the gaokao, and in life, get a dog.
換句話說(shuō)，如果想讓你的孩子高考取得好成績(jī)，成為人生贏家，那么趕快養(yǎng)只狗吧。

Dogs are not just for the kids. A report in the journal Psychology Today concluded that when a person petted a dog “blood pressure lowered, heart rate slowed, breathing became more regular and muscle tension relaxed--all of which are signs of reduced stress.” The American Journal of Cardiology found that pet owners have a significantly higher survival rate after having a heart attack than people who don’t own pets. For older people, “the likelihood that the non-pet owners would end up being diagnosed as clinically depressed was four times higher than that found in the pet-owning people of the same age.” Elderly dog owners “required fewer medical services and were much more satisfied with their lives.”
養(yǎng)狗不僅對(duì)孩子有好處。《今日心理學(xué)》的一篇報(bào)告指出，當(dāng)人撫摸狗狗時(shí)，“血壓會(huì)降低，心率會(huì)減慢，呼吸變得更規(guī)則，肌肉也會(huì)放松下來(lái)——所有跡象都表明你處于減壓狀態(tài)?！薄睹绹?guó)心臟病學(xué)雜志》發(fā)現(xiàn)，在得了心臟病后，養(yǎng)寵物的人比不養(yǎng)寵物的人存活率明顯高很多。對(duì)老年人來(lái)說(shuō)，“不養(yǎng)寵物的人被診斷為臨床抑郁癥的可能性是同齡養(yǎng)寵物人的四倍”，養(yǎng)狗的老年人的醫(yī)療需求更少，對(duì)自己的生活更滿意。

My wife says I smile a lot more since we got Feifei. The scientific evidence says she’s right about that.
我媳婦兒說(shuō)自從有了菲菲，我笑的都多了?？茖W(xué)證明她說(shuō)的是對(duì)的。

英文來(lái)源：“CHINA DAILY”微信公眾號(hào)
翻譯：鄭瀟（實(shí)習(xí)）
編審：丹妮 董靜
音頻編輯：焦?jié)?/p>

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David Blair writes for the international weekly editions of China Daily.