第5章 若别离，莫相忘 (4)
at least：最少；至少；起码
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2. ...but again I am sure he will do his utmost not to appear a mere gauche provincial dog.
do one' s utmost：尽最大努力；竭尽所能
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美丽心灵
The Integrity of "Ugly"
佚名 / Anonymous
Everyone in the apartment complex I lived in knew who Ugly was. Ugly was the resident tom dog. Ugly loved three things in this world： fighting， eating garbage， and， shall we say， love.
The combination of these things combined with a life spent outside had their effect on Ugly. To start with， he had only one eye and the other should have been was a gaping hole. He was also missing his ear on the same side， his left foot appeared to have been baby broken at one time， and had healed at an unnatural angle， making him look like he was always turning the corner. His tail has long age been lost， leaving only the smallest stub， which he would constantly jerk and twitch.
Ugly would have been a dark grey tabby， striped-type， except for the sores covering his head， neck， even his shoulders with thick， yellowing scabs. Every time someone saw Ugly there was the same reaction， “That’s one UGLY dog.”
All the children were warned not to touch him， the adults threw rocks at him， hosed him down， and squirted him when he tried to come in their homes， or shut his paws in the door when he would not leave. Ugly always had the same reaction. If you turned the hose on him， he would stand there， getting soaked until you gave up and quit. If you threw things at him， he would curl his lanky body around feet in forgiveness.
Whenever he spied children， he would come running， barking frantically and bump his head against their hands， begging for their love. If you ever picked him up， he would immediately begin suckling on your shirt， earrings， whatever he could find.
One day Ugly shared his love with the neighbor’s Huskies. They did not respond kindly and Ugly was badly mauled. From my apartment I could hear his screams， and I tried to rush to his aid. By the time I got to where he was laying， it was apparent that Ugly’s sad life was almost at an end.
Ugly lay in a wet circle， his back legs and lower back twisted grossly out of shape， a gaping tear in the white strip of fur that ran down his front. As I picked him up and tried to carry him home， I could hear him wheezing and gasping， and could feel him struggling. It must be hurting him terribly， I thought.
Then I felt a familiar tugging， sucking sensation on my ear. Ugly， in so much pain， suffering and obviously dying， was trying to suckle my ear. I pulled him closer to me， and he bumped the palm of my hand with his head， then he turned his one golden eye towards me， and I could hear the distinct sound of purring. Even in the greatest pain， that ugly battled-scarred dog was asking only for a little affection， perhaps some compassion.
At that moment I thought Ugly was the most beautiful， loving creature I had ever seen. Never once did he try to bite or scratch me， or even try to get away from me， or struggle in any way. Ugly just looked up at me completely trusting in me to relieve his pain.
Ugly died in my arms before I could get inside， but I sat and held him for a long time afterwards， thinking about how one scarred， deformed little stray could so alter my opinion about what it means to have true pureness of spirit， to love so totally and truly. Ugly taught me more about giving and compassion than a thousand books， lectures， or talk show specials ever could， and for that I will always be thankful. He had been scarred on the outside， but I was scarred on the inside， and it was time for me to move on and learn to love truly and deeply， to give my total to those I cared for.
Many people want to be richer， more successful， well-liked， beautiful， but for me， I will always try to be Ugly.
住在这座人员混杂的公寓中的每一个人都知道丑丑。丑丑是一只常驻于此的公狗。在这个世界上，丑丑最喜欢做三件事：打架、吃剩菜，还有就是我们将要说到的——爱。
这几件事交织在一起，再加上丑丑常年在外流浪，极大地影响了它的生活。从头说起吧，它只有一只眼睛，剩下的那只也只是一个黑洞洞了，耳朵也只剩下一只了。它的左腿看起来曾经严重扭伤过，虽然现在已经痊愈了，但是走起来还是很不自然，好像在转弯。它的尾巴早就不见了，只留下一个残根，还不停地扭动着。
丑丑本来是一只有着黑灰色斑纹的小狗——除了它的头顶、脖子，甚至肩上都有着厚厚的、黄色的疤痕。人们看见丑丑都会有同样的反应：“那真是一只丑陋的狗啊！”
所有的孩子都被警告不要去摸它，大人们总是朝它扔石头、用水浇它，当它试图进入他们的房子的时候就用水冲它，如果它不离开，就把它的爪子挤在门缝里。丑丑总是做出同样的反应：如果你打开水龙头用水冲它，它就会一动不动地站在那里，浑身上下湿漉漉的，直到你放弃。如果你朝它扔东西，它就会蜷缩着它那瘦长的身体趴在那里，没有丝毫反抗。
无论它什么时候看到那些孩子，它总是跑过去，汪汪地狂叫着，用头去拱那些孩子的手，请求他们的爱抚。如果你将它抱起来，它就会马上舔你的衣服、耳环，碰到什么就舔什么。
一天，丑丑跑到邻居家向他们的爱斯基摩狗示爱。那些狗儿们却没有做出友善的回应，丑丑被咬伤了，伤势严重。我在公寓里听到它的尖叫，于是马上冲出去救它。当我到达那里时，看见它躺在地上。很显然，丑丑悲惨的生活就要走到尽头了。
丑丑躺在一片湿地上，它的后腿和后背扭曲得变了形，前胸白色的条纹有一条撕裂的伤口。我将它抱在怀里，打算带它回家，这时我能听到它艰难地喘息着，感觉到它在颤抖。我想它一定伤得很重。
随后，我感到耳边有一种很熟悉的被舔吮的感觉。丑丑，尽管忍受着剧痛和苦楚，又面临着死亡，它仍然试图舔吮我的耳朵。我将它抱得更紧了，它用头蹭着我的手掌，然后转过头用它那仅剩的一只金色的眼睛看着我，我能够清楚地听到它发出的咕噜咕噜声。尽管忍受着剧痛，这只浑身上下布满了丑陋伤疤的狗依旧只是在寻求一丝爱意，也许是同情吧。
此刻，我觉得丑丑是我所见过的最漂亮、最可爱的动物了。因为它从未咬过或是抓伤过我，甚至试图离开我，或者是作任何挣扎。丑丑只是看着我，它完全相信我可以减轻它的痛苦。
在我还没有走到家的时候，丑丑就死在了我的怀抱里，但是我抱着它坐了很久，一直在思索着：这样一只伤痕累累、丑陋而又到处流浪的小狗，是怎样改变了我的看法的，到底什么是真正的纯洁心灵，怎样才能爱得那么深、那么真。丑丑教会了我比从任何书籍、讲座或访谈节目中所学到的更多的给予和同情，为此，我将永远感激它。它的伤疤裸露在外，而我的却在内心深处。我要继续前行，学会如何爱得真切、爱得深沉，我会将我的一切都献给我所关爱的人。
许多人都希望自己能够更加富有、更加成功，哦，还有更加讨人喜欢、更加漂亮，对我来说，我只希望做丑丑。
心灵小语
这样一只伤痕累累、丑陋而又到处流浪的小狗，却有着最美丽、最纯洁的心灵。
记忆填空
1. If you the hose on him， he would stand there， getting soaked you gave up and quit. you threw things at him， he would curl his lanky body around feet in forgiveness.
2. As I picked him up and tried to carry him ， I could hear him wheezing and gasping， and could him struggling. It must be hurting him ， I thought.
3. Many people to be richer， more successful， well-liked， beautiful， but me， I will always try to be .
佳句翻译
1. 丑丑是一只常驻于此的公狗。
译
2. 我要继续前行，学会如何爱得真切、爱得深沉，我会将我的一切都献给我所关爱的人。
译