美國人使用的很多短語里面都含有dog這個詞。美國人很喜歡狗，對他們的狗非常好。他們會帶狗去散步，讓狗在戶外玩耍，給他們良好的食物和醫療。然而，沒有主人的狗就過著完全不同的生活。有一個短語，to lead a dog's life，就是用來描述生活不盡如人意的人。

Americans use many expressions with the word dog. People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well.

美國人使用的很多短語里面都含有dog這個詞。美國人很喜歡狗，對他們的狗非常好。

They take their dogs for walks, let them play outside and give them good food and medical care.

他們會帶狗去散步，讓狗在戶外玩耍，給他們良好的食物和醫療。

However, dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of life.

然而，沒有主人的狗就過著完全不同的生活。

The expression, to lead a dog's life, describes a person who has an unhappy existence.

有一個短語，to lead a dog's life，就是用來描述生活不盡如人意的人。

Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs.

有人說，我們生活在一個dog-eat-dog world。這句話的意思是說，許多人在為同樣的事情競爭，比如好的工作機會。

They say that to be successful, a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard.

他們說，為了成功，人必須work like a dog，意思是說，必須非常非常努力的工作。

Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.

這么努力的工作會把人弄的dog-tired。然后，如果他們變得sick as a dog，情況會更糟糕。

Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life.

人們還說every dog has its day。這句話是說，每個人在他或她的生命中都有一段快樂的日子。

To be successful, people often have to learn new skills.

為了成功，人民必須經常學習新的技能。

Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks.

然而，有人說you can never teach an old dog new tricks，

They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.

他們相信年長的人不喜歡學習新知識，不會改變他們的思維方式。

Some people are compared to dogs in bad ways. People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as meaner than a junkyard dog.

有些人有些不好的方面被比作狗。不友好或者冷漠的人會被描述成as meaner than a junkyard dog。

Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want.

Junkyard dogs生活在人們扔廢品的地方。

Mean dogs are often used to guard this property. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property.

吝嗇的狗經常守護著他的財產。如果有人試圖接近他們的財產，他會狂吠或者攻擊人。

However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. We say his bark is worse than his bite.

然而，有時候看上去吝嗇或者威脅性強的人并不一定很壞。我們會說his bark is worse than his bite。

A junkyard is not a fun place for a dog. Many dogs in the United States sleep in safe little houses near their owners' home.

廢品舊貨棧(junkyard)對狗來說并不是好玩的地方。在美國，許多狗住在他的主人家附近的安全的小房子里。

These doghouses provide shelter. Yet they can be cold and lonely in the winter.

這些狗屋給他們提供了庇護所。但是在冬天，他們會感到很冷很孤單。

Husbands and wives use this doghouse term when they are angry at each other.

丈夫或妻子在相互生氣的時候，會使用doghouse這個短語。

For example, a woman might get angry at her husband for coming home late or forgetting their wedding anniversary.

比如，一個妻子由于丈夫回家晚了或者忘記結婚周年紀念日而生氣。

She might tell him that he is in the doghouse. She may not treat him nicely until he apologizes.

她可能會對他說，他is in the doghouse。直到他道歉她才會重新對他好。

However, the husband may decide that it is best to leave things alone and not create more problems. He might decide to let sleeping dogs lie.

然而，丈夫可能會決定順其自然，以免制造出更多問題。他可能決定to let sleeping dogs lie。　

Dog expressions also are used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year.

dog的短語也被用來描述天氣。The dog days of summer是一年中最熱的天氣。

A rainstorm may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.

一場暴雨可能會使天氣涼爽下來。但是我們不想雨下的太大了。我們不希望to rain cats and dogs。

（來源：VOA慢速英語 編輯：Bernard）