第1482期:Hero hounds

Are you a dog person? Maybe you have one at home and enjoy taking it for walks and curling up with it on the sofa.  Personally, I'm not that kind of person – for me they're aggressive, smelly animals that need constant care and lack the independent nature and intelligence that cats have. But given the life-saving skills that some dogs possess, maybe I should give them a second chance. 

你是爱狗人士吗？也许你家里有一个，喜欢带着它散步和蜷缩在沙发上。就我个人而言，我不是那种人——对我来说，它们是好斗的、有臭味的动物，需要不断的照顾，缺乏猫所拥有的独立天性和智慧。但考虑到一些狗拥有的救生技能，也许我应该给它们第二次机会。

To some a perfect pooch might be one that looks cute, is loyal and sits when it's told but that's about it – it's just a pet. But to really be man's best friend, they need to do something useful. Some breeds that have amazing sense of smell are put to good use as sniffer dogs or detection dogs, and are trained to use their senses to detect substances such as explosives and illegal drugs. You'll often see them at airports or working with police out on the streets.

对于一些完美的狗来说，它可能看起来很可爱，忠诚并且在被告知时会坐着，但仅此而已 - 它只是一只宠物。但要真正成为人类最好的朋友，他们需要做一些有用的事情。一些具有惊人嗅觉的品种被很好地用作嗅探犬或侦查犬，并被训练使用它们的感官来检测爆炸物和非法药物等物质。你会经常在机场看到他们，或者在街上与警察一起工作。

Other types of working dogs include guide dogs, hearing dogs and mobility dogs all providing a life-saving service to their owners. Some dogs can alert emergency services when their owner has a seizure.  And there are clever canines that have been trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes or schools and to people with autism.

其他类型的工作犬包括导盲犬、助听犬和行动犬，它们都为其主人提供救生服务。有些狗可以在主人癫痫发作时向紧急服务部门发出警报。还有一些聪明的犬类经过训练，可以为医院、养老院或学校的人们以及自闭症患者提供关爱和安慰。

New uses for dogs are being discovered all the time. Dr Claire Guest is CEO of Medical Detection Dogs, she says "although the dog has a fluffy coat and a waggy tail, he is in fact a highly sophisticated bio-sensor. You know, evolution has given him this highly sensitive nose, going down to parts per trillion."

狗的新用途一直在被发现。 Claire Guest 博士是 Medical Detection Dogs 的首席执行官，她说：“虽然这只狗有蓬松的外套和摇摆的尾巴，但它实际上是一个高度复杂的生物传感器。你知道，进化给了它这个高度敏感的鼻子，向下移动万亿分之几。”

It's this incredible ability that has led to the UK's National Health Service assessing whether dogs can be used to detect early stage prostate cancer - vital for improving survival rates.

正是这种令人难以置信的能力导致英国国家卫生服务局评估狗是否可用于检测早期前列腺癌——这对于提高生存率至关重要。

The dogs - usually from the gundog breed, such as labradors and springer spaniels - are taught to detect a sample of urine from a patient with prostate cancer.

这些狗——通常来自猎犬品种，如拉布拉多犬和史宾格犬——被教导检测前列腺癌患者的尿液样本。

It's also managed to train dogs to detect changes in blood glucose levels in people suffering from type 1 diabetes. One patient, who has one of these medical alert assistance dogs, told the BBC that "in the three and a half years we've been together, he has alerted and potentially saved my life 3,500 times. And he does it all for a dog biscuit."

它还设法训练狗检测患有 1 型糖尿病的人的血糖水平变化。一位拥有其中一只医疗警报辅助犬的患者告诉 BBC，“在我们在一起的三年半里，他已经提醒并可能挽救了我的生命 3500 次。他为一只狗做了这一切。饼干。”

To save a life for a dog biscuit seems a small price to pay so maybe I should have more admiration and respect for our four-legged friends – maybe cats aren't so smart!

为一只狗饼干挽救一条生命似乎是一个很小的代价，所以也许我应该对我们的四足朋友多一些钦佩和尊重——也许猫没有那么聪明！

词汇表

a dog person 喜欢狗的人
aggressive 好斗的、霸道的
life-saving 能挽救生命的
give them a second chance 给它们第二次机会，比喻重新考虑
pooch （非正式）狗
loyal 忠诚的
man's best friend “人类最好的朋友”，是对狗的昵称
sense of smell 嗅觉
sniffer dogs 嗅探犬
substances 物质，材料 
guide dogs 导盲犬
seizure（疾病的）发作
canines 犬科动物
affection 爱、友好之情
autism 自闭症、孤独症
waggy 爱摆动的，不停摇摆的
bio-sensor 生物感应器
prostate cancer 前列腺癌
type 1 diabetes 第一型糖尿病
medical alert assistance dogs 医疗警报援助犬
a small price to pay 微不足道的代价
four-legged friends “四条腿的朋友”，对狗的昵称