On Saturday morning, Dad says we can visit参观 /ˈvɪz.ɪt/ the pet宠物 /pet/ shop商店 /ʃɑːp/ in town. Lily jumps跳起来 /dʒʌmps/ off the sofa沙发 /ˈsoʊ.fə/ and runs跑 /rʌnz/ to get her coat外套 /koʊt/. She has wanted a rabbit兔子 /ˈræb.ɪt/ for months. I want a fish鱼 /fɪʃ/. Mum wants neither两者都不 /ˈniː.ðɚ/, but she smiles微笑 /smaɪlz/ and follows跟着 /ˈfɑːl.oʊz/ us out.
The shop is warm暖和的 /wɔːrm/ and noisy嘈杂的 /ˈnɔɪ.zi/. Near the door, two parrots鹦鹉 /ˈpær.əts/ sit栖在 /sɪt/ on a perch栖木 /pɜːrtʃ/ and squawk尖叫 /skwɔːk/ at everyone who walks in. Tanks鱼缸 /tæŋks/ of tropical热带的 /ˈtrɑːp.ɪ.kəl/ fish line one wall墙 /wɔːl/. The bright鲜亮的 /braɪt/ fins鱼鳍 /fɪnz/ catch吸引 /kætʃ/ my eye眼睛 /aɪ/. One small orange橙色的 /ˈɔːr.ɪndʒ/ fish darts飞速游 /dɑːrts/ back and forth like it is chasing追赶 /ˈtʃeɪ.sɪŋ/ something. "That one," I say.
Lily heads走向 /hedz/ straight to the rabbit pen围栏 /pen/. There are four rabbits: two white白色的 /waɪt/, one grey灰色的 /ɡreɪ/, one brown棕色的 /braʊn/. They nibble啃咬 /ˈnɪb.əl/ hay干草 /heɪ/ and twitch抖动 /twɪtʃ/ their noses鼻子 /ˈnoʊ.zɪz/. Lily reaches in伸手进去 and strokes抚摸 /stroʊks/ the grey one. It freezes静止不动 /ˈfriː.zɪz/ for a second, then hops跳 /hɑːps/ closer. "It likes喜欢 /laɪks/ me," she whispers低声说 /ˈwɪs.pɚz/.
Dad speaks说话 /spiːks/ to the assistant店员 /əˈsɪs.tənt/, a young woman with a ponytail马尾辫 /ˈpoʊ.ni.teɪl/. She explains that rabbits need需要 /niːd/ space空间 /speɪs/ to run奔跑 /rʌn/ and fresh新鲜的 /freʃ/ vegetables蔬菜 /ˈvedʒ.tə.bəlz/ every day. She also warns提醒 /wɔːrnz/ that rabbits chew啃咬 /tʃuː/ almost anything几乎任何东西 — cables电线 /ˈkeɪ.bəlz/, carpet地毯 /ˈkɑːr.pɪt/, even books书 /bʊks/. Mum raises扬起 /ˈreɪ.zɪz/ an eyebrow眉毛 /ˈaɪ.braʊ/. "Our books?" she asks. The assistant nods点头 /nɑːdz/ seriously认真地 /ˈsɪr.i.əs.li/.
After some discussion讨论 /dɪˈskʌʃ.ən/, Dad agrees同意 /əˈɡriːz/ to buy买 /baɪ/ me two两条 /tuː/ small fish and a tank鱼缸 /tæŋk/. Lily gets得到 /ɡets/ a stuffed填充的 /stʌft/ rabbit toy玩具 /tɔɪ/ instead. She hugs抱着 /hʌɡz/ it tight紧紧地 /taɪt/ and says it is exactly正是 /ɪɡˈzækt.li/ what she wanted想要的 /ˈwɑːn.tɪd/. I am not sure I believe相信 /bɪˈliːv/ her.
Back home, I set安装 /set/ up the tank on my desk桌子 /desk/. I fill注满 /fɪl/ it with water水 /ˈwɑː.t̬ɚ/ and drop放入 /drɑːp/ in a few plants水草 /plɑːnts/. The two fish explore探索 /ɪkˈsplɔːr/ every corner角落 /ˈkɔːr.nɚ/ of their new home. One hides躲 /haɪdz/ behind a leaf叶子 /liːf/. The other swims游 /swɪmz/ in circles圆圈 /ˈsɜːr.kəlz/, curious好奇的 /ˈkjʊr.i.əs/ about everything. I name命名 /neɪm/ them Dot点点 /dɑːt/ and Dash短横 /dæʃ/.
That evening, Lily stands站着 /stændz/ at my door, her stuffed rabbit under one arm臂弯 /ɑːrm/. "Can I watch看 /wɒtʃ/ the fish?" she asks. I pull拉 /pʊl/ up a chair椅子 /tʃeər/ for her. We sit坐 /sɪt/ together in the dark黑暗中 /dɑːrk/, watching the blue蓝色的 /bluː/ light灯光 /laɪt/ from the tank glow发光 /ɡloʊ/ in the room. Dot and Dash drift漂游 /drɪft/ slowly缓慢地 /ˈsloʊ.li/ between the plants. "I think they are happy开心的 /ˈhæp.i/," Lily says quietly安静地 /ˈkwaɪ.ət.li/. I nod点头 /nɑːd/. "Me too."