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Editor: Kathryne Ogrod & Elsa Zhang
When you think about adopting a pet, what do you think of? A dog, a cat, a bird? I bet you never thought of having your own pet spider. There are many animals out there people love just as any fluffy kitten or bouncing puppy. Although these animals may be different, that does not mean they deserve any less attention.
说到养宠物，你首先会想到的是什么？猫、狗还是一只小鸟？通常人们想到的都是那些毛茸茸的小动物。有没有想过把一只蜘蛛当作宠物来饲养？尽管这样的动物非同寻常，但不代表它们不被受到重视。
I have never liked spiders. I remember when I was little I would always yell for my father when I saw one so he could kill it for me. I was even able to train my cat to eat spiders so that I could sleep better at night. Then my sister decided to buy a pet tarantula. She thought it was the cutest thing in the world and she would cuddle up with it in a chair. I never understood how anyone could love something so ugly and disgusting. Then I met my friend Angela, who had a snake as a pet……
我一向不喜欢蜘蛛，小的时候每当看到蜘蛛，我都会尖叫着去找爸爸，为了消灭它们我曾一度训练我的猫去捉它们，否则我总是睡不安宁。后来我的姐姐竟然买了只鸟蛛养在家里，还经常一边将自己蜷缩在沙发里一边欣赏这只在她眼里最为可爱的动物。我实在是无法理解怎么会有人喜欢这种丑陋恶心的动物。再后来遇到了我的好朋友安吉拉，人家的宠物竟然是条蛇……
My fear of snakes far surpasses my fear of spiders. One night, one of Angela’s friends decided to play with Angela’s snake, called Tinkerbelle. The next thing everyone knew there was a white streak heading towards the door. It was me running in terror. My friends said they had never seen anyone run so fast and would not stop teasing me for the rest of the night. I have never gotten over my fear of snakes but I do have a new found respect for people who choose to take care of exotic animals.
而我对于蛇的恐惧远远超过了蜘蛛。一天晚上安吉拉的朋友把她的宠物拿了出来，我顿时被吓得落荒而逃，看到的人都在取笑我，说从来没有见过我跑得这么快。我对蛇的恐惧从来没有消减过，反而更加敬佩那些敢于照顾这些奇怪宠物的人们。
I asked Angela one night why she liked snakes as pets and she said it was a fun pet. She feeds it about once a month -this is normal- and it does not need much care. She does not have to take it for walks or constantly clean up when it goes to the bathroom. The snake does not get into trouble for getting into the garbage like most dogs will or for spraying the curtains like most cats will. From this prospective, snakes don’t sound like such a bad pet… …But I am still not going to buy one.
一天晚上，我好奇地问安吉拉为什么她如此喜欢蛇，她的答案很简单，因为它们太可爱了。养一条蛇其实很省心，通常一个月喂它两次就可以了，也不许要太多其他的照料，不用带着它去散步或者给它洗澡。它既不会像狗一样跑到脏兮兮的垃圾堆里去，也不会像猫一样把窗帘弄脏。这样看来，蛇还真是一种不错的宠物，但我还是选择离它远些的好。
When my sisters and I were little, we used to take care of hamsters. My grandmother hated hamsters because she said they looked too much like rats. Because we lived with my grandmother at the time, she made a little outdoor cage for the hamsters so that she did not have to worry about them getting out. These days I can understand her fear but back then I just thought she was being weird. After all, this was a lady who took care of a parrot who believed it was an attack dog. This parrot would try to rip any stranger apart with its beak if it had the chance. As a family, we also kept chickens as pets; which is considered by many to be a bit odd. Yet we were not allowed to keep hamsters in the house because they reminded my grandmother of rats. When I get to be a grandmother and my grandchildren decide to buy an ugly pet that they want to keep in my house, I think I will do the same as my grandmother and build an outside sanctuary for the animal. After all, there has to be some peace in your old age.
在我和姐姐小的时候我们曾经养过一种大颊鼠，当时和我们住在一起的奶奶很受不了这种貌似老鼠的动物。她为它们做了一个放在门外的笼子才放心，现在我可以理解她当时的心情了。我还曾经看到过一个女人养了一只鹦鹉，那哪里是鹦鹉，简直可以算得上是条军犬。它会想尽一切办法用它坚硬的嘴去撕咬任何一个陌生人。后来家里也曾养过鸡，因为奶奶实在不喜欢那些会让她联想起老鼠的大颊鼠。后来我想，当我做祖母的时候我也会像我的祖母一样，给我的孙子孙女们的宠物在外面搭个笼子，毕竟安享晚年是需要安静的。
There will always be those people who crave being around the strange and unusual. There will always be those who favor what is considered ‘normal’. I have a cat. I do not think I will ever own a snake but I would love to take care of a sugar-glider. If you do not know, this is a small animal –no bigger than your hand- that looks like a fluffy squirrel but is related to the possum family. They are very sweet and absolutely adorable! I do not mind taking care of exotic animals, as long as they are cute.
有许多人喜欢个性化的宠物，当然也有很多人喜欢普通的宠物，比如我现在正在养猫。我大概永远也不会去养蛇，但说不定我会去养一只糖鼠，这是一种比手掌还要小的动物，看起来像一只毛茸茸的松鼠，但属于负鼠家族，它们是那么的甜美可爱，我不会拒绝饲养怪异宠物，只要它们伶俐可爱就好了。
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