“告诉我哪棵是胡桃树？”他说。吉姆又准确无误地跑到最近的胡桃树旁，把爪子放在树上。萨姆继续用凡是他能想到的东西来考吉姆——树墩、榛树丛、雪松，甚至锡罐，吉姆都能准确无误地辨别出来。他几乎无法相信自己亲眼所见的这一切。一只狗怎么可能做到这些呢？
回到家，萨姆把一切告诉了他的妻子。
妻子漠然地说：“萨姆·范·阿斯代尔，你可以和我讲这些来哄我开心，但千万别讲给其他人听。”萨姆劝服了妻子，和他们再次来到树林中。吉姆准确无误地重新辨认了一番。妻子摇头说道——萨姆的蠢话居然是真的！
接下来的几天，萨姆按捺不住内心的喜悦，对他镇上的朋友说他那伶俐乖巧的狗能做的事情。他们对萨姆报以宽容的一笑，继而不以为然地匆匆走开。
其中有一个人耐心地听萨姆讲述完，当然他还是很怀疑。萨姆看到那人的车停在几码远的路边，就命令吉姆指出哪辆车子是他的。吉姆便径直走到那辆车前，把前爪放在车上。
接着，另一个人把自己的车牌号告诉了萨姆。萨姆把它写在一张纸上，并放到了人行道上。他让吉姆辨别出那辆车，吉姆便毫不迟疑地走向那个与车牌号对应的车子。
经过多次验证，吉姆的名声似野火般遍及整个小镇。不久，他在拉夫旅馆向惊讶不已的人们展示了他那似乎永无止境的特异功能，每次都有数百名观众前来观看。当客人都在大厅时，他能判断出他们各自所住的房间号，其依据就是人们的衣着，头发的颜色（尽管事实上狗是色盲）及职业，如果是军人的话，则依据其军衔。
有人怀疑说，萨姆可能偷着给吉姆发出某些信号。虽然萨姆的朋友和熟人没人怀疑他的诚实，他们都知道萨姆是个从不骗人的老实人，但有位妇人还是想验证一下，萨姆是否真的给吉姆发出信号。她有了一个好主意，她用速记符号写了些萨姆不懂的指令。萨姆给吉姆看了写有指令的纸，并让他按纸上说的去做。吉姆便立刻向一个男人走去。那妇人喊道：“他还真对了！”然后她解释说，那指令是“把穿翻短袜的男人指给我们看”。
吉姆声名远扬，马歇尔小镇以外的人都知道他。全国各地的报刊杂志的记者络绎不绝地来竞相报道他的故事。与其他人一样，他们都满怀惊讶地离去。吉姆自此有了“神犬”的美称。
吉姆的事迹也引起了学术界和医学界的极大好奇。密苏里州立大学的兽医在对吉姆进行了身体检查后说，他和其他狗没什么两样，身体毫无异样的构造。他们对吉姆的特异功能无法解释。
一天，几个朋友劝萨姆再对吉姆进行一下测试。看他是否能预测未来。萨姆对肯塔基赛马很感兴趣。那年，他把所有参赛马的名字写在纸条上，并放到地上，让吉姆指出将要胜出的马。吉姆把爪子放在了其中一张纸上，随后这张纸条被放进了保险箱保存起来，一直到比赛结束。最后，果真是吉姆挑的那匹马夺得了冠军。第二年，吉姆又预测对了，连续七年，年年如此。
萨姆并不是个嗜赌的人，从没想过利用吉姆的预测能力来使自己获利。他收到许多来电来函，要求吉姆预测出将会胜出的马。有些人提出会和萨姆分享奖金，但萨姆从未心动过。派拉蒙电影公司开出诱人的高价邀请吉姆参加为期一年的影片拍摄，也没使萨姆动心。萨姆是个沉稳审慎的中西部人，他说他的确不需要那笔钱，也不愿使吉姆趋于商业化。
萨姆和吉姆的关系随着时间的流逝而日益密切。萨姆对吉姆有着深厚的爱，就像一个人对待他最亲密的朋友一样。这只狗极有天赋，能完成萨姆交给他的所有任务，这也是他忠于主人的一个方面。1937年，12岁的吉姆与世长辞，萨姆伤心欲绝。整个马歇尔镇都在为失去吉姆而悲痛。吉姆葬于山岭园公墓，白色的小墓碑上写着：神犬吉姆。
北京犬【Pekingese】
珍奇的小型犬，成为国内最普及的陪伴观赏宠物之一。
产 地：中国
概 述：北京犬是一种中国古老的犬种，身体结构紧凑，前躯重后躯轻，体态匀称，憨态可掬，乖巧玲珑。它不仅形如狮子，也具有男子的勇气。它聪慧、机敏、勇敢、温顺可爱、大胆、活泼，对主人忠诚，自信、友善而充满感情，以其独特的东方血统和个性在犬的世界里具有非常重要的地位。
purchase [' p:ts] v. 购买
We should not encourage people to purchase cars.
我们不该再鼓动人们购买汽车。
ungainly [n' geinli] adj. 笨拙的；不雅的
He regarded as ungainly or dull witted.
他被认为是笨拙或弱智的人。
evidence [' evidns] n. 根据；证据
We see evidence of the crime already.
我们已经看到了犯罪的证据。
hesitation [,hezi' tein] n. 犹豫
He answered without a moment' s hesitation.
他毫不迟疑地回答了问题。
萨姆对吉姆有着深厚的爱，就像一个人对待他最亲密的朋友一样。
他们对吉姆的特异功能无法解释。
萨姆和吉姆的关系随着时间的流逝而日益密切。
Sam persuaded his wife to accompany them back to the woods. persuade... to：劝说；说服
They smiled at him indulgently and moved off pretty fast.
move off：离去（出发；走掉）
牧牛犬
Bingo
欧内斯特·西顿·汤普森 / Ernest Seton Thompson
The rest of that winter in 1882 Bingo spent in our shanty, living the life of a lubberly, fat, well-meaning, ill-doing puppy; gorging himself with food and growing bigger and clumsier each day. Even sad experience failed to teach him that he must keep his nose out of the rat trap. His most friendly overtures to the cat were wholly misunderstood and resulted only in an armed neutrality that, varied by occasional reigns of terror, continued to the end; which came when Bingo, who early showed a mind of his own, got a notion for sleeping at the barn and avoiding the shanty altogether.
When the spring came I set about his serious education. After much pains on my behalf and many pains on his, he learned to go at the word in quest of our old yellow cow, that pastured at will on the unfenced prairie.
Once he had learned his business, he became very fond of it and nothing pleased him more than an order to go and fetch the cow. Away he would dash, barking with pleasure and leaping high in the air that he might better scan the plain for his victim. In a short time he would return driving her at full gallop before him, and gave her no peace until, puffing and blowing, she was safely driven into the farthest corner of her stable.
Less energy on his part would have been more satisfactory, but we bore with him until he grew so fond of this semi-daily hunt that he began to bring "old Dunne" without being told. And at length not once or twice but a dozen times a day this energetic cowherd would sally forth on his own responsibility and drive the cow home to the stable.
At last things came to such a pass that whenever he felt like taking a little exercise, or had a few minutes of spare time, or even happened to think of it, Bingo would sally forth at racing speed over the plain and a few minutes later return, driving the unhappy yellow cow at full gallop before him.
At first this did not seem very bad, as it kept the cow from straying too far; but soon it was seen that it hindered her feeding. She became thin and gave less milk; it seemed to weigh on her mind too, as she was always watching nervously for that hateful dog, and in the mornings would hang around the stable as though afraid to venture off and subject herself at once to an onset.
This was going too far. All attempts to make Bingo more moderate in his pleasure were failures, so he was compelled to give it up altogether. After this, though he dared not bring her home, he continued to show his interest by lying at her stable door while she was being milked.
As the summer came on the mosquitoes became a dreadful plague, and the consequent vicious switching of Dunne' s tail at milking-time was even more annoying than the mosquitoes.
Fred, the brother who did the milking, was of an inventive as well as an impatient turn of mind, and he devised a simple plan to stop the switching. He fastened a brick to the cow' s tail, then set blithely about his work assured of unusual comfort while the rest of us looked on in doubt.
