Japanese police have heaped praise on a Labrador retriever who found an elderly man who fell over in freezing conditions at night, the second time the dog was credited with saving a life.
The three-year-old black Lab, named 'Dor, suddenly started barking when she was taking a walk with her owner, Koichi Wada, in the western city of Iwade one evening last month, a police officer said.
"The dog led Mr Wada to a nearby irrigation ditch, where an elderly man was lying face up," the officer said.
PHOTO: AFP
The ditch was 1m deep and the 86-year-old man had been soaked in water up to his ears.
As it was cold and already dark, the man would have frozen to death if 'Dor had not sensed the danger and alerted her owner, according to the officer.
The elderly man soon had another stroke of luck. Wada stopped a passing car and found that a doctor was behind the wheel.
The doctor drove the man to his clinic, where he was treated for minor wounds in the head and hands.
Iwade police gave a certificate of gratitude to Wada for saving the man's life.
"The certificate went to the owner as there is no precedent for a dog getting a certificate," the officer said.
It wasn't the first time that 'Dor saved a human life, according to police.
She started barking at a car parked under a bridge last year, prompting Wada to check on it. Wada called police, who brought to safety a middle-aged man who was about to commit suicide. 日本警方日前表揚了一隻拉布拉多犬，因為牠救了一個在寒夜中跌倒的老先生，這是牠第二次因為救人而接受表揚。 警方表示，這隻三歲大的母拉拉名叫「朵兒」，上個月某天傍晚，朵兒和飼主和田浩一到日本西部的岩出市散步時突然開始狂吠。 警員說：「這隻狗拉著和田先生到附近的一個灌溉用水溝，發現有個老先生面朝上倒在裡面，」。 這個水溝有一公尺深，這名八十六歲的老先生浸泡在水裡面，水位大概高到他的耳朵。 警官表示：「那時又冷天色又暗，要是朵兒沒有嗅到異狀並告訴牠的飼主的話，這個老人很可能會凍死在那裡。」 幸運的事還不只如此，和田攔下了一輛車，結果那輛車的駕駛正好是一位醫生。 那位醫生載老先生到他的診所，處理了他頭部和手上的輕傷。 岩出市警局頒發了一張感謝狀給和田，感謝他救人一命。 警官說：「感謝狀之所以頒給狗主人是因為沒有感謝狀是頒給狗兒的先例。」 警方也說，這已經不是朵兒第一次救人一命了。 去年，牠對著一輛停在橋下的車輛狂吠，和田察看後，發覺有異就打電話報警，警方後來救出這名企圖自殺的中年男子。（法新社／翻譯：袁星塵）
For your information
TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字
1. credit v.t./v.i.
名譽 (ming2 yu4)，讚揚 (zan4 yang2)
例: Sarah was wrongly credited for Claire's article.
(克萊兒那篇文章的作者被錯標成莎拉了。)
2. irrigation n.
灌溉 (guan4 gai4)
例: The island needs to set up an irrigation system.
(這座島上需要建造一套灌溉系統。)
3. precedent n.
前例 (qian2 li4)
例: The judge referred to the precedent of the Archer v. Hawley case when returning his judgement.
(法官的判決援引了亞契對哈里案的前例。)
4. prompt v.t.
促使 (cu4 shi3)
例: The bomb scare prompted the school to put together a better evacuation system.
(那場炸彈驚魂促使該校制定了一套更完善的逃生計畫。)
For your information
SAY WHAT? 說說看
A stroke of luck refers to something that happens by chance which is fortunate. For example: "I was facing a long walk home, having missed the last train, but by a stroke of luck my neighbor drove past and offered me a ride all the way home."
If someone is in luck then he or she is unexpectedly able to do or have something. For example if a person was trying to find a cheap fare the travel agent might say : "You're in luck, the airline has a buy one get one free offer on that route."
「a stroke of luck」指得是某件偶然發生的幸運之事，例如：「我錯過最後一班火車，本來得走一大段路回家的，但結果我鄰居恰巧開車經過，讓我搭便車回家，真是幸運！」
如果說某人「in luck」，表示他（她）出乎預期地獲得做某事或擁有某物的機會，例如當某人在比價機票，旅行社可能會說：「你真幸運！航空公司的這條航線現在正好有買一送一的促銷價」。
For your information
OUT LOUD 對話練習
Daz: I've decided to go to Barbados next year.
Jan: How come?
Daz: I fancy just kicking back and chilling for a while.
Jan: Sounds good. How long do you plan to go for?
Daz: I don't know. Six months maybe?
Jan: Are you serious?!
Daz: Not really, but I wish I was!
戴茲：我決定明年要去巴貝多。
珍：為什麼？
戴茲：我想要好好放鬆休息一陣子。
珍：聽起來不賴，你打算去多久？
戴茲：我不知道耶，大概半年左右吧。
珍：你是認真的嗎？
戴茲：沒有啦，但是我是這樣希望的。
kicking back 放鬆
Kicking back means relaxing and taking it easy.
「kicking back」就是好好放鬆的意思。
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