(单词翻译:单击)
I understood that what was expected of me was to live with the new rules, the way I’d learned to live with Ethan going to do college.
我开始明白，在这里，我要按照新的规则生活，就像我适应伊森去上大学的那段时光一样。
The sharp pain I felt when I thought about how much I missed the boy was just something to get used to:
思念伊森时我所感到的那种剧痛就是一种我需要去适应的东西:
a dog’s job was to do what people wanted.
狗子的任务就是做人们想让我们做的事。
There was, though, a difference between obeying commands and having a purpose, a reason for being.
然而，服从命令和完成作为一只狗子使命之间是有区别的。
I thought my purpose was to be with Ethan and that I’d fulfilled that purpose, being by his side as he grew up.
我以为我的使命是和伊森在一起，我以为我会在伊森成长的过程中陪伴在他身边，完成这个使命。
If that was the case, why was I now Ellie?
但如果是这样的话，为什么我现在是爱丽呢?
Could a dog have more than one purpose?
莫非一只狗可以有不止一个使命吗?
Jakob treated me with a calm patience—when my little bladder suddenly signaled and let go all in the same rush, he never yelled and ran me out the door like the boy used to;
雅克布对我很耐心——当我突然有了尿意、没控制住自己尿了出来时，他从来没有像以前伊森那样叫出来，赶紧把我弄出门去;
he just gave me such praise for when I went outside that I resolved to get my body under control as soon as I could manage.
他只是会在我学会并成功控制住尿意的时候对我大加赞赏。
But Jakob didn’t gush affection the way the boy did.
但雅各布表达感情方式并不像伊森那样热烈。
Jakob focused on me in the businesslike fashion Ethan focused on Flare, the horse,
雅各布给我关注的方式很像伊森对那匹叫耀斑的马的感觉，
and to an extent I liked the sense of direction it gave me—
从某种程度上说，我喜欢这种方向感——
though there were other times I pined for the feel of the boy’s hands on my fur and couldn’t wait for Georgia to come over and call me Ellie-wellie Cuddle-Coo.
但有时候，我很渴望伊森用手抚摸我的毛，迫不及待地希望乔治娅过来叫我爱称。
There was, I came to feel, something broken inside Jakob.
我开始感到雅各布的内心有一种什么东西碎了的感觉。
I didn’t know what it was, but I could sense something drawing energy from his emotions,
我不知道那是什么，但我能感觉到有什么东西一直在从他的情绪中吸取能量，
a dark bitterness that seemed to me very similar to what I felt inside Ethan when he first came home after the fire.
我感觉那是一种黑暗的痛苦，与伊森大火后回家时我从他身上感受到的东西非常相似。
Whatever it was, it kept Jakob’s feelings toward me in check— whenever he and I did something together, I could feel him evaluating me with cool eyes.
不管那是一种怎样的东西，它都让雅各布对我的感情有所克制——每当我和他一起做什么事时，我都能感觉到他在用冷静的眼神打量我。
“Let’s go to work,” Jakob would say, and he would load me in the truck and off we’d go to a park for games.
“我们去工作吧，”雅克布会这样说，然后他会把我装上卡车，我们会去公园玩游戏。
I learned “Drop,” which meant to lie down, and I learned that to Jakob “Stay” really meant “stay”
我学了"Drop"，意思是躺下，我也学到了"Stay"对Jakob来说真的是呆着不要动的意思
and I was expected to remain in the same spot until he told me, “Come.”
我只能呆在原地，直到他跟我说“过来吧。”
The training helped me keep my mind off Ethan.
这样的训练让我忘记了伊森。
