GRE阅读练习：宠物寄养服务让出行更放心.docxVIP

Word文档下载后（可任意编辑） 第 第 PAGE 1 页 共 NUMPAGES 1 页 GRE阅读练习：宠物寄养服务让出行更放心 GRE阅读训练：GRE阅读练习：宠物寄养服务让出行更放心 GRE考试精品课程指导  Putting a wolf over their heads.  把狼放在他们头顶。  The majority of Americans see their pets as family members, surveys show.  研究表明，大多数的美国人把他们的宠物看作自己的家庭成员。  Those with dogs are more likely to call themselves pet “parents” than canine “owners”.  养狗的人更愿意把自己称为狗狗的父母，而并非狗狗的主人。  There are more of these parents than ever.  现在比以前有更多的“狗狗父母”。  In big cities such as San Francisco and Seattle, (owned) dogs outnumber children.  在圣弗朗西斯科和西雅图这些大城市，被饲养狗狗的数量比人们的孩子还要多。  The ways in which companies are profiting from the trend are also multiplying.  公司从这一趋势中获利的方式也越来越多。  Not only is there organic dog food on offer, but packaged, raw food for dogs so they can follow a “paleo” diet reminiscent of what their ancestors ate in the wild.  不仅仅销售有机狗粮，而且还为狗狗提供生机包装食品，从而让狗狗能够回归原始饮食方式，回忆起它们祖先以前在野外所吃的东西。  A different sort of indulgence is orthopedic pet mattresses.  一种不同的溺爱方式就是符合宠物身体构造床垫的诞生。  This year Americans spent more than $400m on Halloween costumes for pets.  今年，美国人为宠物的万圣节装扮花费超过4亿美元。  Overall, annual spending on pet food and products in America has risen by around 40% over the past ten years, to $43bn—a remarkable rate of growth for an already large industry, says Jared Koerten of Euromonitor, a research firm.  总的说来，美国人每年在宠物食品和有关产品上的开销在过去10年间已经上涨了约40%，达到430亿美元。一家名为Euromonitor研究公司的Jared Koerten表示，这个增长率对于体量已然极其庞大的行业来说是惊人的。  Now a pack of startups has sniffed a fresh opportunity.  现在，一群创业公司已经嗅到了商机。  Much as Airbnb has offered travelers an alternative to staying in a hotel, two firms, Rover and DogVacay, want to give pet owners an alternative to kennels when away from home.  就像Airbnb已经为旅行者提供了另外一种入住酒店的方式，Rover和DogVacay这两家公司打算为宠物饲主出远门时提供一种全新的寄养方式。  Customers search for a nearby sitter and pay for their dog to stay in that person’s home.  顾客可以搜寻就近的“宠物保姆”，然后为他们的宠物支付“住宿费”。  The cost