【双语阅读】宠物：美国老年社区的好伙伴.

　　为帮助广大考生更好地准备雅思、托福、SAT等考试，澳际留学特推出【英语学习】频道，涵盖基础英语、实用英语、娱乐英语等多项内容，在您通往成功的道路上做您最坚实的左膀右臂。

　　以下部分为【双语阅读】内容，中文翻译部分见第二页。

　　Shirley Skirvin&aposs retirement community has its share of grumblings about aches and pains. But Skirvin, 78, who lives with her husband, Sid, in an independent living facility, has found a reliable if unintentional way to coax her neighbors out of their gloom: walking the grounds with her 6-pound toy poodle, Spunky.

　　"Dogs keep you from being so self-absorbed," said Skirvin, who brought Spunky with her when she moved into Village at Skyline in Colorado Springs, Colo., almost three years ago. "They remind you constantly of other qualities of life."

　　As pets prove to lift the spirits and, some research shows, health prospects of elderly people, many senior living facilities are making it a point to incorporate pets into seniors&apos lives, either through pet visits, having animals as permanent residents or allowing seniors to bring their own.

　　The number of senior living communities that permit residents to bring their pets has increased substantially in the past five to 10 years as more families request it, said Tami Cumings, senior vice president at A Place for Mom, the nation&aposs largest senior-living rerral service.

　　With about 40 percent of adult children inquiring about pet-friendly homes for their parents, the agency has compiled a guide to pet-friendly senior communities that its advisers use when placing clients. About half of the 18,000 programs in the agency&aposs network are pet-friendly.

　　"Many times we talk to families that have had a loss of a spouse, and they say, &aposI can&apost take the dog away,&apos" Cumings said. People with allergies or who would prer not to live among pets still have plenty of pet-free communities to choose from, she noted.

　　While dogs are most common, many different types of animals bring cheer to senior communities. At Pet Partners, a Bellevue, Wash.-based nonprofit agency that trains and screens volunteers to take their pets on visits to senior centers, hospitals and schools, registered animals include birds, llamas, chickens, guinea pigs and miniature horses.

　　A 2002 study found having fish tanks in Alzheimer&aposs units, where patients spent long stretches pacing and suffered weight loss, improved residents&apos food intake and encouraged modest weight gain.

　　"Nothing holds their attention except fish tanks," said study author Alan Beck, director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. "I think our attraction to nature even survives our dementia."

　　Even robotic animals, an alternative in places where having a live animal might be too difficult or risky, can elicit positive responses from the elderly. A Canadian study of dementia patients interacting with Paro, a cute robotic baby harp seal, found many showed improved mood. Beck is in the midst of a study of how healthy elderly adults interact with a robotic dog called Aibo, and has found they talk to and confide in it as if it were a live dog - even though it&aposs hard and looks like a machine.

　　"You&aposre already suspending disbeli when you talk to your real dog; you&aposre just going one step more when you talk to the electronic animal," Beck said.

　　The reasons for pets&apos palliative powers are varied. Touching, petting, even the way people talk to a pet are calming influences (for the pet as well as the human), Beck said. In the case of dogs, people are encouraged to walk. And pets demand attention.

　　"Pet care is one of the few opportunities for people to be a nurturer again," Beck said.

　　Research dating back several decades has shown that being around animals reduces blood pressure, improves morale and relieves depression. One landmark study, published in 1980, found people who had had heart attacks were more likely to still be alive a year later if they owned pets than if they didn&apost. Another, published in 1990, found elderly Medicare enrollees who owned dogs went to the doctor less often than those who did not, and were less likely to reach out to a doctor after a stressful life event.

　　Pets can provide comfort and companionship to a population at high risk of social deprivation, sometimes more than people can. In a 2006 study, geriatricians from Saint Louis University found nursing home residents who scored high on a loneliness scale felt less lonely when they spent one-on-one time with a visiting dog than if they visited with the dog and their peers.

　　Tania Prystash, a volunteer manager at VITAS, the nation&aposs largest hospice provider, said patients who can no longer relate to people often still can bond with a pet. VITAS has a program called Paw Pals that brings volunteer owners and their pets, mostly dogs, to visit hospice patients in their homes or assisted living facilities.

　　Prystash remembers a patient in a dementia unit who was withdrawn and hadn&apost spoken for days, no matter what people tried, but when a Paw Pals member arrived she lit up and started talking about dogs she had as a child.

　　"There&aposs something magical that happens with pets," Prystash said, more than with other tools like music.

　　When Jeanine Young was seeking an assisted living facility for her 94-year-old uncle, Merritt Ziolkowski, a big reason she chose Sunrise Senior Living in Schaumburg, Ill., outside Chicago, was the friendly golden retriever, Molly.

　　"I think it made him feel more at home" during the difficult transition, said Young, who lives in Frederick, Md. He had an instant friend and "something to talk about," she said.

　　In addition to Molly, who often does the rounds with the caregivers and is available for residents to take out for walks, Sunrise has a bunny named Little Elvis in the activity room, birds named Romeo and Juliet in the foyer and Murray the cat hanging out in the memory care unit, said Executive Director Lisa Lauer. Visiting with the animals is nurturing for residents, who sometimes don&apost see their families for several weeks, she said.

　　They comfort the families too.

　　"Molly makes me feel better about him being there," Young said.

　　【中文翻译对照】

　　雪莉·思凯乐文所在的退休社区里充斥着疼痛与痛苦的抱怨，但78岁的思凯乐文与她丈夫席德住在一个独立的生活设施内。她无意中发现了一个帮助邻居们摆脱忧郁状态的可靠方式：和她6磅重的玩具贵宾犬斯邦奇到庭院里散步。

　　“狗狗们会让你远离自恋状态，”思凯乐文说。大约在3年前，她搬到了科罗拉多州科泉市的斯凯莱村。“它们时常提醒你注意生活质量的其它构成要素。”

　　一些研究表明，宠物有助于提振老年人的精神状态和健康前景。许多老年生活设施也在通过多种方式刻意让宠物走进老年人的生活，或是欢迎宠物的光临，或是让小动物们成为永久居民，或是允许老年人自己养宠物等。

　　美国最大的老年人生活咨询服务机构A Place for Mom资深副总裁塔米·卡明斯说，在过去的5至10年间，由于越来越多的家庭提出申请，因此允许居民自带宠物的老年生活社区数量大幅度增加。

　　鉴于40%的成年子女为他们的父母咨询宠物友好型老年社区，这家机构编纂了一份宠物友好型老年社区指南，指导自己的咨询师如何接待此类顾客。在该机构服务网络的18000个服务项目中大约有一半的项目属于宠物友好型的。

　　卡明斯说，“我们和失去配偶的家庭沟通时遇到过无数次此类场景。他们说，‘我不能扔掉这条狗!’”。她同时指出，该机构依然有充足的无宠物社区供那些具有过敏体质或者不愿与宠物为伴的人选择。

　　除了常见的宠物狗之外，还有很多不同类型的宠物给老年社区带来了欢乐。宠物伙伴(Pet Partners)是华盛顿州贝尔维尤市的一家非营利机构。它培训并筛选志愿者带着自己的宠物走访老年人活动中心、医院和学校。登记在册的动物包括鸟类、美洲驼、鸡、豚鼠和微型马等。

　　阿尔茨海默症(即老年痴呆症)患者在房间里会长时间地踱步并伴随有体重下降症状。一份2002年的研究发现，在房间里放置鱼缸会改善患者摄取食物状况并可适当增加体重。

　　“除了鱼缸之外，能吸引他们注意力的东西并不多，”这份研究的作者阿兰·贝克说。他是普渡大学西拉法叶分校人与动物关系研究中心主任。“我认为正好可以借助大自然对我们的吸引力治疗痴呆这种病症。”

　　在某些场合，把一个活生生的动物放在那里也许有些难度或危险。在这种情况下，用机器动物代替实际宠物也会带给老年人积极的反应。一份加拿大研究报告显示，与帕罗(Paro，一个可爱的格陵兰海豹机器宝贝)进行互动的痴呆症患者的情绪有改善的迹象。贝克也参加了一项类似的研究。研究人员考察了健康的老人与爱宝狗(Aibo，机器狗)的交流情况。研究发现，尽管沟通起来很困难，而且爱宝狗看起来更像一台机器，但老人们却把它当成一只现实世界的宠物，和它说话并充分信赖它。

　　“你和真狗说话时就已经把它当成了知心朋友，现在你和电子宠物交流，只需前进一步即可，”贝克说。

　　宠物具有缓和作用的原因有很多。贝克说，触摸、爱抚，甚至人们和宠物说话的方式都会让人感觉舒服。宠物也会有同样的感受。以宠物狗为例，人们在鼓励下多走路，而宠物需要的是关注。

　　“宠物护理是让人重温养育者身份的为数不多的机会之一，”贝克说。

　　几十年前的研究已经表明，与动物们生活在一起有助于降低血压、提振精神并舒解忧郁。1980年发表了一份具有里程碑意义的研究报告。报告称，拥有宠物的心脏病人的生存时间比没有宠物的心脏病人要长一年。发表于1990年的另一份报告则发现，养狗的老年医保参保人员比不养狗的老年人看医生的频率要低很多，而且在遭遇重大生活变故时也较少求助医生。

　　宠物会为社交缺失的高危人群提供精神安慰和伙伴关系，有时宠物的影响力还要超过人类。2006年，圣路易斯大学的老年医学专家在一项研究中发现，在养老院中，孤独量表打分较高的老人在与来访的宠物狗一对一单独交流时会感觉孤独感下降，而与一群宠物狗接触时则没有这种感觉上的变化。

　　塔尼亚·裴斯泰是美国最大的临终关怀机构VITAS的一名志愿者服务经理。他说，通常情况下，拒绝与人交流的病人依然可以和宠物成为好朋友。Paw Pals是VITAS实施的一个项目，它安排志愿者及其宠物(主要是宠物狗)到需要临终关怀的病人家中或养老院中访问。

　　裴斯泰回忆起痴呆症病房的一位病人。不管人们怎样尝试，他总是默不作声，好几天都没说一句话。但当一位Paw Pals成员来了之后，她却笑逐颜开并和志愿者聊起了她当孩子养的宠物狗。

　　裴斯泰说“宠物竟有这么大的魔力，”甚至像音乐之类的工具都会自愧弗如。

　　珍宁·杨为自己94岁的叔叔梅里特·焦乌科夫斯基挑选养老院，并最终选中芝加哥郊外绍姆堡的黎明老年公寓(Sunrise Senior Living)，其中一个主要原因便是一只名叫莫利的友善的金毛猎犬。

　　这位住在马里兰州费雷德里克的女士说，在困难的适应期内，“我认为正是这只猎犬让叔叔有居家的感觉。”他有了一个即时的朋友和“谈论的话题”。

　　老年公寓的执行董事丽莎·劳尔说，莫利经常和护理员一起巡视，也会陪着这里的老人们散步。除了莫利之外，老年公寓里还有其它宠物，例如活动室里叫小埃尔维斯的兔子，门厅里的两只小鸟罗密欧与朱丽叶，还有那只叫玛瑞的小猫，它在记忆力保健护理病房活动。病人有时几周的时间都见不到家人，所以经常接触这些宠物是有好处的，劳尔说。

　　这些宠物也在安慰着病人的家属。

　　“有莫利陪在老人身边让我感觉舒心，”杨女士说。

　　为帮助广大考生更好地准备雅思、托福、SAT等考试，澳际留学特推出【英语学习】频道，涵盖基础英语、实用英语、娱乐英语等多项内容，在您通往成功的道路上做您最坚实的左膀右臂。

　　以下部分为【双语阅读】内容，中文翻译部分见第二页。

　　Shirley Skirvin&aposs retirement community has its share of grumblings about aches and pains. But Skirvin, 78, who lives with her husband, Sid, in an independent living facility, has found a reliable if unintentional way to coax her neighbors out of their gloom: walking the grounds with her 6-pound toy poodle, Spunky.

　　"Dogs keep you from being so self-absorbed," said Skirvin, who brought Spunky with her when she moved into Village at Skyline in Colorado Springs, Colo., almost three years ago. "They remind you constantly of other qualities of life."

　　As pets prove to lift the spirits and, some research shows, health prospects of elderly people, many senior living facilities are making it a point to incorporate pets into seniors&apos lives, either through pet visits, having animals as permanent residents or allowing seniors to bring their own.

　　The number of senior living communities that permit residents to bring their pets has increased substantially in the past five to 10 years as more families request it, said Tami Cumings, senior vice president at A Place for Mom, the nation&aposs largest senior-living rerral service.

　　With about 40 percent of adult children inquiring about pet-friendly homes for their parents, the agency has compiled a guide to pet-friendly senior communities that its advisers use when placing clients. About half of the 18,000 programs in the agency&aposs network are pet-friendly.

　　"Many times we talk to families that have had a loss of a spouse, and they say, &aposI can&apost take the dog away,&apos" Cumings said. People with allergies or who would prer not to live among pets still have plenty of pet-free communities to choose from, she noted.

　　While dogs are most common, many different types of animals bring cheer to senior communities. At Pet Partners, a Bellevue, Wash.-based nonprofit agency that trains and screens volunteers to take their pets on visits to senior centers, hospitals and schools, registered animals include birds, llamas, chickens, guinea pigs and miniature horses.

　　A 2002 study found having fish tanks in Alzheimer&aposs units, where patients spent long stretches pacing and suffered weight loss, improved residents&apos food intake and encouraged modest weight gain.

　　"Nothing holds their attention except fish tanks," said study author Alan Beck, director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. "I think our attraction to nature even survives our dementia."

　　Even robotic animals, an alternative in places where having a live animal might be too difficult or risky, can elicit positive responses from the elderly. A Canadian study of dementia patients interacting with Paro, a cute robotic baby harp seal, found many showed improved mood. Beck is in the midst of a study of how healthy elderly adults interact with a robotic dog called Aibo, and has found they talk to and confide in it as if it were a live dog - even though it&aposs hard and looks like a machine.

　　"You&aposre already suspending disbeli when you talk to your real dog; you&aposre just going one step more when you talk to the electronic animal," Beck said.

　　The reasons for pets&apos palliative powers are varied. Touching, petting, even the way people talk to a pet are calming influences (for the pet as well as the human), Beck said. In the case of dogs, people are encouraged to walk. And pets demand attention.

　　"Pet care is one of the few opportunities for people to be a nurturer again," Beck said.

　　Research dating back several decades has shown that being around animals reduces blood pressure, improves morale and relieves depression. One landmark study, published in 1980, found people who had had heart attacks were more likely to still be alive a year later if they owned pets than if they didn&apost. Another, published in 1990, found elderly Medicare enrollees who owned dogs went to the doctor less often than those who did not, and were less likely to reach out to a doctor after a stressful life event.

　　Pets can provide comfort and companionship to a population at high risk of social deprivation, sometimes more than people can. In a 2006 study, geriatricians from Saint Louis University found nursing home residents who scored high on a loneliness scale felt less lonely when they spent one-on-one time with a visiting dog than if they visited with the dog and their peers.

　　Tania Prystash, a volunteer manager at VITAS, the nation&aposs largest hospice provider, said patients who can no longer relate to people often still can bond with a pet. VITAS has a program called Paw Pals that brings volunteer owners and their pets, mostly dogs, to visit hospice patients in their homes or assisted living facilities.

　　Prystash remembers a patient in a dementia unit who was withdrawn and hadn&apost spoken for days, no matter what people tried, but when a Paw Pals member arrived she lit up and started talking about dogs she had as a child.

　　"There&aposs something magical that happens with pets," Prystash said, more than with other tools like music.

　　When Jeanine Young was seeking an assisted living facility for her 94-year-old uncle, Merritt Ziolkowski, a big reason she chose Sunrise Senior Living in Schaumburg, Ill., outside Chicago, was the friendly golden retriever, Molly.

　　"I think it made him feel more at home" during the difficult transition, said Young, who lives in Frederick, Md. He had an instant friend and "something to talk about," she said.

　　In addition to Molly, who often does the rounds with the caregivers and is available for residents to take out for walks, Sunrise has a bunny named Little Elvis in the activity room, birds named Romeo and Juliet in the foyer and Murray the cat hanging out in the memory care unit, said Executive Director Lisa Lauer. Visiting with the animals is nurturing for residents, who sometimes don&apost see their families for several weeks, she said.

　　They comfort the families too.

　　"Molly makes me feel better about him being there," Young said.

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