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Editor: Kathryne Ogrod & Elsa Zhang
When you think about adopting a pet, what do you think of? A dog, a cat, a bird? I bet you never thought of having your own pet spider. There are many animals out there people love just as any fluffy kitten or bouncing puppy. Although these animals may be different, that does not mean they deserve any less attention.
說到養寵物，你首先會想到的是什麼？貓、狗還是一只小鳥？通常人們想到的都是那些毛茸茸的小動物。有沒有想過把一只蜘蛛當作寵物來飼養？盡管這樣的動物非同尋常，但不代表它們不被受到重視。
I have never liked spiders. I remember when I was little I would always yell for my father when I saw one so he could kill it for me. I was even able to train my cat to eat spiders so that I could sleep better at night. Then my sister decided to buy a pet tarantula. She thought it was the cutest thing in the world and she would cuddle up with it in a chair. I never understood how anyone could love something so ugly and disgusting. Then I met my friend Angela, who had a snake as a pet……
我一向不喜歡蜘蛛，小的時候每當看到蜘蛛，我都會尖叫著去找爸爸，為了消滅它們我曾一度訓練我的貓去捉它們，否則我總是睡不安寧。後來我的姐姐竟然買了只鳥蛛養在家裡，還經常一邊將自己蜷縮在沙發裡一邊欣賞這只在她眼裡最為可愛的動物。我實在是無法理解怎麼會有人喜歡這種丑陋惡心的動物。再後來遇到了我的好朋友安吉拉，人家的寵物竟然是條蛇……
My fear of snakes far surpasses my fear of spiders. One night, one of Angela」s friends decided to play with Angela」s snake, called Tinkerbelle. The next thing everyone knew there was a white streak heading towards the door. It was me running in terror. My friends said they had never seen anyone run so fast and would not stop teasing me for the rest of the night. I have never gotten over my fear of snakes but I do have a new found respect for people who choose to take care of exotic animals.
而我對於蛇的恐懼遠遠超過了蜘蛛。一天晚上安吉拉的朋友把她的寵物拿了出來，我頓時被嚇得落荒而逃，看到的人都在取笑我，說從來沒有見過我跑得這麼快。我對蛇的恐懼從來沒有消減過，反而更加敬佩那些敢於照顧這些奇怪寵物的人們。
I asked Angela one night why she liked snakes as pets and she said it was a fun pet. She feeds it about once a month -this is normal- and it does not need much care. She does not have to take it for walks or constantly clean up when it goes to the bathroom. The snake does not get into trouble for getting into the garbage like most dogs will or for spraying the curtains like most cats will. From this prospective, snakes don」t sound like such a bad pet… …But I am still not going to buy one.
一天晚上，我好奇地問安吉拉為什麼她如此喜歡蛇，她的答案很簡單，因為它們太可愛了。養一條蛇其實很省心，通常一個月喂它兩次就可以了，也不許要太多其他的照料，不用帶著它去散步或者給它洗澡。它既不會像狗一樣跑到髒兮兮的垃圾堆裡去，也不會像貓一樣把窗簾弄髒。這樣看來，蛇還真是一種不錯的寵物，但我還是選擇離它遠些的好。
When my sisters and I were little, we used to take care of hamsters. My grandmother hated hamsters because she said they looked too much like rats. Because we lived with my grandmother at the time, she made a little outdoor cage for the hamsters so that she did not have to worry about them getting out. These days I can understand her fear but back then I just thought she was being weird. After all, this was a lady who took care of a parrot who believed it was an attack dog. This parrot would try to rip any stranger apart with its beak if it had the chance. As a family, we also kept chickens as pets; which is considered by many to be a bit odd. Yet we were not allowed to keep hamsters in the house because they reminded my grandmother of rats. When I get to be a grandmother and my grandchildren decide to buy an ugly pet that they want to keep in my house, I think I will do the same as my grandmother and build an outside sanctuary for the animal. After all, there has to be some peace in your old age.
在我和姐姐小的時候我們曾經養過一種大頰鼠，當時和我們住在一起的奶奶很受不了這種貌似老鼠的動物。她為它們做了一個放在門外的籠子纔放心，現在我可以理解她當時的心情了。我還曾經看到過一個女人養了一只鸚鵡，那哪裡是鸚鵡，簡直可以算得上是條軍犬。它會想盡一切辦法用它堅硬的嘴去撕咬任何一個陌生人。後來家裡也曾養過雞，因為奶奶實在不喜歡那些會讓她聯想起老鼠的大頰鼠。後來我想，當我做祖母的時候我也會像我的祖母一樣，給我的孫子孫女們的寵物在外面搭個籠子，畢竟安享晚年是需要安靜的。
There will always be those people who crave being around the strange and unusual. There will always be those who favor what is considered 「normal」. I have a cat. I do not think I will ever own a snake but I would love to take care of a sugar-glider. If you do not know, this is a small animal –no bigger than your hand- that looks like a fluffy squirrel but is related to the possum family. They are very sweet and absolutely adorable! I do not mind taking care of exotic animals, as long as they are cute.
有許多人喜歡個性化的寵物，當然也有很多人喜歡普通的寵物，比如我現在正在養貓。我大概永遠也不會去養蛇，但說不定我會去養一只糖鼠，這是一種比手掌還要小的動物，看起來像一只毛茸茸的松鼠，但屬於負鼠家族，它們是那麼的甜美可愛，我不會拒絕飼養怪異寵物，只要它們伶俐可愛就好了。
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