Mary:Can I see the new kittens?
瑪麗:我可以看看剛出生的小貓嗎？
Isobel:Of course, they're over here with their mother in this basket.
伊澤貝爾:當然可以。他們就在這個籃子裡，和他們的母親一起。
Mary:There are five! Aren't they tiny and so sweet?
瑪麗:共有五隻！這些小東西真可愛，不是嗎？
Isobel:Yes, they're only a few hours old and their eyes haven't opened yet.伊澤貝爾:是啊。他們生下來才幾個小時，眼睛都還未張開呢！
Mary:Is this the mother cat's first litter?
瑪麗:是貓媽媽的第一胎嗎？
Isobel:Yes it is, and happily they all seem to be healthy.
伊澤貝爾:沒錯，幸而這些小貓看來都很健康。
Mary:Do you expect her to have more in the future?
瑪麗:你們還要不要她將來再生小貓？
Isobel:No, we'll be taking her to the vet to be neutered as soon as she has recovered from the birth.
伊澤貝爾:不要了。她產後復原，我們就會帶她去獸醫診所做結紮手術。
給雄性或雌性動物做結紮手術，英文可用neuter或sterilize二字，The vet neutered/sterilized our tomcat即「獸醫給我們的雄貓做了結紮手術」。Neuter除了作動詞，還可作形容詞，例如：Our cat was male, but now he is neuter（我們的貓從前是雄性，現在已經去勢了）。此外，為雄性動物絕育，即割去睪丸，叫castrate或geld都可以；為雌性動物絕育，即割去卵巢，叫spay，例如：(1) Your cat has to be castrated（你的公貓必須閹割）。(2) Isobel decided to have her cat spayed（伊澤貝爾決定給她的雌貓結紮）。伊澤貝爾談到剛出生的小貓：Happily they all seem to be healthy。留意happily不一定解作「快樂」。形容詞(abjective) happy除了指「快樂」，還有「幸運」的意思，例如：(1) On his face was a happy smile（他臉上帶著快樂的微笑）。(2) By some happy chance he discovered a cure for the disease（他很幸運，偶然發現了治療這疾病的辦法）。副詞(adverb) happily同樣有兩個意思：用在動詞前後，修飾個別詞語，解作「快樂」；用在句子或一個子句(clause)之前，修飾整個句子或子句，則解作「幸運」，例如：(1) She happily stayed at home（她高高興興留在家裡）。(2) Happily, she stayed at home, or she would have been killed in the accident（幸而她留在家裡，否則遇上這場事故，就沒命了）。
