To prevent our dog, Lacy, from pestering visitors to our house, my mother often massaged her as she lounged beneath the kitchen table, her favorite resting spot. One day a contractor came over to talk about a home-improvement project. As he and my mother sat across the table discussing the renovations, my mother slipped off her shoes and mindlessly soothed Lacy with her feet. My mother had been talking for about a half-hour when to her great embarrassment she heard Lacy bark outside the front door.

Notes:

　　(1) prevent （from）v.避免；阻止

　　(2) pester v.使苦恼；困扰

　　(3) massage v.按摩；揉捏

　　(4) lounge v.懒洋洋地坐着或站着

　　(5) contractor n.承包商

　　(6) improvement n.改进；改善

　　(7) renovation n.修复；修理

　　(8) slip off滑脱；掉

　　(9) mindlessly adv.不注意地

　　(10) soothe v.抚慰；使镇静

　　(11) embarrassment n.局促；不安

Exercises:

根据短文回答问题：

　　① What kind of a dog was Lacy?

　　② What did the mother often do to make visitors feel at home?

　　③ Who came one day? What for?

　　④ How long had the mother been talking when she felt greatly embarrassed?

　　⑤ Why did she feel embarrassed?

16.母亲的脚

　　为避免我们的狗，莱希，纠缠来访的客人，我母亲常在爱犬喜欢呆的地方，即餐桌下面，摩昵它。一天，一个建筑商来谈居室装潢工程。在这人和我母亲坐在餐桌边谈居室的修茸时，我母亲滑脱了她的鞋子，开始不经意地用脚摩蹭起莱希来。谈话进行了半个小时的时候，我母亲突然感到很不好意思起来，因为这时她听到了莱希在前门外的犬吠声。

练习参考答案：

　　① She is a dog that likes to pester visitors.

　　② She massaged her.

　　③ A contractor came for home-improvement project.

　　④ About a half-hour.

　　⑤ Because she was massaging not the dog but the contractor' s foot.