20091116 Sniffing Out Peanuts (1)

Sniffing Out Peanuts

Dogs help people with severe food allergies live better lives

Riley Mers has a deadly allergy to peanuts. Touching a peanut can cause servere hives.　Breathing in peanut dust can cause Riley's throat to close up,　resulting in breathing difficulties. Fear of such allergic reactions made Riley avoid school, friends' homes and church. But that changed when Riley, now 9 met Rock'O - a dog trained to sniff out peanuts.　Dogs can be trained to detect drugs, bombs and many other things. That gave Riley's mom an idea: Why not train a dog to detect peanuts?

It turns out that some dog trainers were doing just that.　One of them is Sharon Perry in Texas. She trains dogs to sniff out peanuts - even peanut oil and dust - in six months.　The cost of a trained "peanut dog" can be over US$10,000.　To assist　families, the Mers together with two dog trainers started Angel Service Dogs.　The organization raises money for families who need a trained dog. So far, seven dogs have been placed. Riley now attends school with Rock'O. With his nose for peanuts, Rock'O helps Riley live a freer life.


dust n. 灰塵/塵土
=> dry powder
eg: Use this cloth to wipe the dust off the picture frame.
eg: The police dog sniffed the crime scene for clues.
eg: David can easily sniff out garlic because he doesn't like it.
eg: After being an agent for years, Susan is good at sniffing out promising stars.

reaction n. 反應/感應
=> actions caused by something
eg: Closing your eyes is a natural reaction that occurs when you sneeze.

turn out 結果是/證明是
=> end up
eg: At the end of the book, it turns out that the bad guy is actually a hero.
eg: I thought my boss was a cold-hearted person, but he turned out to be a great guy.
eg: The result of the game turned out to be a great surprise.

raise v. 籌(款)
=> collect
eg: This bake sale is to raise money for the school library.

hive n. 蜂窩/蜂巢
hives pl n. 【醫】蕁麻疹
eg: Nathan gets hives every time he eats shellfish.

break out in hives 起疹子
eg: Kathy broke out in hives after eating blueberries.

sniff v. 嗅/聞
eg: The police dog sniifed the crime scene for clues.
eg: He sniffed the fresh morning air.

sniff out something 聞出某種東西的氣味
=> discovery something
eg: David can easily sniff out garlic because he doesn't like it.
eg: After being an agent for years, Susan is good at sniffing out promising stars(看出將來誰會紅).

allergy n. 過敏症

allergic adj. 過敏的
=> have allergy to something

//== Chat Room ==//

life n. 生活
=> 複數 lives

live better lives 過更好的生活
live happy lives 過快樂的生活
live normal lives 過正常的生活
live quiet lives 過平靜的生活

live adj. 活的
live adj. 以現場轉播的方式

a live fish 活魚
a live volcano 活火山
a live recording 現場錄音
a live broadcast 現場轉播


//== Grammar on the Go ==//

Fear of such allergic reactions made Riley avoid school, friends' homes and church.
=> Fear of allergic reactions like these made Riley avoid school, friends' homes and church.

such
=> this/that kind of
=> like that


eg: I'm not sure about a plan like that.
=> I'm uncomfortable with such a plan.
eg: We need to be prepared for these kinds of emergencies.
=> We need to be prepared for such emergencies.