Principal Watson is showing Ms. Sears, a parent, around an elementary school:
S:Thank you very much for the tour. I’m more confident now about enrolling my daughter here.
W:You’re more than welcome. We’re especially proud of our innovative5 canine6-assisted reading program here in the library.
S:Oh my! Is this a library or a kennel?7 What’s with all the dogs?
W:This is a pilot reading program. Twice a week handlers bring their dogs here so that students can read to them.
S:Are the children able to stay focused or does it become a playtime?
W:Our expectations are quite clear and the students have been happy to live up to them. It allows them an opportunity to read to a non-threatening partner.
S:I see. Students can read with more confidence without the scrutiny8 of a teacher or parent. Has it been successful so far?
W:Over the past year, we’ve had students progress up to four grade levels in their reading!
S:Wow! That is a success. I know that I was always scared to death of reading in front of the class.
W:Yes, the dogs have been a big hit, but...
S:But what?
W: But the children are always asking to take the dogs home!
犬類--我們?nèi)祟愖钣H近的朋友(下)
沃森校長(zhǎng)正帶領(lǐng)一位家長(zhǎng)西爾斯太太在小學(xué)校園里參觀：
西爾斯：謝謝你帶領(lǐng)我參觀校園，現(xiàn)在我更放心讓女兒注冊(cè)來讀書了。
沃森：十分歡迎。我們圖書館創(chuàng)新采用的助讀犬導(dǎo)讀計(jì)劃，尤其讓我們引以為豪。
西爾斯：喔！天哪！這是間圖書館還是狗舍？這些狗有什么用途？
沃森：這是試驗(yàn)性的導(dǎo)讀計(jì)劃，每星期馴犬師會(huì)帶他們的狗來兩次，好讓我們的學(xué)生對(duì)著它們朗讀。
西爾斯：學(xué)生真的能專心嗎？還是只和狗玩玩而已？
沃森：我們的目標(biāo)很明確，而且學(xué)生的確能很快樂地達(dá)到預(yù)期目標(biāo)，因?yàn)檫@讓他們有機(jī)會(huì)讀給不具威脅性的伙伴聽。
西爾斯：我懂了。沒有師長(zhǎng)父母的監(jiān)督，學(xué)生可以更加自信地讀書。到目前為止這項(xiàng)計(jì)劃成功嗎？
沃森：去年我們就有學(xué)生在閱讀方面進(jìn)步4級(jí)！
西爾斯：哇，這么成功！我以前最怕在全班同學(xué)面前朗讀。
沃森：是啊，這些狗可是一炮而紅，但是……
西爾斯：但是什么？
沃森：但是孩子們總吵著要把助讀犬帶回家！