2017 考博英语 阅读题源经济学人文章每日精析（四十一）

考博英语阅读大部分博士研究生招生院校都使用《经济学人》杂志文章作为题源，考博信息网|http://www.kaoboinfo.com教育考博频道为考博生们将其中的文章进行深度分析，希望能提高大家的考博英语阅读水平，读懂长难句。

导读

在美国几乎每个家庭都有一条宠物狗，狗狗也是他们重要的家庭成员之一。近年来，他们在狗粮上花钱的比重不断攀升，一些创业者嗅到了商机的味道，便退出了一种全新模式的宠物寄养平台，给临时有事不能照顾自家狗狗的主人带来了方便。

Out of the doghouse

除犬舍寄养之外的选择

The sharing economy’s latest trick is home-sharing for pooches

分享型经济的最新手段就是家庭寄养宠物狗

Companies such as Rover and DogVacay are disrupting the kennel business

诸如Rover和DogVacay的公司正在扰乱犬舍寄养业务

Dec 3rd 2016 | SAN FRANCISCO

2016年12月3日|圣弗朗西斯科

THE majority of Americans see their pets as family members, surveys show. Those with dogs are more likely to call themselves pet “parents” than canine “owners”. There are more of these parents than ever. In big cities such as San Francisco and Seattle, (owned) dogs outnumber children.

研究表明，大多数的美国人把他们的宠物看作自己的家庭成员。养狗的人更愿意把自己称为狗狗的父母，而并非狗狗的主人。现在比以前有更多的“狗狗父母”。在圣弗朗西斯科和西雅图这些大城市，被饲养狗狗的数量比人们的孩子还要多。

kennels ['ken(ə)l] 主人外出时的小动物寄养处

Rover DogVacay 宠物寄养平台

pooches [puːtʃ] n. 狗

Canine ['keɪnaɪn]：犬，犬齿

Outnumber：数目超过，比…多

The ways in which companies are profiting from the trend are also multiplying. Not only is there organic dog food on offer, but packaged, raw food for dogs so they can follow a “paleo” diet reminiscent ofwhat their ancestors ate in the wild. A different sort of indulgence is orthopaedic pet mattresses. This year Americans spent more than $400m on Halloween costumes for pets.

公司从这一趋势中获利的方式也越来越多。不仅仅销售有机狗粮，而且还为狗狗提供生机包装食品，从而让狗狗能够回归原始饮食方式，回忆起它们祖先以前在野外所吃的东西。一种不同的溺爱方式就是符合宠物身体构造床垫的诞生。今年，美国人为宠物的万圣节装扮花费超过4亿美元。

Paleo：旧，古

Reminiscent of [remɪ'nɪs(ə)nt] :回忆

Indulgence [ɪn'dʌldʒ(ə)ns]：纵容，嗜好，沉溺

Orthopaedic [,ɔːθəʊ'piːdɪk]： 矫形的

Mattress ['mætrɪs]：床垫，褥子

Overall, annual spending on pet food and products in America has risen by around 40% over the past ten years, to $43bn—a remarkable rate of growth for an already large industry, says Jared Koerten ofEuromonitor, a research firm. Now a pack of startups has sniffed a fresh opportunity. Much asAirbnb has offered travellers an alternative to staying in a hotel, two firms, Rover and DogVacay, want to give pet owners an alternative to kennels when away from home.

总的说来，美国人每年在宠物食品和有关产品上的开销在过去10年间已经上涨了约40%，达到430亿美元。一家名为Euromonitor研究公司的Jared Koerten表示，这个增长率对于体量已然极其庞大的行业来说是惊人的。现在，一群创业公司已经嗅到了商机。就像Airbnb已经为旅行者提供了另外一种入住酒店的方式， Rover和DogVacay这两家公司打算为宠物饲主出远门时提供一种全新的寄养方式。

Euromonitor：(英国)商情市场调研公司

Startup：创业公司。

sniff [snɪf] 吸气

Airbnb 一个旅行房屋租赁社区

Customers search for a nearby sitter and pay for their dog to stay in that person’s home. The cost is around $30 a night, with the majority of that going to the sitter and around a fifth to the company—much less than you would spend to check your dog into a kennel.

顾客可以搜寻就近的“宠物保姆”，然后为他们的宠物支付“住宿费”。寄养宠物一晚上的花费是大约30美金，“宠物保姆”会收到其中大部分的钱，只有约五分之一的佣金归属这个公司。这比你花钱给宠物店照看狗狗要便宜得多。