Xiaoyu comes to adopt a cat. The volunteer first checks what her lease says, then prepares her for the first month.
The volunteer
您是来领养猫的吧？请先把这几个问题填一下。
Nín shì lái lǐng yǎng māo de ba ? Qǐng xiān bǎ zhè jǐ gè wèntí tián yīxià.
You have come to adopt a cat? Please fill in these few questions first.
Xiaoyu
好。上面问的，主要是房子的情况吗？
Hǎo. Shàngmian wèn de, zhǔyào shì fángzi de qíngkuàng ma ?
Right. Is what it asks mainly about the flat?
The volunteer
对。还要问房子是租的，还是自己的。
Duì. Hái yào wèn fángzi shì zū de, háishi zìjǐ de.
It is. It also asks whether the flat is rented or your own.
Xiaoyu
是租的。不过房东同意了，合同上也写着。
Shì zū de. Bùguò fángdōng tóngyì le, hétong shàng yě xiě zhe.
It is rented. But the landlady agreed, and it is written in the lease.
The volunteer
那就可以。很多猫被送回来，就是因为房东不同意。
Nà jiù kěyǐ. Hěn duō māo bèi sòng huílai, jiùshì yīnwèi fángdōng bù tóngyì.
Then that is fine. Many cats come back to us precisely because the landlord will not have them.
Xiaoyu
我看中了门口那只白的。
Wǒ kàn zhòng le ménkǒu nà zhī bái de.
I have taken a fancy to the white one by the door.
The volunteer
那只两岁了，疫苗打过，也做过绝育。
Nà zhī liǎng suì le, yì miáo dǎ guò, yě zuò guò jué yù.
That one is two years old, vaccinated and neutered.
Xiaoyu
它怕人吗？
Tā pà rén ma ?
Is he afraid of people?
The volunteer
头一个星期会躲起来。一个月以后就好了。
Tóu yī gè xīngqī huì duǒ qilai. Yī gè yuè yǐhòu jiù hǎo le.
He will hide for the first week. After a month he will be fine.
Xiaoyu
我要准备什么？
Wǒ yào zhǔnbèi shénme ?
What do I need to get ready?
The volunteer
除了吃的以外，最好再给它一个安静的地方。
Chúle chī de yǐwài, zuìhǎo zài gěi tā yī gè ānjìng de dìfang.
As well as food, it is best to give him somewhere quiet.
Xiaoyu
我把阳台收拾出来，可以吗？
Wǒ bǎ yángtái shōushi chūlái, kěyǐ ma ?
Could I clear the balcony for him?
The volunteer
可以。不过阳台的门一定要关好。
Kěyǐ. Bùguò yángtái de mén yīdìng yào guān hǎo.
You could. But the balcony door must always be properly shut.
会躲起来: he will hide. 起来 here does not say an upward movement but the entering of a state, and often the act of gathering in or withdrawing: 收起来 (to put away out of sight), 藏起来 (to conceal), 关起来 (to shut in). It is one of the commonest abstract uses of the directional complements.
我看中了那只白的: the white one is the one I have chosen. 看中 combines looking with hitting the mark: you have seen, and it struck home. It is used of a flat, a garment, a car, and it implies you have not yet bought or taken it. 那只白的 is a noun phrase reduced to its colour, which 的 allows without repeating 猫.
Chinese animal welfare groups almost all ask for written proof that the landlord accepts the animal, because returns for that reason are their biggest problem. They also check the applicant's age, income and sometimes their home. The questionnaire in the first line is therefore not a formality, and it is longer than a European form.
