【写在前面】

这是一个真实的故事，主人公James是一名瘾君子，靠着街头卖唱为生。有一天，一只橘黄色的公猫透过公寓的窗户偷偷溜进了James家。似乎从第一眼开始就情投意合，James把他留了下来，耐心地照顾他，从他身上懂得了什么是责任，获取了爱人的力量，最终戒掉了毒瘾。

此段经历写成的书The Street Cat Named Bob从此成了畅销书，James也不再为生计而烦恼，生活逐渐回到正轨。

接下来的这篇标题为"Bob was My Best Friend, My Soul Mate"的外刊选自The Big Issue，聆听James Bowen讲述与Bob相遇、相知及相离的过程。

【外刊精读】

A little less than a month ago, on June 15, I said my final good bye to Bob. He'd been at my side for 13 years, since I found him injured in the hallway of my building in Tottenham, north London, one evening in March 2007. He passed away at the age of 14 or so. I never knew his exact age; it never seemed particularly important. What really mattered was that Bob became much more than a cat or mere companion to me. He was my best friend, my soul mate. My brother, almost. Two slightly broken souls, we transformed each other's lives.

hallway n.【正门入口处的】 前厅，走廊

soul mate 灵魂伴侣，知己

slightly ad. 略微，稍微

He was someone I already knew slightly. 他这个人我略有所知。

broken a. 绝望的，毫无希望的

So it has been very hard to accept that he will no longer be around. I still can't quite believe he won't be a daily presence in my life, purring away at my side always. But as the realization that life will now go on without him slowly sinks in, so too does something more positive.

presence n. 存在

in the presence of sb. 表示当着某人的面

I asked you not to smoke in my presence

purr v. 【猫愉快时】发出呜呜声

电影截图

All of us suffer loss at some point. It's inevitable. Death is a part of life. But as we grieve we also start to see that in losing our loved-ones we can gain huge consolations. During these past few heartbreaking weeks, I have come to see that Bob left behind many of them.

grieve v. 【尤指因所爱之人去世而】感到悲痛

He died, and every day since then I grieved for him.

consolation n. 安慰；起安慰作用的人/物

If it's any consolation, things do get easier as the child gets older.

leave behind 留下，遗留

He drove off, leaving behind him a trail of blue smoke.

For instance, loss can throw a spotlight on the sometimes unexpected depth of love people felt towards the one who has left us. That's certainly been the case with Bob. To say he was loved is a gigantic understatement. The outpouring of emotion that followed the news of his death was immense. I received tens of thousands of messages online, so many that it will take me months to read them all. The offices of Hodder & Stoughton, the London publishers that published A Street Cat Named Bob, the first book about Bob and me, back in 2012, were inundated with cards, flowers and gifts in Bob's memory.

spotlight n. 聚光灯（throw a spotlight 指的是把聚光灯投到...身上，即把关注点集中到...上）

gigantic  a. 巨大的

A gigantic task awaits us.

understatement n. 不充分的陈述

To say the movie was bad is an understatement. 说这部电影不好还算是客气话了。

outpouring n.【强烈情感的】流露

The news of his death produced an instant outpouring of grief.

in one'e memory 为纪念已故的某人

She set up a charitable fund in her father's memory. 她设立一项慈善基金以纪念她的父亲。

电影截图

Almost all of the messages talked of how deeply Bob had touched their lives, how much joy he had brought them. How he had inspired them. Some left me shaking my head in wonder. As reported over the page, one lady wrote about the impact Bob made at a prison in the USA. Reading about his and my redemption had helped inmates to rehabilitate themselves, in many cases by finding work with animal charities or rescue centres. I hadn't truly appreciated how much of a pawprint he had left on the world.

wonder n. 惊讶，惊叹

The sight of the Taj Mahal filled us with wonder.

rehabilitate v. 帮助【重病患者】康复

appreciate v. 明白，理解

We appreicate that caring for children is an important job.

It also takes a loss sometimes to make us really appreciate what we had. Again, that's so true in Bob's case. He was, as the founder of The Big Issue Lord Bird tweeted, “a cat like no other". What a life he led as our book became an international bestseller then a movie. What things he saw, what places he visited. Foreign book signings, starring as himself in two films (a sequel to A Street Cat Named Bob, A Gift from Bob is released later this year), a royal film premiere, he experienced them all. Someone reminded me a week or two ago of an old saying: rather than crying that someone's life is over, we should smile at the fact that it ever happened. They were quite right, of course. It won't come immediately, but one day I will be able to think back on what happened to me and Bob and smile the broadest, most brilliant, smile. It was a miracle really.

starv. 这里是动词，指的是【在电影中】担任主角

sequel n.【书、电影等】续集

'Star Wars' and its sequels 《星球大战》及其续集

premiere n.【电影】首映

a movie premiere

电影截图

Another thing I've seen this past month is how moments of sadness and personal grief have the capacity to bring out the best in people. Everyone who has suffered a loss knows this. There's always someone who steps up to the mark, who emerges as a surprising source of strength. In this case I've been blown away - not just by the personal support I've had from friends and fans all over the world - but by the way in which Bob's memory is already inspiring people to do good.

blow away 使...感到震撼；使...感到兴奋（很常见的短语！）

I was blown away by how good that movie was!

For instance, I was touched beyond words to learn that, in the wake of Bob's passing, a Japanese activist and cat lover, Tsuyoshi Inaba, who is a co-chair of the board of The Big Issue Foundation in Japan, has announced his intention to create Bob House, a homeless shelter where people and their pet can stay together. I can't think of a better way to honour his memory. Bob saved my life, it's a solace to know that he may save many others.

beyond words 言语无法表达，说不出话来

After our parents offered to help us buy our first home, we were appreciative beyond words.

在父母自愿帮我们买房后，我们感激得说不出话来。

in the wake of something 紧跟在...之后发生（很常见）

We had no place to live in the wake of the fire.

be a solace to somebody 是某人的慰藉/安慰

My daughter was a great solace to me after Arther died.

亚瑟死后，女儿是我最大的安慰。

I, too, am in the early stages of working on a fitting tribute to Bob and hope to team up with an established charity to make it happen in the months ahead. But I can already see that his legacy will live on via projects like Bob House.

fitting a. 合适的，恰当的

It is only fitting that Simon should propose the first toast tonight.

tribute n.【表示感激的】礼物

legacy n. 遗产

She received a small legacy from her aunt.

电影截图

In the meantime however, he has another, more pressing, task to fulfil. Big Issue vendors in the UK recently ventured back on to the streets after more than 100 days of lockdown. This week they will go to work with Bob at their side once more, staring out - for the 11th time - from the cover of the magazine he helped me sell all those years ago outside Angel Tube station.

fulfil  v. 做【所需做的事】

A good police officer is not fulfilling his role if he neglects this vital aspect.

一名好警察若是忽略了这一重要方面，就是没有尽到自己的本分。

venture on 冒险做【有风险或危险的事】

I thought I might venture on a new recipe.

我想我也许可以尝试一种新的做法。

James Bowen本尊和街猫Bob

It is so fitting that it should be hitting the streets at this particular time. As the editor Paul McNamee wrote so eloquently a couple of weeks ago, Bob had become a symbol. “He represented a second chance and hope and never giving up on somebody, things that are hardwired into The Big Issue DNA." That indomitable, irrepressible spirit has never been so badly needed. And I know that he will provide each and every vendor with a piece of it. He never failed me. I know he won't let them down either."

hit the shops/ streets 【产品】上架，上市

I managed to get a copy of the book before it hit the shops. 那本书上市前我设法弄到了一本

eloquently ad. 有说服力的；表达生动的

hardwired a.【态度、行为方式等】固有的，天生的

The desire to communicate seems to be hardwired into our brains. 我们的大脑似乎生来就有与人沟通的欲望

indomitable a. 不屈不挠的/勇敢的

Alice was a woman of indomitable spirit. 爱丽丝是一个不屈不挠的人。

irrepressible a. 精力充沛的/开朗乐观的

The little boy is just so irrepressible. 这个小男孩总是很开朗阳光。

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