To prevent our dog, Lacy, from pestering visitors to our house, my mother often massaged her as she lounged beneath the kitchen table, her favorite resting spot. One day a contractor came over to talk about a home-improvement project.?
為避免我們的狗，萊希，糾纏來訪的客人，我母親常在愛犬喜歡呆的地方，即餐桌下面，摩昵它。一天，一個(gè)建筑商來談居室裝潢工程。

As he and my mother sat across the table discussing the renovations, my mother slipped off her shoes and mindlessly soothed Lacy with her feet.?
在這人和我母親坐在餐桌邊談居室的修茸時(shí)，我母親滑脫了她的鞋子，開始不經(jīng)意地用腳摩蹭起萊希來。

My mother had been talking for about a half-hour when to her great embarrassment she heard Lacy bark outside the front door.
談話進(jìn)行了半個(gè)小時(shí)的時(shí)候，我母親突然感到很不好意思起來，因?yàn)檫@時(shí)她聽到了萊希在前門外的犬吠聲。

【注釋】

(1) prevent （from）v.避免；阻止

(2) pester v.使苦惱；困擾

(3) massage v.按摩；揉捏

(4) lounge v.懶洋洋地坐著或站著

(5) contractor n.承包商

(6) improvement n.改進(jìn)；改善

(7) renovation n.修復(fù)；修理

(8) slip off滑脫；掉

(9) mindlessly adv.不注意地