What English do you need for daily life abroad?

Hey Sarah, do you have a minute? I wanted to ask you something.

嘿 Sarah，你有空吗？想问你个事。

So, we're going out of town next weekend — would you be able to feed our cat while we're away? It would just be for four days.

我们下周末要出趟门——你能帮我们喂猫吗？就四天。

💡 美国人请邻居帮忙看宠物很常见。通常会给对方一把钥匙+详细的 care instructions。回来后送个小礼物表示感谢。

Yes! She's pretty low-maintenance, honestly. Just needs food twice a day and fresh water.

对！她很好打理，说实话。一天喂两次加换水就行。

No medication. Actually — she does have a bit of a sensitive stomach, so please just stick to her regular food. I'll leave everything on the kitchen counter.

不用吃药。不过——她肠胃有点敏感，所以请只喂她的日常猫粮就好。我会把东西都放厨房台面上。

I'll give you our spare key before we leave. And I'll text you our vet's number, just in case. We really appreciate this, Sarah.

走之前我把备用钥匙给你。我也会短信发兽医电话给你，以防万一。真的太感谢你了，Sarah。

Okay Sarah, here's the spare key. Let me walk you through Mochi's routine real quick.

好了 Sarah，这是备用钥匙。我快速跟你过一遍 Mochi 的日常。

Around 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. But honestly, she's not picky about exact times — within an hour is fine. Half a cup of dry food each time, and I measured it out — the scoop is right next to the bag.

大概早上7点和下午6点。不过说实话，她对时间不挑——前后一小时内都行。每次半杯干粮，我量好了——量勺就在粮袋旁边。

Half a cup — she's a small cat. If you give her more, she'll eat it all and then throw up. I learned that the hard way.

半杯——她是小猫。如果给多了，她会全吃掉然后吐。这是我吃过的亏。

Yeah, just dump out the old water and refill it with fresh. She's weird about stale water. Oh, and one more thing — the litter box. If you could scoop it once a day, that'd be amazing. The scooper and trash bags are right next to it.

对，把旧水倒掉换新水就行。她对不新鲜的水很挑剔。哦对了还有一件事——猫砂盆。如果你能每天铲一次就太好了。铲子和垃圾袋就在旁边。

Call me first — I'll probably be able to tell you if it's normal. But if it's something urgent, like she's having trouble breathing, just go straight to the vet. I texted you the address already.

先打给我——我大概能判断是不是正常的。但如果是紧急情况，比如呼吸困难，就直接去兽医。地址我已经短信发给你了。