TPS News

Correct best answer: Replace “fiend” with “friend”

“The faithful Saint Bernard raised its head till its soulful eyes rested on me and I immediately knew I would not be able to euthanize this old friend.”

“Fiend” often is used ironically. Basically, a fiend is someone or something that is obsessed. The obsession can be either healthy or unhealthy, but always is immoderate. The devil can be said to be a fiend, but so can a golfer who hits the links every day. While it is possible the dog in this sentence was troublesome by fiendishly bounding after children who fell, wanting to rescue them, it is more likely the “faithful” animal with the “soulful” eyes was an old “friend.” The two words give the sentence two different feelings, one gently chiding, the other saddening.
“Fiend”（惡魔、著魔者、成癮者）經常用來表達諷刺之意，基本上是指著了迷或成癮的人或事物。癮頭可能健康、可能不健康，但必定放縱無節制。惡魔可以說是 “fiend”，每天揮桿的高爾夫球手也可以說是 “fiend”。雖然句子裡的狗可能愛惹麻煩，著魔似的跟在跌倒的孩子後面想要保護他們，但這隻有著 “soulful”（深情）雙眼、“faithful”（忠實）的動物比較像是 “friend”（朋友）。這兩個字給句子兩種不同的感覺，一種略帶斥責，一種哀痛悲傷。