英语博客(A cup of English):An animal icon show

Beginners.

On our recent trip to the zoo and aquarium¹ at Defiance² Point, my family and I saw a special show of wild animals. We sat in a packed open-air theater at about three in the afternoon and waited for the show to begin. Music played. It was the theme from Mission Impossible. I thought, "Why are they playing that music? What has it got to do with an animal show?" Well, it was a good idea for the show. The two female presenters³ found a box with a large red button on it. They pushed it, and a recorded voice gave them a mission, "To find the best way to enjoy the outdoors". Through the show they acted as if they were camping, hiking, and repelling⁴, and they talked about other out-door activities. With each activity, they came upon different animals, and showed them to us. One was an Aardvark. It walked on to the stage and suprised all of us. They are actually quite big. Its back was extremely round, and with its snout it busily searched for food under rocks. It looked cute and cuddly⁵. Everybody in the crowd said, "Ahhh," when it first appeared. When it had finished eating some food that had been deliberately⁶ placed for it, one of the ladies snapped her fingers, and it obediently left. Other animals came on to the stage. They were also trained. Wait until you hear about a few of them.

Grammar notes.

Useful phrases: to have to do (sometimes using got), to snap your fingers.

Exs:

The film doesn't have anything to do with the original book. Their themes are quite different.

I disagree with you, Sir. What you said has (got) nothing to do with my argument.

He shouldn't listen to our conversation. This (matter) has (got) nothing to do with him.

It used to be tradition to snap your fingers to call the waiter; now it is considered rude.

Advanced.

As the afternoon went on at the zoo, the show became more and more interesting. The list of different animals that made an appearance is long and quite varied⁷. A tortoise from Madagascar was displayed. It moved slowly, of course, and looked cute and defenseless. Then came a fascinating fishcat. That's right, a fishcat, not a catfish⁹. A fishcat is similar to a linx. It is sleek¹⁰, beautiful, and quite small. But this creature actually has webbed feet! Can you believe it? A cat with webbed feet, just like a duck! Unlike most cats, it swims, and catches its food right in the water. As you can imagine, with an all fish diet, its fur is very sleek. Then came the birds. There was an ostrich¹¹, a hawk¹², a toucan¹³, a barn owl⁸, and then a bald eagle. It was impressive how the ladies had managed to train these birds. Of course they used food to make them obey, and it worked very well. The owl was white, cute, and fluffy¹⁴, and its flight was completely silent. It flew over the audience and didn't make a sound. Last of all came the bald eagle. It was magestic, with a huge wing span, and an unpredictable look on its face. Iconic is the word, and a great way to end the show. It had been such an impressive show that we had forgotten how hot it was. We went off to get a drink, talking about all the animals and what we had learned. I'm so glad that I took lots of pictures.

Grammar notes.

Animal vocabulary: snout, hoof/ves, beak¹⁵, webbed feet.

That woman has a nose and mouth that are just like the snout of a pig.

Banging that coconut¹⁶ sounds like horses hooves on a road.

Be careful when you stroke your canary. Its beak is quite sharp.

The duck's webbed feet look like they are made out of rubber.

 

1 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

2 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

3 presenters   

n.节目主持人，演播员( presenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Each week presenters would put the case for their favourite candidate. 每个星期主持人推出他们最喜欢的候选人。 来自互联网
• Karaoke was set up to allowed presenters to sing on the stage. 宴会设有歌唱舞台，可让出席者大演唱功。 来自互联网

4 repelling   

v.击退( repel的现在分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开

参考例句：

• He saw himself standing up and repelling a charge. 他仿佛看见自己挺身而起，打退了敌人的进攻。 来自辞典例句
• Promote the healthy entertainment styles. Repelling the superstition, gambling, drugs and obscenity. 提倡健康娱乐。抵制封建迷信活动，拒绝黄、赌、毒。 来自互联网

5 cuddly   

adj.抱着很舒服的，可爱的

参考例句：

• The beautiful crib from Mom and Dad is so cuddly.爸爸妈妈送的漂亮婴儿床真舒服。
• You can't call a hedgehog cuddly.你不能说刺猬逗人喜爱。

6 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

7 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

8 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

9 catfish   

n.鲶鱼

参考例句：

• Huge catfish are skinned and dressed by hand.用手剥去巨鲇的皮并剖洗干净。
• We gigged for catfish off the pier.我们在码头以鱼叉叉鲶鱼。

10 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

11 ostrich   

n.鸵鸟

参考例句：

• Ostrich is the fastest animal on two legs.驼鸟是双腿跑得最快的动物。
• The ostrich indeed inhabits continents.鸵鸟确实是生活在大陆上的。

12 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

13 toucan   

n.巨嘴鸟，犀鸟

参考例句：

• A toucan is a South American bird.巨嘴鸟是北美的一种鸟。
• There is a toucan in this zoo.这个动物园有一只巨嘴鸟。

14 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

15 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

16 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。