英语博客：A Human Sandwich.

 　　It's not often that(1) I find myself trapped, stuck in the middle of two things. However, I put myself in the middle of two things the other day deliberately¹(2). The two things were my dog and cat. The dog wanted to get the cat, and the cat wanted to test her young claws on the dog's nose. I have been training my little kitten. She is getting used to(3) the front garden, so when she's older, I can let her out by herself. I have a little harness²(4) for her, (I call it her bra), which attaches around her chest. Then the leash³(5) clips⁴ into it, so I can gently hold the leash and follow her while she explores. Perfect. Well, not really. My dog Foxy can jump over the gate and come to the front garden whenever she wants to(6). That's the problem. She is very, very smart. She approaches us, focusing on the cat. I tell her "no" and act like a confident boss. She responds by lying down and acting⁵ sweet. However, I can see in her eyes that she is just pretending for her stupid human owner. Really, she's ready for war, and her enemy is the cat. She looks at me with sad, sweet eyes, and then back at the cat with an unbreakable(7) stare. She licks⁶ her lips. I feel quite proud of myself for staying(8) right in the middle, the great protector. Suddenly a car scares the cat and she runs for the door. Foxy, the dog, jumps to attack, but the cat is too quick. She gets out her weapon, her claws, and goes for the nose. This is a new experience for Foxy; her precious nose must be protected, so she backs away(9). When the cat and I are back inside the house, I realize how ridiculous that scene was. And was I even necessary? I'm sure the natural dog and natural cat don't need a civilized⁷ woman to keep the peace. Why? Because naturally speaking, there is no peace between a cat and a dog.

　　1. 'It's not often that I...' this sentence and the use of 'often' could be written a different way, and with 'often' at the end.

　　a. I don't find myself trapped (very) often.  OR   It's not often that I find myself trapped.

　　b. It's not often that he reads all night.       OR  He doesn't read all night (very) often.

　　c. It's not often they visit us.                    OR  They don't visit us (very) often.

　　2. 'Deliberately' means 'on purpose'. Let's practice the pronunciation.

　　Del-i-ber-ate-ly         Del-i-ber-ate-ly      Del-i-ber-ate-ly      Del-i-ber-ate-ly

　　3. 'To get used to' is a phrase that we have covered before. It is the same as 'to familiarize yourself with' or 'to become accustomed to'. It is much easier to use 'to get used to',

　　a. It might take a long time, but you will get used to the weather here.

　　b. I just can't get used to my new work schedule.

　　c. Get used to it! You have no choice.

　　4. 'A harness' is like a piece of clothing made of straps⁸ that fits around the body. In rock climbing, a rope is attached to it to keep the climber safe.

　　a. The rock climber checked his harness before he started climbing.

　　5. 'A leash' is the cord⁹ or rope that is attached to a dog or cat collar when you take them for a walk.

　　a. I bought a new leash for my dog because she had chewed the other one.

　　b. You need a stronger leash for that big dog.

　　6. 'Whenever she wants to' in the U.S the preposition¹⁰ 'to' is often missed out. In England, however, we normally¹¹ include it.

　　a. They'll do it whenever they want to.     OR    They'll do it whenever they want.

　　b. I'll say whatever I want to.                  OR    I'll say whatever I want.

　　c. They always went wherever they wanted to.     OR They always went wherever they wanted.

　　7. 'Unbreakable' means that it is impossible to break.

　　Un-break-able       un-break-able      un-break-able     un-break-able

　　8. 'I feel quite proud of myself for staying.....' it is the structure of this sentence that is useful:

　　Subject + emotion + preposition + (oneself) + for + gerund

　　a.  He's happy with himself for getting the promotion¹².

　　b. I'm disappointed in myself for getting angry.

　　c. She's ashamed of herself for being lazy.

　　d. They're proud of themselves for building the house.

　　9. 'To back away' can also be expressed as 'to back off'. 'To back down' is similar, but it also means to give up in a fight, or to stop offering a threat.

　　a. The protesters backed off when the police arrived.

　　b. The younger lion backed down when the alpha male confronted¹³ him.

　　Thanks for joining me! Let me know your questions and comments at [email protected], and I will send you an email in return. You're all invited to join my FACEBOOK page Anna Fromacupofenglish.

1 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。

2 harness   

n.马具；类似马具的装备；vt.给上马具

参考例句：

• He paid ten dollars for the new harness.他花十美元买了这件马具。
• I harness the horse to the cart. 我把马套在车上。

3 leash   

n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住

参考例句：

• I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳，但被狗挡住了路。
• The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带，想挣脱开去。

4 clips   

n.剪（ clip的名词复数 ）；剪短；剪报；（塑料或金属的） 夹子v.用别针别在某物上，用夹子夹在某物上（ clip的第三人称单数 ）；剪掉；缩短；给…剪毛（或发）

参考例句：

• toe clips on a bicycle 自行车上的踏脚夹套
• Use the crocodile clips to attach the cables to the battery. 用鳄鱼嘴夹把电缆接到蓄电池上。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 licks   

舔( lick的第三人称单数 )； 打败； （波浪）轻拍； （火焰）吞卷

参考例句：

• He was ready to take his licks. 他准备挨打。
• It licks me how he did it. 我真弄不懂他是怎么做成的。

7 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

8 straps   

n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• the shoulder straps of her dress 她连衣裙上的肩带
• The straps can be adjusted to suit the wearer. 这些背带可进行调整以适合使用者。

9 cord   

n.绳，线；纺织品；小电线；腱

参考例句：

• I wear a safety cord all the time.我一直带着安全绳索。
• I pulled the cord,and I felt a strong jerk.拉住绳索，我强烈的恐惧。

10 preposition   

n.介词

参考例句：

• You should cancel this preposition in the sentence.你应该删去句子中的这个介词。
• We use different preposition to talk about time,days,months and seasons.我们用不动的介词来谈论时间，日，月和季节等。

11 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

12 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

13 confronted   

面对( confront的过去式和过去分词 )； 使面对； 使对质； 处理

参考例句：

• When we confronted him, he denied everything. 我们与他当面对质时，他什么都不承认。
• The writer confronted his pile of work with determination. 那作家下决心面对成堆的工作。