常春藤生活英语【4】Triumph of Life 生存赢家

Men are from Mars and women are from Venus. This statement is certainly correct in the human world, but is it also true in the animal world? Since the beginning of time, animals have done odd things to attract another's attention. Inside of all animals, there is a powerful need to breed. To continue the family bloodline is one of life's most important things. Males and females have different needs, so they have always battled each other.

Male animals are looking to mate as often as possible and they enjoy variety. On the other hand, female animals are much more picky. They are looking for partners of quality and ones that can make them feel safe. It seems as though animals and humans are much more alike than we know. Check out animals and all of their habits on The Mating Game. This is one of the shows in National Geographic¹ Channel's series, Triumph of Life. In The Mating Game, the winners get to continue their bloodline for the next generation.

男人来自火星，女人则来自金星。在人类的世界里，这句话说的对极了，但动物界中也是如此吗？自开天辟地以来，动物吸引异性注意的方法便无奇不有。动物的内心里都有强大的繁殖需求。传宗接代是生命中最重要的事情之一。雄性及雌性动物的需求不同，所以两性之间总是纷争不断。

雄性动物期望交配的次数愈频繁愈好，而且牠们还喜欢对象繁多。另一方面，雌性动物可就挑剔多了　…们寻找的对象必须很优秀，而且还要能让牠们有安全感。动物和人类的相似处似乎比我们知道的还要多。请收看《交配游戏》，观赏所有动物及其习性。这是国家地理频道《生存赢家》系列的节目之一。在《交配游戏》中，胜者才有机会为牠们的下一代延续命脉。

Building Your Vocabulary

1.odd　a. 奇特的，古怪的
The odd woman kept talking to herself.
那名奇怪的女子一直在自言自语。

2.breed　vi.（动物）繁殖；生育
Rabbits breed very quickly.
兔子繁殖地很快。

3.attract　vt. 吸引；引起（兴趣、关注等）
This sale has attracted many shoppers.
这场拍卖会吸引了许多购物者前来。

4.picky　a. 挑剔的　　
Elaine is picky. She wouldn't like this place.
伊莲很挑剔。她不会喜欢这个地方。

Phrases for Learning

1.be looking to + 原形动词　　打算∕期待（做）……
Bruce is looking to buy a new house soon.
布鲁斯想在不久之后买栋新房子。

2.of quality　　优秀的
Monica thinks that Will is a man of quality.
莫妮卡认为威尔是个优秀的好男人。

参考字词

1.Mars　n. 火星

2.Venus　n. 金星

3.bloodline　n. 血统；血脉

4.mate　vi. 交配（本文亦以现在分词作形容词用）

5.triumph　n. 胜利

6.generation　n. 世代，一代

Tips In Use

Men are from Mars and women are from Venus.
（男人来自火星，女人则来自金星。）

表行星的名词如 Mars、Venus、Jupiter（木星）等皆为专有名词，故第一个字母要大写，且其前不加任何冠词。earth（地球）则通常不用大写，且其前要用定冠词 the，但用于"疑问词 + on earth...?"（究竟∕到底……？）的句型中时，earth 之前不加冠词，亦不须大写。例：

What on earth are you doing?
（你到底在做什么？）

　How on earth are we going to get there?
（我们究竟该怎样到那里？）

1 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法