【一起闲话英语】美洲驼-Llamas

 Transcript: 

Zoo guide: OK, are we all together? Right, next we’re going to look at the llamas, but actually here we have four different animals which are all from South America and all related to camels. Llamas, which you have probably heard of, over here. And over there alpacas, vicuñas and guanacos.

Llamas and alpacas are both domesticated¹ animals and vicuñas and guanacos are wild. Llamas are the biggest animal – they can grow up to 1.8 metres tall and in the past they were used to carry things. Llamas are very sociable² animals and live together in groups, in herds³.

Teenager 1: Don’t they spit at people, though?

Guide: Well, yes, they can. All members of the camelid family sometimes spit. You don’t want to mistreat a llama; it might even spit some of the contents of its stomach at you.

Group of teenagers: Uuuugggh!

Guide: But if you treat them properly they are not likely to. They respond well to being trained and they are usually gentle and curious.

OK, over here we have the alpacas. As you can see, they are smaller than the llamas. They’ve got smaller faces and they always look as though they are smiling. Look at this one’s face.

Group of teenagers: Aaaah!

Guide: The alpaca is famous for its wool, which is softer and warmer than sheep’s wool. There’s a big demand for alpaca wool from the fashion industry.

Right, next to the alpacas we have the vicuñas. As I said before, these animals are wild and they are thought to be the ancestors of the alpacas. Vicuñas are very elegant⁴ and graceful⁵ creatures. Look at this one. She’s beautiful.

Group of teenagers: Mmmm. She’s lovely. (etc.)

Guide: Have you heard of the Incas? The ancient rulers of Latin America who lived in the Andes? Well, they wore clothes made from vicuña wool – only the royal family were allowed to wear the wool. It is even softer than alpaca wool but vicuñas can only be shorn of their wool every three years. For that reason the wool’s very expensive.

And, lastly, we have the guanacos. They are similar to the vicuñas, but larger and stronger. They are capable of surviving at over 4,000 metres in the Andes. When they are in the desert they survive by licking⁶ the water off the cacti⁷ and other desert plants. Right, any questions?

Teenager 2: I think I can hear this llama making a noise.

Guide: Ah, yes. That could be the llama humming. They don’t open their mouths, they just make this strange noise. They hum when they are stressed, or the opposite, feeling relaxed.

Teenager 1: Can llamas live in the UK?

Guide: Yes, there are quite a lot of llamas and alpaca in the UK. They adapt very well to our climate. They make good pets and sometimes they’re used for trekking⁸. You go on a picnic and use a llama to carry your food.

Teenager 3: Cool! I want to do that!

Guide: And sometimes farmers use them as guard dogs, I mean guard llama. The adult males will protect sheep and hens from animals that might attack them, like dogs or foxes. They’re really useful animals.

1 domesticated   

adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务，烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 sociable   

adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的

参考例句：

• Roger is a very sociable person.罗杰是个非常好交际的人。
• Some children have more sociable personalities than others.有些孩子比其他孩子更善于交际。

3 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

4 elegant   

adj.优美的，文雅的，简练的，简结的

参考例句：

• She was an elegant and accomplished woman.她是位优雅的才女。
• She has a life of elegant ease.她过着风雅悠闲的生活。

5 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

6 licking   

n. 殴打，挫败 动词lick的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The steak is so delicious that he's licking his lips. 牛排这么香，使得他垂涎欲滴了。
• The little boy is licking the ice-cream cone. 小男孩在舔着冰淇淋蛋卷。

7 cacti   

n.（复）仙人掌

参考例句：

• There we could see nothing but cacti.那里除了仙人掌我们什么也看不到。
• Cacti can survive the lack of rainfall in the desert.仙人掌在降水稀少的沙漠中也能生存下去。

8 trekking   

v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的现在分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• She can't come pony trekking after all because she's in a delicate condition. 她结果还是不能坐小马车旅行，因为她已怀孕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We spent the summer trekking in the foothills of the Himalayas. 我们整个夏天都在喜马拉雅山的山麓艰难跋涉。 来自互联网