【英语趣味课堂】非洲生活-Africa Life

 Todd: OK. Leath, you're from Zimbabwe. Could you talk about that?

Leath: Yeah, OK. Well, I'm from Harare which is the capital of Zim. I was born there. My folks are British. My dad is from Manchester and my mom is from Scotland¹. They went out a long time ago. Yeah, growing up in Zimbabwe was "lacker" as we say there. That means really cool in Africans. It was like you grow up in a big open free place with animals and sunshine and it's just a really healthy place to be. Well at least it was. Today it's not doing too well because the economy has crashed but growing up there was really slick.

 

Todd: Wow! What animals could you see?

 

Leath: Just about an hours drive out of any city, you are able to come across just about anything. I've seen leopards² often at night about an hour out of the capital where I live. You see monkeys along the road, right up to the city outskirts³. In certain areas you'll have to stop for elephants. There's quite a few buck⁴ warning signs because they are actully quite dangerous at night. They jump across the road and your cars hit them at windscreen height. It is a bit of a problem. So, there's buck everywhere. Away from residential⁵ areas, there's you know your big five, rhino⁶, lion being the most... well interesting and I guess for foreigners. They are never really never around human settlement cause they are very very dangerous. They do take people from time to time.

 

Todd: Wow! That's fascinating. Thanks a lot Leath.

 

Leath: You're welcome buddy⁷. OK.

 

学习内容：

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

economy has crashed

Today, Zimbabwe is not doing too well, because the economy has crashed.

If an economy 'crashes' it goes from doing very well, to doing very poorly. Notice the following:

 

Has the economy ever crashed in Japan?

After the economy crashed many people had problems with money.

slick

 

Growing up in Zimbabwe is really slick, "lecker" as we say there.

If something is 'slick' it is really cool or fun.  Notice the following:

 

Your new clothes are really slick.

The hotel was pretty slick.

come across

Just about an hour's drive from any city, you're liable⁸ to come across just about anything.

When you 'come across' something, you discover it by chance.  Notice the following:

 

Did you come across my jacket in the basement?

We came across tons of fruit trees.

city outskirts

You can see monkeys along the road, right up to the city outskirts.

The 'city outskirts' is the outside part of the city far from the city center.  Notice the following:

 

There is a lot more space around the city outskirts.

How far is it from your apartment to the city outskirts?

from time to time

These animals do take people from time to time.

'From time to time' is another way to say once in a while. Notice the following:

 

Do you take a vacation from time to time?

We eat in restaurants from time to time.

 

 

1 Scotland   

n.苏格兰

参考例句：

• He has been hiking round Scotland for a month.他围着苏格兰徒步旅行了一个月。
• Scotland is to the north of England.苏格兰在英格兰之北。

2 leopards   

n.豹( leopard的名词复数 )；本性难移

参考例句：

• Lions, tigers and leopards are all cats. 狮、虎和豹都是猫科动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• For example, airlines never ship leopards and canaries on the same flight. 例如，飞机上从来不会同时运送豹和金丝雀。 来自英语晨读30分（初三）

3 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

4 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

5 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

6 rhino   

n.犀牛，钱, 现金

参考例句：

• The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
• They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。

7 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

8 liable   

adj.有...倾向的，有法律责任的

参考例句：

• We are all liable to make mistakes when we're tired.我们疲劳的时候都容易出错。
• He is liable for the fault of his son.他应该为他儿子的过失负责。