国家地理-2008-04-21 Cheetah vs. Gemsbok 猎豹与大羚羊的角力

Two cheetah¹ cubs² think they've found an easy meal when they catch a gemsbok calf³, until they are confronted by the calf's protective mother.

It's morning in the Kalahari, and this female cheetah has discovered that her cubs are growing ever more independent. She calls for them, but they’ve already gone out exploring. And they’ve discovered a wounded gemsbok that may have escaped from a lion. It's weak, but something tells them, they are still out of their league. They're intrigued⁴, but they don't know what to do. Its horns could be lethal⁵. It's too big, even for their mother to tackle. Eventually, their curiosity satisfied, they heed⁶ their mother, and leave the gemsbok to its fate.

Young male cheetahs⁷ like these often team up together. Whereas female cheetahs live solitary⁸ lives unless they have cubs. These two are probably brothers and partners for life. They hunt, go courting, and today, they are exploring together. The cheetah cubs have gone out hunting without their mother, and have come across a herd⁹ of gemsbok. And the hunt is on. They’ve caught a calf, but they are about to find out that like their own mother, the calf's mother’s fierce, when her offspring are threatened.

She's desperate to free her youngster from the cheetah's strangling bite. The calf seems none the worse for its adventure. And its mother turns her attention again to the cheetahs. The calf had a lucky escape. But the cheetahs have been fortunate as well. Gemsbok horns are deadly weapons. The cow could so easily have killed them.

When the cheetah cubs are about 18 months old, they are old enough to leave their mother, and to seek their own fortunes. Once they go, she may never see them again.

out of your league：

in a situation where you no chance of succeeding, especially due to lack of skills

none the worse(for sth.):

not damaged or hurt despite something.

 

 

1 cheetah   

n.(动物)猎豹

参考例句：

• The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal.猎豹被公认是世界上跑得最快的动物。
• The distribution of the cheetah ranges from Africa to Central Asia.印度豹的足迹遍及从非洲到中亚的广大地区。

2 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

4 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

5 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

6 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

7 cheetahs   

n.（奔跑极快的）非洲猎豹( cheetah的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Unlike lions or cheetahs, leopards are secretive, solitary cats. 花豹不像狮子或印度豹，是属于较神秘而隐居的大猫。 来自互联网
• Among this lot are cheetahs, lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, spotted hyenas and elephants. 印度豹、狮子、花豹、犀牛、斑点土狼、大象等，都是此地的居民。 来自互联网

8 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

9 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。