英语听力精选进阶版 7075

Background:住在法国阿尔卑斯山脚下的美丽田园一位农民最近被自己的邻居告上了法庭，原因是这位农民师傅家的牛群身上带的铃铛叮叮作响吵的邻居晚上无法入睡。然而牛群身上的这些铃铛的响声只是法国乡村生活里各种各样声响的一部分。

Michel Deronzier grazes 放牛 his herd¹ （牛）群 of 70 dairy cattle 乳牛 on fields just outside the village of Villaz, in the pastoral bliss² 美丽的田园 of a French Alpine³ 阿尔卑斯山的 mountainside.

Several of the animals wear cow-bells 牛铃铛 - not for decoration, he insists, but for the very practical 实际的，实用的 reason that they can be more easily located 找到 if they stray 走丢了，迷路了.

But several of Monsieur Deronzier's neighbours have had enough 受够了. They say that the constant chiming 响声 of the cow-bells is stopping them sleeping, and now one of them has filed a suit 上告 at the courts demanding that the herd be kept away.

Monsieur Deronzier is naturally 当然 furious, but he might be comforted if he knew that his case is far from unique 一点儿都不罕见. In recent years across France there's been a series of lawsuits⁴ over such rustic⁵ 乡下的 nuisances as the crowing 啼叫 of cocks 公鸡, the quacking⁶ (鸭子) 呷呷叫声 of ducks or the clanging 叮当声 of church bells.

It's a reflection of the changing sociological 社会学的 face of the French provinces 省. Most of the lawsuits are filed by a new type of rural inhabitant 农村的住户: former town-dwellers 曾经的城市居民 who've come in search of the silence and instead find life in the countryside disquietingly 令人心烦的 loud.

GLOSSARY⁷ 词汇表

grazes 放牛

herd （牛）群

dairy cattle 乳牛

pastoral bliss 美丽的田园

Alpine 阿尔卑斯山的

cow-bells 牛铃铛

practical 实际的, 实用的

located 找到

stray 走丢了，迷路了

had enough 受够了

chiming 响声

filed a suit 上告

naturally 当然

far from unique 一点儿都不罕见

rustic 乡下的

crowing 啼叫

cocks 公鸡

quacking (鸭子) 呷呷叫声

clanging 叮当声

sociological 社会学的

provinces 省

rural inhabitant 农村的住户

former town-dwellers 曾经的城市居民

disquietingly 令人心烦的

Questions and Answers

1. How many cows does Michel Deronzier own?

He has a herd of 70 cattle – so he owns 70 cows.

2. Why do his cows wear bells?

They wear bells so that they can be more easily found if they wander away.

3. Is this the first court case of this kind?

No, this case is ‘far from unique’. There have been other court cases over noisy animals and church bells.

4. What sort of people have been complaining about noise in the countryside?

A new type of resident has been complaining – ‘former town-dwellers’, so people who used to live in towns.

1 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。

2 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

3 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

4 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

5 rustic   

adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬

参考例句：

• It was nearly seven months of leisurely rustic living before Michael felt real boredom.这种悠闲的乡村生活过了差不多七个月之后,迈克尔开始感到烦闷。
• We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.我们希望新鲜的空气和乡村的氛围能帮他调整自己。

6 quacking   

v.（鸭子）发出嘎嘎声( quack的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• For the rest it was just a noise, a quack-quack-quacking. 除此之外，便是一片噪声，一片嘎嘎嘎的叫嚣。 来自英汉文学
• The eyeless creature with the quacking voice would never be vaporized. 那没眼睛的鸭子嗓也不会给蒸发。 来自英汉文学

7 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。