英语听力精选进阶版 14011

The government's cat fight

Summary

23 October 2012

There's been trouble this week between the occupants of numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street, the homes of the Prime Minister David Cameron and the Chancellor¹, George Osborne. But it's not exactly political…

Reporter:

Rob Watson

Report

I'm standing² opposite, arguably, the most famous terrace of 18th century houses in the world. I can see the black shiny door of number 10 and next door number 11. Yes, I'm in Downing Street, of course. I've been drawn³ here because there's been much reporting of a fight between the occupants. No, not David Cameron and George Osborne, we think they're still pretty good friends, or, at least, as friendly as any politicians can ever be with each other. It's their cats, who were captured on camera fighting. 

Freya, that's Mr Osborne's cat, was photographed giving the feline⁴ equivalent of a left hook to Larry, that's Mr Cameron's pussy⁵. To be fair, there have been rumours⁶ of tensions for some time. Larry, who was brought as a stray to Downing Street to deal with a mouse problem, has seemed, well, fairly indifferent to the job and, reportedly, took nine weeks to catch his first rodent⁷. Last month, Larry is reported to have simply dozed⁸ on a chair as mouse ran across the Prime Minister's office, to the frustration⁹ of Mr Cameron.

So, is feisty Freya making a move to become Downing Street's top cat? Asked about relations between the two cats, a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said they co-exist, but insisted she was not "going to get into commenting on the adventures of our feline friends in Downing Street". Shame, could be interesting.

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 feline   

adj.猫科的

参考例句：

• As a result,humans have learned to respect feline independence.结果是人们已经学会尊重猫的独立性。
• The awakening was almost feline in its stealthiness.这种醒觉，简直和猫的脚步一样地轻悄。

5 pussy   

n.(儿语)小猫，猫咪

参考例句：

• Why can't they leave my pussy alone?为什么他们就不能离我小猫咪远一点？
• The baby was playing with his pussy.孩子正和他的猫嬉戏。

6 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

7 rodent   

n.啮齿动物；adj.啮齿目的

参考例句：

• When there is a full moon,this nocturnal rodent is careful to stay in its burrow.月圆之夜，这种夜间活动的啮齿类动物会小心地呆在地洞里不出来。
• This small rodent can scoop out a long,narrow tunnel in a very short time.这种小啮齿动物能在很短的时间里挖出一条又长又窄的地道来。

8 dozed   

v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He boozed till daylight and dozed into the afternoon. 他喝了个通霄，昏沉沉地一直睡到下午。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• I dozed off during the soporific music. 我听到这催人入睡的音乐，便不知不觉打起盹儿来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。