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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
BBC Learning English
Video Words in the News
19 March 2013
Hugging lions
Visitors to this private zoo in Buenos Aires can pet and feed dangerous animals.
The owner claims to be able to domesticate3 tigers, lions and bears by raising them alongside dogs.
He says he keeps animals passive by never letting them go hungry.
But critics say they're calm because they're sedated4, and that this kind of interaction is risky5 for both humans and animals alike.
Vocabulary:
the lion's den used to describe a dangerous or threatening place or situation
pet to stroke gently (an animal or child)
domesticate to bring animals or plants under human control in order to provide food, power, or company
passive accepting what happens without trying to control or change things
sedated
given drugs that make you sleepy or calm
Exercise:
Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from news reports.
Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.
the lion's den / pet / domesticate / passive / sedated
1. Humans are a selfish species - we breed and ___________ millions of animals for our own purposes of companionship and control, and then we complain if "too much" money is spent on their medical treatment.
2. The gorillas6 are being ___________ for the journey, which involves two scheduled flights and another journey by a helicopter loaned by the president of the West African country.
3. "I'm not going to get any easy fights at this level, he is the WBC champion of the world. I am entering ___________, I'm fighting in his home town - but I am looking forward to it."
4. The Kis-Kis Cafe - the name means Here, Kitty Kitty - charges a couple of pennies a minute to ___________ a cat, and is the first of its kind in this vast region of eastern Russia, Rossiya 1 TV reports.
5. "A lot of people view the television as a very ___________ thing now. It's in the corner, it's always just rolling 24/7.
Answers:
1. Humans are a selfish species - we breed and domesticate millions of animals for our own purposes of companionship and control, and then we complain if "too much" money is spent on their medical treatment. Source: Should pets have a ￡15m hospital?
2. The gorillas are being sedated for the journey, which involves two scheduled flights and another journey by a helicopter loaned by the president of the West African country. Source: Port Lympne's gorillas Djala returned to Gabon with family
3. "I'm not going to get any easy fights at this level, he is the WBC champion of the world. I am entering the lions den, I'm fighting in his home town - but I am looking forward to it." Source: Old Spice back in fashion
4. The Kis-Kis Cafe - the name means Here, Kitty Kitty - charges a couple of pennies a minute to pet a cat, and is the first of its kind in this vast region of eastern Russia, Rossiya 1 TV reports.
Source: Russia: paying by the minute to cuddle cats
5. "A lot of people view the television as a very passive thing now. It's in the corner, it's always just rolling 24/7. Source: Minecraft gamer's YouTube hit 'more popular than Bieber'
收听单词发音 |
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| n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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domesticate
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| vt.驯养；使归化，使专注于家务 | |
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sedated
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| v.使昏昏入睡，使镇静( sedate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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risky
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| adj.有风险的，冒险的 | |
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gorillas
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| n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手 | |
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