【英语语言学习】人与马的相伴

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

There's a spot on the grasses of the Serengeti in which the steps of small three-toed ancestors of horses seem to fall into the same path as the footprints of early hominids. Were they walking together, hunting together, or did two groups just encounter each other more than 50 million years ago and decide they'd walk on together? The author of a new book says it's impossible to tell but irresistible¹ not to speculate that these fossilized prints depict² an extraordinary partnership⁴ that's lasted for centuries. Wendy Williams' book is "The Horse: The Epic³ History Of Our Noble Companion." And Wendy Williams, the author and journalist, joins us from member station WCAI in Woods Hole, Mass. Thanks so much for being with us.

WENDY WILLIAMS: Well, I'm so delighted you liked the book.

SIMON: Why do horses have hooves, not paws or claws or fingers?

WILLIAMS: You know, that's a question that I've been wondering about maybe since I was 5 years old. I don't think many people really think about it, but horses are the only animal on earth that has a - a hoof⁵.

SIMON: Yeah.

WILLIAMS: Other animals have hooves on - at the bottom of each leg, but the horse has managed to evolve just one hoof. And the answer to that question has to do with all kinds of changes on the earth - tectonic collisions and the rising of mountains and the explosion of volcanoes and the spread of grass and cold weather and warm weather and then cold weather again. It's all these very, very complicated energy systems that ended up giving us the horse that we have in the modern world today.

SIMON: You learned a lot as a youngster from a horse named Whisper, didn't you?

WILLIAMS: Oh, yes, Whisper. So in those days, I had a very small barn that I had to carry water back and forth⁶ from because there was no water down at the barn. In the summer time, of course, you can just run a hose down there. But in Vermont in the winter time, it's minus-10 degrees, so that doesn't work. One day, I thought I was being extremely clever by bringing the horses up to the water faucet⁷ on the side of the house and putting buckets under there for them to drink their fill. And I guess in the short run I was being somewhat clever. But in the long run, it didn't pay off. The reason was that one day when I got up and I was a little bit grumpy because it was minus-10 degrees outside, I decided⁸ to have a second cup of coffee instead of run down immediately and water and feed the horses. And as I wrote in the book, as any barn hand knows, this will cause consternation⁹ in the stalls. So while I was having my second cup of coffee, Whisper comes leaping over the fence. I had no idea he could even jump, let alone jump like that with such elegance¹⁰ and just come trotting¹¹ right up to the side of the house and take his hoof and pow, pow, pow on the water faucet until he managed to turn the water on. Of course, I learned my lesson because what I did not want to do was pay for a plumber¹² to have to come and fix the water faucet. So I managed to get up from then on, on time to bring them their food and water.

SIMON: For years, scientists thought that stallions had - they even use the terminology¹³ harems of mares. You think that might've been the product of modern scientists having male blinders on.

WILLIAMS: I don't want to accuse anyone here. But let me just put it this way - stallions are major-league drama queens. And when stallions have at it with each other, the mares don't pay much attention because they're used to it. But we pay attention, we look at it and we imagine that that kind of arguing on standing¹⁴ on two hooves...

SIMON: Yeah.

WILLIAMS: ...And hitting the other stallion with the front hooves, we imagine that that they control things. But in fact, they have some input¹⁵ into a band of mares, but the mares tend to make a lot of their own decisions. And if the stallion wants to be part of that, he has to just come along because they're going to go where they're going to go. If they want to get water, they're going to go get it. If they think there's a better place to eat grass, they'll do that. And the stallion is allowed to come along. But he's certainly not the major decision-maker in a band of horses.

SIMON: Yeah. This substantially turns on its head the kind of folk myth that we've had for years, right?

WILLIAMS: Well, I grew up with that. I think I've probably read every horse book for kids that was ever written. And I grew up reading that the stallion protected the herd¹⁶ and that the stallion would fight off all the enemies. Some stallions do fight off enemies to some degree. But to be honest, the scientist I interviewed, Jason Ransom¹⁷, said that he'd seen some stallions take off in the face of danger as much as he'd seen them defend the band.

SIMON: We humans like to think we've domesticated¹⁸ horses to haul things and plow¹⁹ fields and help us rove the earth. But you suggest there might be something more complicated going on.

WILLIAMS: I don't to think it's a black and white kind of thing. I don't think a horse is either domesticated or wild. I think they're just a lot of nuances in that relationship, and that's not just me. Scientists who study these things in all kinds of animals are beginning to understand the nuances in a relationship. And they're beginning to understand that many animals, horses included, may actually choose to be with us.

SIMON: Are we on the verge²⁰ of what amounts to a kind of - a new understanding that suggests a new partnership between humans and horses?

WILLIAMS: I'm sure that's happening. It's amazing to me - I had to set up a Facebook site because my publisher wanted me to, and I am astonished by the number of people all around the world who are working in this new way. As I say, it involves a lot more compassion²¹ for the horse. It involves a lot more communication with the horse.

SIMON: Because we don't rely on the horse for transportation and plowing²², that kind of close-working partnership anymore. But yet the popularity of the horse is undiminished.

WILLIAMS: People still love horses. It's just something about their beauty, their grace, their affinity²³ for speed. You know, we are traveling animals and so are the horses, so we just naturally belong together.

SIMON: Wendy Williams' book is "The Horse: The Epic History Of Our Noble Companion." Thanks so much for being with us.

WILLIAMS: Well, thanks for asking me.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TENNESSEE STUD")

DOC WATSON: (Singing) The Tennessee stud was long and lean, the color of the sun and his eyes were green. He had the nerve and he had the blood, and there never was a horse like the Tennessee stud.

1 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

2 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

3 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

4 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

5 hoof   

n.(马，牛等的)蹄

参考例句：

• Suddenly he heard the quick,short click of a horse's hoof behind him.突然间，他听见背后响起一阵急骤的马蹄的得得声。
• I was kicked by a hoof.我被一只蹄子踢到了。

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 faucet   

n.水龙头

参考例句：

• The faucet has developed a drip.那个水龙头已经开始滴水了。
• She turned off the faucet and dried her hands.她关掉水龙头，把手擦干。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 consternation   

n.大为吃惊，惊骇

参考例句：

• He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害，感到非常震惊。
• Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。

10 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

11 trotting   

小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• The riders came trotting down the lane. 这骑手骑着马在小路上慢跑。
• Alan took the reins and the small horse started trotting. 艾伦抓住缰绳，小马开始慢跑起来。

12 plumber   

n.(装修水管的)管子工

参考例句：

• Have you asked the plumber to come and look at the leaking pipe?你叫管道工来检查漏水的管子了吗？
• The plumber screwed up the tap by means of a spanner.管子工用板手把龙头旋紧。

13 terminology   

n.术语；专有名词

参考例句：

• He particularly criticized the terminology in the document.他特别批评了文件中使用的术语。
• The article uses rather specialized musical terminology.这篇文章用了相当专业的音乐术语。

14 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。

15 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

16 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。

17 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

18 domesticated   

adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务，烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

20 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

21 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

22 plowing   

v.耕( plow的现在分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• "There are things more important now than plowing, Sugar. "如今有比耕种更重要的事情要做呀，宝贝儿。 来自飘（部分）
• Since his wife's death, he has been plowing a lonely furrow. 从他妻子死后，他一直过着孤独的生活。 来自辞典例句

23 affinity   

n.亲和力，密切关系

参考例句：

• I felt a great affinity with the people of the Highlands.我被苏格兰高地人民深深地吸引。
• It's important that you share an affinity with your husband.和丈夫有共同的爱好是十分重要的。