Is It Good to Be an 'Eager Beaver?'

Now, it's time for Words and Their Stories, a program from VOA Learning¹ English.

Each week, we explore words and expressions in American English. Today's expression comes from the world of animals!

The expression is "eager beaver²."

By definition³, an eager beaver is a person who seems full of energy and a good attitude. These people are willing⁴ to do what others expect and often do things as quickly as they can. And they are enthusiastic!

A great word that means⁵ the same thing (a synonym⁶) is go-getter. A person who is a real go-getter gets the job done!

For an example of how to use the term eager beaver, try to imagine a mathematics⁷ class. The teacher tells students that they must solve 100 math problems before coming to school the next day. Most of the students are unhappy about having so much homework!

But not all.

A few students do not mind the work at all. They are eager beavers⁸. They love to do math problems and cannot wait to get started. In fact, they do more than 100 math problems! Eager beavers often go above and beyond.

Eager beavers can work in any industry. From law to I.T. from medicine to fashion – these people arrive before anyone else, and are usually the last ones to leave. These men and women work hard because they enjoy their jobs.

Speaking of the word "industry," makes me think of another synonym: industrious⁹. Eager beavers are nothing if not industrious.

This expression, of course, comes from the name of the hardworking animal the beaver!

Beavers are not just hard-working. They are strange-looking creatures. They are rodents¹⁰, like mice and rats. But beavers are much larger. Beavers have a large flat tail to help them swim. They also have thick brown fur, or hair, to keep them warm in cold water. And they have front teeth sharp enough to cut down large trees.

Beavers spend a lot of time in the water, building dams to create small lakes or ponds. They work hard to cut down trees, remove branches, and put them together with mud¹¹ to make dams. That is why we call the beaver nature's architect¹². Few other animals work so hard.

Historians¹³ say the beaver had an important part to play in the European settlement of North America.

There were many millions of beavers when European settlers first arrived. The settlers put great value on the fur of the beaver. In fact, beaver was the most valuable fur in North America. Beaver skins often were used as money.

People looking for adventure traveled west across the country to search for beaver. In their search, they explored much of the western territories¹⁴.

Trading posts are the places where trappers exchanged beaver skins for the goods they needed. Some trading posts became villages and later towns and cities. Many of the beaver trappers became guides in these territories as more people moved into them. They led groups of settlers to new homes in the West.

So many beavers were trapped¹⁵ and killed that there was a time when beavers were in danger of disappearing completely¹⁶. But laws were passed to protect the beaver.

And, like the animal, the expression "eager beaver" is alive and well in the United¹⁷ States!

And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo.

Words in This Story

attitude – n. the way you think and feel about someone or something

enthusiastic – adj. feeling or showing strong excitement about something

go-getter – n. a person who works¹⁸ very hard and who wants very much to succeed

above and beyond expression : to do more than is expected

industry – n. a group of businesses that provide a particular product or service

branch – n. a part of a tree that grows out from the trunk

architect – n. a person who designs buildings and advises in their construction

adventure – n. an exciting or dangerous experience

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

3 definition   

n.定义；限定，确定；清晰度

参考例句：

• The book attempts a definition of his role in world politics.该书要阐明的是他在世界政局中的作用。
• I made a definition for this word.我给这个字下了定义。

4 willing   

adj.愿意的，自愿的，乐意的，心甘情愿的

参考例句：

• We never lack food and clothing if we're willing to work.如果我们愿意工作,就不会缺吃少穿。
• He's quite willing to pay the price I ask.他很愿意照我的要价付钱。

5 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

6 synonym   

n.同义词，换喻词

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• The term 'industrial democracy' is often used as a synonym for worker participation. “工业民主”这个词常被用作“工人参与”的同义词。

7 mathematics   

n.（用作单）数学；（用作单或复）计算(能力）

参考例句：

• He has come out in front in the study of mathematics.他在数学方面已名列前茅。
• She is working at a difficult problem in mathematics.她在做一道数学难题。

8 beavers   

海狸( beaver的名词复数 )； 海狸皮毛； 棕灰色； 拼命工作的人

参考例句：

• In 1928 some porpoises were photographed working like beavers to push ashore a waterlogged mattress. 1928年有人把这些海豚象海狸那样把一床浸泡了水的褥垫推上岸时的情景拍摄了下来。
• Thus do the beavers, thus do the bees, thus do men. 海狸是这样做的，蜜蜂是这样做的，人也是这样做的。

9 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

10 rodents   

n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

11 mud   

n.泥，泥浆

参考例句：

• The swimming pool is filled up with mud.游泳池里全是泥。
• A car ran past,spotting my coat with mud.一辆汽车驶过，给我的外衣溅上了泥点。

12 architect   

n.建筑师，设计者，造物主

参考例句：

• His father was a notable architect.他的父亲是一个著名的建筑师。
• The new building was built from the design of a famous architect.这座新楼是根据一位著名建筑师的设计建成的。

13 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

14 territories   

n.领土( territory的名词复数 )；（某人负责的）地区；（个人、群体、动物等占据的）领域；地盘

参考例句：

• Canada is divided into 10 provinces and 2 territories. 加拿大分为十个省和两个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He careened through foreign territories on a desperate kind of blitz. 在孤注一掷地闪电战中他猛冲过外国领地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 trapped   

adj. 捕获的，被困的，截留的 动词trap的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• Two passengers are still trapped in the wreck. 有两名乘客仍被困在失事的车辆里。
• The thief was trapped by the police in an old house. 小偷被警察困在一所旧房子里。

16 completely   

adv.完全地，十分地，全然

参考例句：

• She never completely gave up hope.她从不完全放弃希望。
• I feel completely in the dark on this question.这件事使我感到茫然。

17 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

18 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。