英语博客：A slimy surprise.

 　　A poet called Robert Southey who lived in the late 1700's and early 1800's wrote:

　　What are boys made of?

　　Slugs and snails¹ and puppy dog tails.

　　That's what boys are made of.

　　What are girls made of?

　　Sugar and spice and all things nice.

　　That's what girls are made of.

　　I think that there is some truth to this poem. I know we can't always generalize, but I have noticed some differences between my boys and my girl and her girlfriends. The boys take more risks as far as physical danger, whereas the girls seem to be careful. The girls are very interested in social situations and 'playing' like adults, but the boys are more interested in adventure, survival-type situations, and the wilderness². And finally, boys seem to bring the outside world into the house a lot more than girls do(1).

　　My boys went to a large pond to fish with their father, and came back happy and tired. They had managed to catch creyfish. They talked about their trip, put their gear(2) away, and then didn't really say anything else. The next morning I woke up to a humming(3) sound coming from downstairs. I went down and found, on the desk next to the computer, a large, plastic box half full of brown water. The hum was coming from an air pump(4) that had been placed inside (this was one that we had used in the past for gold fish). I looked inside.To my horror, I saw about five shiny, black creyfish sitting on top of eachother on a rock. Their antenna³ were moving, their eyes were slimy, and when they saw me, they slid into the water. The smell that came up from the water was just like the stinky pond weed that they live in. I was not a happy camper(5). "Just how many days were you planning on keeping these creatures in the lounge?" I asked my boys with a frown. "I don't know," was their answer. Great! We've got two dogs, a cat, a mouse that sneezes all the time, and now some stinky, creepy wet things. As I put them outside under a tree, I asked myself, "What next? Frogs in the fridge? Slugs on the sofa? Beetles⁴ in the bathroom? Why don't I rename myself Noah, and open my front door to all the creatures of Wenatchee?" When I had calmed down, I told my boys that they had to look after the things in the box. I washed my hands, and sat down to watch television with my clean little girl.

　　1. The use of 'do' and 'does' at the end of a comparative sentence.

　　a. He reads a lot more than you do.

　　b. She eats a lot more than her husband does.

　　2. 'Gear' is a general word for all types of equipment, especially used for sports and hobbies.

　　a. After skiing, it takes a while to put all of the gear away.

　　b. The fishing gear had to be sprayed with water to wash off the stinky pond weed.

　　3. 'Humming' comes from the verb 'to hum'. It is a sound made by a human, animal, or device that is like a vibration⁵. Someone 'hums' to music when they don't sing the words, but make the melody with their mouths closed.

　　a. He hummed happily while he worked in the garden.

　　b. I didn't know the lyrics⁶, so I just hummed the tune⁷.

　　4. An 'air pump' is a device which forces air to flow from one place to another, usually via a tube or pipe.

　　a. We need to find a high pressure air pump because my tires are flat.

　　b. We pumped air into the plastic mattress⁸ for a more comfortable camping experience.

　　5. 'Not a happy camper' is a jokey phrase often used in England to mean that a person was upset or angry.

　　a. He borrowed the car without asking permission; his mother was not a happy camper!

　　b. A stinky creyfish escaped and crawled across the carpet. I was not a happy camper!

　　You're all welcome to join my FACEBOOK page called Anna Fromacupofenglish. Questions? Comments? Do you need Skype lessons to improve your English? Let me know at [email protected]

1 snails   

n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 antenna   

n.触角，触须；天线

参考例句：

• The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
• In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里，每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。

4 beetles   

n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

6 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

7 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

8 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。