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VOA慢速英语2019--人类作为群居动物的一面

时间:2019-03-04 15:52:45

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(单词翻译)

The Human Side of Pack Animals

Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.

Like many languages, English uses animals in many of its expressions. And there are thousands of kinds of animals. So, when we talk about them, we put them into different groups.

Take, for example, pack animals.

One kind is an animal used to carry packs, or heavy loads. Donkeys and mules1 are pack animals. We sometimes call these animals beasts of burden because they help to ease the burden of humans.

I’ll never be your beast of burden

My back is broad but it's a'hurting

All I want is for you to make love to me ...

Another type of pack animals are the ones that live and hunt in a group, or pack. These include grey wolves and dolphins, just to name a couple.

Running with a pack has many benefits. When animals live in a pack, they work together. There is strength (and safety) in numbers. If you run with a pack, you can depend on others in your group. And there is always someone who has your back, or is ready to fight for you.

We can describe people the same way.

Some like to run with a pack. They like to surround themselves with like-minded people. People can run with a pack that likes the same music, has the same politics or enjoys the same activities.

It is easy to hang out with people who generally agree with you. It is comfortable -- maybe a little too comfortable.

This can lead to a pack mentality2, a situation where everyone thinks the same. After time you could become resistant3 to ever disagreeing, fearful of losing your place in the pack.

We also call this groupthink. This is a situation where members of a group feel pressure to always agree. Groupthink results in failures to think critically about an issue, situation or decision.

Groupthink or pack mentality can even be dangerous.

People caught up in a pack mentality do not think for themselves and can make bad decisions. For example, teenagers might start hanging with other teens who do drugs or commit crimes. So, parents often try to control which pack their child runs with.

With both animals and people, there is usually a leader of the pack.

They told me he was bad, but I knew he was sad.

That’s why I fell for the leader of the pack.

In our human pack, the leader is the one who calls the shots. They make the decisions for the group.

Some people, however, have no desire to run with a pack. They might be ahead of the pack and are more forward thinking. They do not want to go along with what everyone else is doing. Maybe they are just faster! Or perhaps they simply enjoy the life of a lone4 wolf.

As a lone wolf you solve problems by yourself. You do not ask for help when making decisions. You are free from pleasing a group. However, you might not have many friends. After all, everything has a cost.

Now, we finish our show with yet another type of pack animal – the pack rat.

This is a small rodent5 of western North America. Pack rats have large cheek pouches7, where they store food and other things. These pouches can fill up fast!

In the human world, pack rats are people who keep things that they do not need. They store them, not in their cheeks, but in their homes, garages and other storage places. A pack rat often says things like, “I can’t throw it out. I might it need it someday.”

When pack rats collect too much stuff and it interferes8 with their life -- they have become a hoarder9. Hoarders have a difficult time throwing anything away. So, they usually find themselves surrounded by stuff, sometimes even buried under it!

However, sometimes it pays to be a pack rat or at least to know one. One day you just may need something they have collected – a 40-year-old newspaper, a bicycle wheel, or a cow bell. One look in a pack rat’s basement or garage and you just might find what you need!

And that’s Words and Their Stories. I'm Bryan Lynn. And I’m Anna Matteo.

“I have trouble letting go. Things cling10 to me, you know. I’ve got those better-save-it-cause-you-never-know-you-might-need-it-someday blues11. You-better-save-it-cause-you-never-know-you-might-need-it-someday blues.”

Words in This Story

beast – n. an animal under human control

burden – n. something oppressive or worrisome : the bearing12 of a load —usually used in the phrase beast of burden

strength – n. the quality that allows someone to deal with problems in a determined13 and effective way

comfortable – adj. allowing you to be relaxed : causing no worries, difficulty, or uncertainty14

teenager – n. a young person between 13 and 19 years old

pouch6 – n. a pocket of folded skin especially for carrying the young (as on the abdomen15 of a kangaroo) or for carrying food (as in the cheek of a hamster)

hoarder – n. someone who collects things in their home obsessively16, including things that would commonly be thrown away: bags, old food, or broken items

cling – v. to hold onto something or someone very tightly


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1 mules be18bf53ebe6a97854771cdc8bfe67e6     
骡( mule的名词复数 ); 拖鞋; 顽固的人; 越境运毒者
参考例句:
  • The cart was pulled by two mules. 两匹骡子拉这辆大车。
  • She wore tight trousers and high-heeled mules. 她穿紧身裤和拖鞋式高跟鞋。
2 mentality PoIzHP     
n.心理,思想,脑力
参考例句:
  • He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
  • Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。
3 resistant 7Wvxh     
adj.(to)抵抗的,有抵抗力的
参考例句:
  • Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
  • They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。
4 lone Q0cxL     
adj.孤寂的,单独的;唯一的
参考例句:
  • A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
  • She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。
5 rodent DsNyh     
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。
6 pouch Oi1y1     
n.小袋,小包,囊状袋;vt.装...入袋中,用袋运输;vi.用袋送信件
参考例句:
  • He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
  • The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。
7 pouches 952990a5cdea03f7970c486d570c7d8e     
n.(放在衣袋里或连在腰带上的)小袋( pouch的名词复数 );(袋鼠等的)育儿袋;邮袋;(某些动物贮存食物的)颊袋
参考例句:
  • Pouches are a peculiarity of marsupials. 腹袋是有袋动物的特色。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Under my eyes the pouches were heavy. 我眼睛下的眼袋很深。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 interferes ab8163b252fe52454ada963fa857f890     
vi. 妨碍,冲突,干涉
参考例句:
  • The noise interferes with my work. 这噪音妨碍我的工作。
  • That interferes with my plan. 那干扰了我的计划。
9 hoarder 10328f98a2f28290dfd881b4dfac51ce     
n.囤积者,贮藏者
参考例句:
  • Was I becoming an eccentric hoarder? 是我变成了一个古怪的收藏者吗? 来自互联网
10 cling fOLzf     
vi.缠住,粘住,依恋,依靠,坚信,坚持
参考例句:
  • Wet clothes cling to the body.湿衣服贴身。
  • Members of a family should cling together in times of trouble.一家人应该患难与共。
11 blues blues     
n.抑郁,沮丧;布鲁斯音乐
参考例句:
  • She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
  • He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。
12 bearing roOyL     
n.关系,影响,举止,姿态,方位,方向
参考例句:
  • What you said had not much bearing on the problem.你说的话跟这个问题没有多大关系。
  • He preserved his grave and dignified bearing.他保持庄重威严的仪态。
13 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
14 uncertainty NlFwK     
n.易变,靠不住,不确知,不确定的事物
参考例句:
  • Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
  • After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后,压力开始产生影响了。
15 abdomen MfXym     
n.腹,下腹(胸部到腿部的部分)
参考例句:
  • How to know to there is ascarid inside abdomen?怎样知道肚子里面有蛔虫?
  • He was anxious about an off-and-on pain the abdomen.他因时隐时现的腹痛而焦虑。
16 obsessively 0c180424cba71c2e5a90cdda44a64400     
ad.着迷般地,过分地
参考例句:
  • Peter was obsessively jealous and his behaviour was driving his wife away. 彼得过分嫉妒的举止令他的妻子想离他而去。
  • He's rude to his friends and obsessively jealous. 他对他的朋友很无礼而且嫉妒心重。

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