VOA慢速英语2014 This Story Is 'The Cat's Meow!'
时间：2019-01-12 作者：英语课 分类：2014年VOA慢速英语(八)月
This Story Is 'The Cat's Meow!'
Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.
Cats are the most popular pets among Americans. So it is not surprising that there are many expressions about cats.
Some cats like to catch small birds, like canaries. If someone looks very proud or satisfied 1 with himself, we say he “looks like the cat that ate the canary.”
Sometimes, a cat likes to play with a small animal it catches. So if you “play cat and mouse” with someone, you change between different kinds of behavior when dealing 2 with another person. For example, a child might offer something sweet to her little brother and then take it away when he reaches for it.
A cat will often catch a small animal and present it to its owner. The saying that “looks like something the cat dragged in” describes something in bad condition.
Two old and funny expressions describe something that is the best or finest. Americans might say that something is “the cat’s meow” and “the cat’s pajamas 3.”
Children might call a child who is easily frightened a “fraidy-cat” or a “scaredy-cat.”
A “copycat” is someone who acts just like someone else or copies another person's work.
A “fat cat” is a person with a lot of money.
You may have known 4 that cats spend most of their time sleeping. Sometimes people sleep for a short time during the day. This is called a “cat nap 5.”
If you tell about something that was supposed to be a secret, we say you “let the cat out of the bag.” If you are not able to speak or answer a question someone might ask if “the cat has got your tongue.”
Have you ever watched children in a classroom when their teacher leaves for a few minutes? “When the cat’s away, the mice will play” means 6 people sometimes misbehave when there is no supervision 7.
You may have heard this expression: “curiosity killed the cat.” This means being too concerned about things that are not your business might cause problems.
If your home is very small, you might say “there is not enough room to swing a cat.” But you probably should not try this at home!
If you ever had cats as pets, you know it is difficult to train them or to get them to do something. Cats are not like sheep or cows that can be moved in a group. So we say a difficult or impossible job “is like herding 8 cats.”
We leave you with a song from the musical play "Cats."
- She's never satisfied with what she's got. 她对自己的所得从不感到满足。
- He had a self-satisfied smirk on his face. 他脸上挂着得意扬扬的笑容。
- This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
- His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
- At bedtime,I take off my clothes and put on my pajamas.睡觉时，我脱去衣服，换上睡衣。
- He was wearing striped pajamas.他穿着带条纹的睡衣裤。
- He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
- He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。
- The nap of the coat has been worn off.外衣上的绒毛已经磨掉了。
- Don't bother me while I am taking my nap.我小睡的时候不要打扰我。
- 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。
- The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
- The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。