英语博客：A stowaway praying mantis.
时间：2019-01-28 作者：英语课 分类：英语博客 A cup of English
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Those of you who listen to my podcast on a regular basis, know that one of my hobbies is gardening. Whenever I have a free moment, I'm out there planting, weeding, or sowing seeds. It is September now, and the season for growing is just about over. There are still some Autumn flowers that are appearing here and there, but, judging by what you find in the shops, the time for gardening is coming to an end. You probably also know that the end of a season is, in shopping terms, the perfect time to find bargains. I popped into a local do-it-yourself store the other day that has a garden center. I quickly scanned 2 the area with plants for anything with color that still looked plantable. I finally found a table that had bright orange flowers which still looked like they had a lot of life in them. I was in luck! These flowers were Summer flowering plants that nobody wished to buy. They had been put in the corner, and some were on the floor, and were at a very reduced price. I bought them and drove home, already knowing where I was going to put them. As I was digging the soil, I looked over at the biggest plant and saw something amazing. There was a huge praying mantis 3 sitting right on top. I picked the plant up, and the insect turned its head towards me. Creepy! It didn't move though, even while I took the plant out of the plastic pot and put it in the ground. It seemed to be quite happy on the plant. It must have been a stowaway 4 from the shop. I had put it in the car without even realizing. I think it's good luck, because these insects are great for the garden. They are serious predators 5 who will eat most insects. It could have been a bad bug 6 that I brought home from the garden center, but instead it was a garden helper.
Grammar notes.
Useful phrases: judging by..., to scan 1, to be in luck, a stowaway.
1. Judging by his negative attitude, he doesn't like living here.
2. The police quickly scanned the parking lot for any movement.
3. We arrived at the airport just in time. We were in luck; people were still boarding the plan.
4. The captain of the ship discovered a stowaway on board. He was a young man trying to get to the next port for free.
- The first scan was bad, so I had to do it again.第一次扫描不好，所以我得重做。
- A scan determines the position of the baby in the womb.扫描可以确定胎儿在子宮中的位置。
- He scanned the horizon for any sign of land. 他仔细眺望地平线，找寻陆地的踪影。
- She scanned his face to see if he was telling the truth. 她审视着他的脸，看他讲的是否是真话。
- Praying mantis has two powerful claws like sharp knives.螳螂有一对强壮的爪子，它们像锋利的刀。
- In her mind,it was a female mantis,devouring her mates.她的意识中，是一只雌螳螂正吞咽她的配偶。
- The stowaway masqueraded as a crew member.偷渡者假扮成乘务员。
- The crew discovered the stowaway about two days into their voyage.船员在开船约两天后发现了那名偷乘者。
- birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
- The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》