【趣谈英语】鳄鱼的眼泪-Crocodiles Tear Up While Eating
英语课
Pre-Listening Vocabulary
tear up: to cry a little bit; to become weepy
insincere: fake; not truthful 1
shed: to drop or remove something, such as a layer of skin or a tear
remorseful 2: full of guilt 3
sympathy: a feeling of sadness for another person’s loss
paralysis 4: the inability to move an area of the body
Crocodiles Tear Up While Eating
The expression “to cry crocodile tears” means to cry insincerely. Children are often accused of shedding crocodile tears in order to get attention. The expression “crocodile tears” goes back as far as the 1400s. It come from a myth that crocodiles pretend to be remorseful after killing 5 their prey 6. While scientists don’t believe that crocodiles are capable of sympathy, crocodiles do tend to shed tears while eating. This is likely a physical response that goes along with their tendency to blow out air as they eat. Humans who suffer from a rare facial paralysis sometimes exhibit a similar physical response. When they taste or eat food, they start to cry.
1 truthful
adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的
- You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
- I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。
2 remorseful
adj.悔恨的
- He represented to the court that the accused was very remorseful.他代被告向法庭陈情说被告十分懊悔。
- The minister well knew--subtle,but remorseful hypocrite that he was!牧师深知这一切——他是一个多么难以捉摸又懊悔不迭的伪君子啊！
3 guilt
n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责
- She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
- Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。
4 paralysis
n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)
- The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
- The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。