基礎(chǔ)英語輕松學(xué)【110】豐收啦——快來看阿拉斯加的鯨魚節(jié)

字號(hào):

本課您將學(xué)到:fluke(偶然機(jī)會(huì)),bull,carcass和body(不同的尸體)
    西方的節(jié)日很多,象圣誕節(jié)、感恩節(jié)、愚人節(jié)等等都是為我們所熟知的節(jié)日,但大家聽說過鯨魚節(jié)嗎?我想知道的人很少了。它只愛斯基摩人的節(jié)日,預(yù)示著豐收和喜慶,就象我們慶祝中秋節(jié)一樣。只不過他們的豐收果實(shí)是鯨魚……
    On the edge of the Arctic Ocean at Point Barrow, several fur-clad Eskimos gaze(凝視) intently(專心地) at a narrow area of blue water between the ice floes(浮冰) where a great creature of the sea comes closer and closer. They watch anxiously as she surfaces(浮出水面), blows a stream of water into the air and disappears, only to surface later a little nearer.
    在北冰洋沿岸的Point Barrow,幾個(gè)穿著皮衣的愛斯基摩人專注的凝視著大塊浮冰間狹窄的藍(lán)色海面,一個(gè)巨大的海洋生物從哪兒游了過來。人們焦急地等待她露出水面,噴出水氣然后消失,不一會(huì)兒又在附近現(xiàn)身。
    Finally the huge 30-ton bowhead whale(北極鯨) comes up almost close enough to touch. One man rushes(沖) toward him with a harpoon(魚叉) gun. He thrusts(用力推) the gun hard against the whale's side and explodes(使爆炸) a cartridge(彈藥) that goes through the bowhead's skin. The mammal(哺乳動(dòng)物) dives(下潛) again but in a few minutes he floats(飄浮), belly(腹部) upward, to the surface of the sea.
    終于,這頭重達(dá)三十噸的北極鯨觸手可及了。一個(gè)人飛快地抓起魚叉沖過來,狠狠地朝鯨魚刺去,使炸藥從鯨魚在皮膚里引爆。這哺乳動(dòng)物再次下沉,過幾分鐘她會(huì)肚子朝上的漂起來,浮在海面上。
    A man raises a flag on a nearby pole(桿) to signal(標(biāo)示) the catch. By the time the boat crew(全體船員) has towed(拖) the carcass(尸體) to the edge of the ice, villagers are streaming(涌動(dòng)) toward it. Villagers grab(匆忙抓?。?the line around the fluke of the whale and haul(拖) away with shouts and laughter. Slowly the carcass, more than four times the weight of a bull elephant(公象), appears on the ice to be cut up, dragged to the village and stored in pits in the permanently(永久地) frozen(冰凍的) ground.
    人們在附近的桿子上掛起旗幟表示逮到了鯨魚。當(dāng)船員們把尸體拖回岸邊時(shí),村民們便爭相涌來。人們搶著去抓鯨魚尾片處的繩索,叫著笑著往回拖。在這片冰封的土地上,這只體重是公象的四倍的鯨魚,被切割后保存在地窖中。
    「讀書筆記」
    1.Fluke.
    這里指“鯨尾的葉”、“鯨的尾片”的意思,另外,fluke還表示“僥幸的成功”、“偶然的機(jī)會(huì)”等意思。
    也許是因?yàn)槲覀兒苌儆袡C(jī)會(huì)得到鯨的尾片,才引申來這個(gè)意思??纯聪旅娴睦樱?BR>    Did Crouching Tiger's popularity portend a huge global market for Asian movies, or was it a fluke?
    究竟《臥虎藏龍》是成功開拓了亞洲電影的全球市場,抑或其好成績只是單純的僥幸呢?
    2.Bull.
    我們都知道bull是"公牛"的意思,而實(shí)際上,很多雄性動(dòng)物也都用這個(gè)詞來表示。如:bull elephant指“公象”,bull-calf指“小公牛”。同時(shí),bull-calf也指“笨人”“傻瓜”,所以千萬別用錯(cuò)了地方哦。
    另外,在商業(yè)英語中,bull的意思是股票的“牛市”,相對(duì)的,熊市就是bear.下面有兩個(gè)人就用這兩個(gè)詞開了個(gè)玩笑,我們一起來看看。
    “I hear that you dropped some money in Wall Street. Were you a bull or a bear?”
    “Neither, just a plain, simple ass.”
    a plain, simple ass: 十足的蠢驢
    「資料庫」
    近義詞carcass和body辨析
    1.Carcass指“動(dòng)物的尸體”,尤其指屠宰后去掉內(nèi)臟和頭的畜體,carcass meat就是指鮮肉。來看一個(gè)例子:
    We came across the carcass of a lion.
    我們遇到了一具獅子的尸體。
    carcass可以指車、房屋等的殘骸、骨架,如:
    We saw the carcass of an abandoned automobile by the roadside.
    我們看到路邊有一輛被丟棄的汽車殘骸。
    2.Body指人或動(dòng)物的“身體”,即大主要的部分。如:
    Bennie lay under the big tree with his whole body feeling as if it were on fire.
    本尼躺在那棵大樹下,全身仿佛像是在火上烤似的。
    所以,body也可以引申指文章、書籍的正文或主要部分,如:
    Apart from the body of the book there are three informative appendices.
    除正文外,該書還有三個(gè)資料豐富的附錄。
    人的“尸體”可以說成是body,如:
    His body was buried in his hometown.
    他的遺體被安葬在他的故鄉(xiāng)。
    今天的節(jié)目里,介紹了一下知識(shí):
    1.fluke(偶然機(jī)會(huì))的含義,
    2.Bull的用法,
    3.carcass和body的區(qū)別。
    我們下期再見!