賴世雄高級美國英語教程Unit 35 Hot Aminals around the World: The Panda
Hello everyone, welcome again to Radio English on Sunday.
This is Bruce,
/ and this is Peter.
/ Today we are on page two hundred ninety seven, unit thirty five. Today we take a look at our hot animal of this book. We've given you a look at some of nature's strangest, loveliest, most wonderful animals, and today we have to save the last animal. Sometimes we say we save the last or best, because the hot animal around the world is the panda. The panda is quite an interesting guy and we're going to learn a lot about him today in our lesson.
Let's get started then with the first paragraph on page two hundred ninety seven.
Some countries have adopted an animal as a kind of national mascot. The bald eagle is often thought of as representing the US, for example. New Zealanders proudly display their Kiwi, a native flightless bird. Australians cannot seem to make up their minds whether the koala or the kangoroo should represent them. China also has two animals which often stand out in everyone's mind, the dragon and the giant panda. As the dragon is a mythological animal, that leaves the giant panda as the only real animal representative of China.
The panda, this is a beautiful guy, is the teddy bear, the original teddy bear. The bald eagle, you wouldn't want to hold, it would probably scratch you or bite you; kiwi is hard to catch, well the kangaroo is hard to catch, too, but not the koala, we learned earlier in our book that the koala moves very very slowly, but you have to climb a tree to get to him. So maybe the panda is the animal which most people think of as the most huggable, the animal which people would most like to hug. What do you think, Peter?
/ Well, definitely, we think that panda is very tender, very loveable, I would use this word "lovable", that means very cute, as you just said, "huggable"...you know, everybody thinks that I am like a panda...:P so ..I am very huggable.
/ , well, there're some differences. :P
/ representative, n, 代表，he's the representative of our class. 這個字也可以當(dāng)形容詞用，如果前面沒有冠詞或所有格，它就是一個形容詞。This rain is representative of my love for you. 代表著我對你的愛。相當(dāng)于symbolic, 也是跟of用的。The rain is symbolic of my love for you. 這個symbolic 只能作形容詞。 / symbolize, v, This animal symbolizes this country.
____representative, 更多用作名詞，作***的代表解。
One that serves as an example or a type for others of the same classification.
典型事物作為同一類別中的其它事物的典例或典范的事物
One that serves as a delegate or an agent for another.
代理人作為代表他人的代表或代理的人或公司
A member of a governmental body, usually legislative, chosen by popular vote.
議員由公眾投票選出的政府機(jī)構(gòu)（通常是立法機(jī)構(gòu)）的一個成員
A member of the U.S. House of Representatives or of the lower house of a state legislature.
眾議院議員（州下院議員）美國眾議院或州議會下院的一個成員
adj,
a representative body
代表團(tuán)
be representative of the people
代表人民
n,
authorized representative
全權(quán)代表
n
（與of連用）代表； 代理人
a representative of a company
公司的代表
_____mascot,
A person, an animal, or an object believed to bring good luck, especially one kept as the symbol of an organization such as a sports team.
吉祥物，吉祥符相信能夠帶來好運(yùn)氣的人、動物或物件，尤指用作體育運(yùn)動隊(duì)等某個組織的標(biāo)志符
We had a panda as our mascot.
我們把熊貓作為吉詳物。
Let's continue in our second paragraph.
Although dragons have been associated with China for thousands of years, the panda's inclusion into the Chinese psyche is far more recent. The giant panda was not even discovered until eighteen sixty nine. It was already a rare animal at that time, living in the high bamboo forests of Sicuan province and neighbouring parts of Tibet. Its more plentiful cousin, the lesser panda, is also refered to as the cat bear or bear cat. However, zoologically speaking, it is neither. The lesser panda is a member of raccoon family, whereas the giant's classification is still a dilemma. Some authorities consider it a member of the bear family, while others maintain that it belongs to the raccoon family, too.
Here we're taking a look at the habitat of the panda, and also how biologists, those who study animals we call zoologists, classify the panda. Its habitat is high altitude bamboo forests, which we find in the mountains of Sicuan and Tibet, that is its natural habitat. And it's rare today and as long as mankind has been in contact with this animal, and has written about it, it has always been rare. As we say, it was not even discovered, at least by westerners, until the middle of the last century. What is a panda? That depends on whom you talk to. Some zoologists consider it a member of the bear family, while others consider it the largest member of the raccoon family.
/ raccoon, 浣熊。
___habitat, The area or type of environment in which an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs:
棲息地某種生物或生態(tài)群體生存繁衍的地區(qū)或環(huán)境類型：
a marine habitat.
海洋生物的棲息地
The place in which a person or thing is most likely to be found.
通常所在一個人或一物體最有可能被發(fā)現(xiàn)的地方
inhabit, v, 居住于，存在于，占據(jù)，棲息，尤其指動物的居住，
/ Many cockroaches inhabit my house.
/ Many strang, or rare animals inhabit that area. 這里有一點(diǎn)要注意，千萬不要加一個in字，不要說inhabit in that area, 但是如果用live, reside, or dwell, 那后面是要加跟in字的。這些是不及物動詞，要加in.
/ Reside, we don't often use this verb "reside", but it's noun you will see, resident, and the verb dwell, or its noun, dweller, sometimes we use the phrase "city dweller" or "city dwellers", 都市居民。
They reside in that area, they dwell inthat area, they live in that area, 不過這幾個字都是用于人的。inhabit通常用于動物。
associate, 的用法，
be associated with ...與...有關(guān)聯(lián)，聯(lián)想到。。。
如果前面沒有be動詞，to associate with (sb), 這是交往的意思，
Nobody likes to associate with him, becuase he keeps telling lies.
______keep company with
______One is known by the company he keeps. 中級講座中。
/ Good point.
______psyche, 靈魂, 精神, 心靈
The spirit or soul.
精神或靈魂
Psychiatry
【精神病學(xué)】
The mind functioning as the center of thought, emotion, and behavior and consciously or unconsciously adjusting or mediating the body's responses to the social and physical environment.
自我作為思想，情感和行為中心的心靈，能有意識或無意地識調(diào)整或調(diào)解身體對社會和外界環(huán)境的反應(yīng)
inclusion, include的名詞式。
Let's go on to the third paragraph and over to the next page.
The giant panda is well named. Reaching a length of one point five maters and one hundred sixty kilograms, this gentle omnivore is among the largest land animals of China. Subsisting on the diet bamboo and other plants, and even small animals, it can consum as much as thirty kilograms of food a day. Now that's a giant appetite. It's distinctive markings, broad, white bands of fur, alternating with black, and small black circles around the eyes, have endear the giant panda to animals everywhere.
The giant panda and the lesser panda; the lesser panda and raccoon of North America, are about the size of a house cat, a very large house cat, but smaller than a dog; but the giant panda is bigger than a person, heavier than most people. :P and the length, one point five meters, that'll be a rather short man, or maybe an average woman, in hight, but here we use length, because the animal usually walks on all (fores). But one thing that's really cute about the panda, and endears to people, is that it sits down like a person. It sits on its bottom with its legs (out), and looks around, and it's very very cute when it does (bet) because of its black and white markings, and its gentle nature.
/ In fact, you don't have to go to a zoo to find a panda or something, in this small studio, we do have a panda.
/ Oh, it's small now, as you guy's in here. haha.
/ omnivore, n, 雜食性的人，不偏食的人，
carnivore, 食肉動物，食肉類的動植物。
herbivore, 草食動物，這個字在美語中[h]不發(fā)音。
vegetarian, 素食者，吃素的人，指人。It's a noun. A person can be a vegetarian, or, it can be used as an adjective, I only eat vegetarian food. 但人如果葷素通吃，一般不說omnivore, 這個omnivore通常指動物。這時(shí)沒有一個專門的字，只要說I eat everything, I eat anything, 就行了。
/ to endear A to B, 使A令B覺得親近，make A very close to B,
Her ability to cook has endeared her to her husband.
____subsist,
To exist; be.
存在
To remain or continue in existence.
繼續(xù)存在
See: be
To maintain life; live:
維持生活；生活：
subsisted on one meal a day.
每天只吃一頓飯為生
生存, 維持生活(on, upon)
存在; 居住; 位于(in)
【哲】(邏輯上)可以理解; 有效; 抽象地存在
subsist on wages
靠工資過活
subsist on
依靠...生活
__另外這個(something) endear somebody to another, 非常有用。
Granny's kindness endeared her to everyone in the community.
老大娘的仁慈心地使她受到這一帶所有人的喜愛。
____distinctive, 與眾不同的，有特色的，
Let's go ahead to the next paragraph.
People may want to hug this huge teddy bear, but giant pandas prefer to live a solitary life. This may account for their scarcity. These pandas are on all official lists of endangered animals. Estimates of the wild panda of popullation are difficult due to the rugged terrain they live in. But experts agree that fewer than one thousand remain free, as they give birth to only one or two cubs when mating is successful. The giant panda's survival in the wild is anything but a foregone conclusion. The Chinese government has set aside eleven nature preserves where pandas are known to exist, hoping to protect them from the rapid encroachment of man. Though poaching is still a problem, strict laws have reduced the senseless carnage.
Again, the teddy bear image of the panda is irresistible to most people. The fact is there're very few pandas left, very few people have even seen a panda in a zoo. There are maybe only about one thousand of them live in the wild. However, the Chinese government has protected some areas where these wild pandas are known to inhabit, where they are known to live in. ..and maybe more than eleven, at the time of writing we have eleven nature preserves, maybe they are more now. However, poaching is a problem as it is in many countries, where people hope to catch alive or even dead rare animal to sell on the market. This illegal hunting is called poaching. We hope of course, that in all countries that poaching can be (illiminated.)
/ Mmm. There is a TV channel that I'd like to mention is called "the Discovery" channel, that features all kinds of wild lives, very very good reports, quite often you'll see on television. In Taiwan I remember once I saw a program that was about, you know, panda raising, or protection in main China, it was really a very good report. The program shows that a lot of experts over there ...locals, ..quite good habitat..
/ Oh, the beautiful animals, like so many other rare animals, these days needs protecting, so, keep up the good work.
/ to be anything but...= not ...at all.
He's not clever at all.
He's anything but clever. 他什么都可能，就是不聰明。
Bruce is anything but clever; he's cunning.
/ Right. The other time we use this, that you may hear more often is, for example, when someone talks about a restaurant or a movie, they may say, oh, it's a good restaurant, but it's anything but cheap. 一點(diǎn)都便宜。so you expect to take a lot of money. Or, that movie is anything but exciting, which means you thought it was boring. We use it in this sort of recommending of things.
17:20
______solitary,
Existing, living, or going without others; alone:
單獨(dú)的沒有他人的存在、生活或開展；單獨(dú)的：
a solitary traveler.
單獨(dú)的游客
See: alone
Happening, done, or made alone:
唯一的獨(dú)自發(fā)生的、完成的或成為單獨(dú)的：
a solitary evening; solitary pursuits such as reading and sewing.
唯一的夜晚；獨(dú)自的追求如閱讀及縫制
Remote from civilization; secluded:
隱居的遠(yuǎn)離文明社會的；隱居的：
a solitary retreat.
隱居處
Having no companions; lonesome or lonely.
寂寞的沒有陪伴的；單獨(dú)的或孤寂的
Zoology
【動物學(xué)】
Living alone or in pairs only:
獨(dú)居的單獨(dú)生活的或成雙生活的：
solitary wasps; solitary sparrows.
獨(dú)居的蔓蜂；獨(dú)居的麻雀
Single and set apart from others:
唯一的，與其他分開的：
a solitary instance of cowardice.
懦弱的唯一例子；
See: single
solitary
n.
pl. sol.i.tar.ies;
【復(fù)數(shù)】 sol.i.tar.ies;
A person who lives alone; a recluse.
遁世者單獨(dú)生活的人；遁世者
Solitary confinement.
單獨(dú)禁閉
adj.
獨(dú)個兒的, 孤獨(dú)的
寂寞的, 冷落的, 僻遠(yuǎn)的, 荒涼的
孤立的, 單獨(dú)的, 唯一的
【解, 植】分離的, 單生的
【動】孤棲的
a solitary life
獨(dú)居的生活
solitary confinement [imprisonment]
單獨(dú)拘禁
a solitary valley
人跡罕到的山谷
a solitary example
獨(dú)一無二的例子
endangered,
Faced with the danger of extinction:
瀕臨滅絕的面臨絕種的危險(xiǎn)的：
an endangered species; an endangered culture.
瀕臨絕種的生物種類；瀕臨絕傳的文化
rugged terrain, 崎嶇地帶，terrain, n, 地形，2，地區(qū)，地帶，
foregone conclusion, 預(yù)料中果然發(fā)生的事情，不可避免的結(jié)果，可以肯定會發(fā)生的事情，
An end or a result regarded as inevitable:
不可避免的結(jié)果必然的結(jié)果或結(jié)局：
The victory was a foregone conclusion.
勝利是必然的結(jié)果
又一個“屠殺”的意思，大屠殺，carnage, massacre, butchery, slaughter, killing, genocide,
carnage,
n.
Massive slaughter, as in war; a massacre.
大屠殺大規(guī)模殺戮，如戰(zhàn)爭中的大屠殺；屠宰
Corpses, especially of those killed in battle.
尸體尤指戰(zhàn)爭中被殺者的尸體
17:20
Pandas in captivity number less than one hundred, the largest share, of course in China. Those in Western zoos are treated as royalty, and are the object of intense scientific interest and care. Recently, veterinarians have given make giant panda (Viagra), hoping to increase the animal's reproductive efficiency. Results are thus far inconclusive. Though births have been reported, they are few and far between. It seems that panda's chance of survival is razor-thin.
We continue talking about the panda's popullation and the news are not very good. Although the Chinese government is trying to protect the animal, and it is being raised with some success in zoos around the world, the numbers are still very very small. So we are not sure whether this animal will be around in a hundred years or not.
/ "pandas in captivity number less than...這個number是動詞的用法。
Hi, Peter, your days are numbered.
/ Uhh, that means somebody is out for Peter, that means that they want to kill him.
Ok, let's continue.
Its extinction will be a sad day for all of mankind. These playful and gentle creatures never fail to amuse adults and children alike lucky enough to observe them in zoos. Every plant and animal that leaves the world due to human intervention and encroachment of habitat diminishes the world we live in. The richness of the earth's original bio-diversity is being attacked. Will future generations of humanity be left with only a few species of food plants? and zoos exhibiting cockroaches and rats?
Obviously, this paragraph reminds of how important it is to preserve the natural environment. The pandas are being squeezed out of existence along with many other animals. What kind of a future will the earth be if we have only a few species of plants and animals?
/ encroachment, n, encroach, v, + on, upon,
/ In business, some new companies may encroach on an old company's patterns.
And our concluding paragraph.
Hopefully, man will learn the excesses of their ways and strive to protect the remaining natural habitats as an investment not only in the flora and fauna remaining, but in the quality of life, present and future of all those on this planet. "Extinction is forever", and "There's only one world" need no longer be heard if everyone becomes conscious of preserving the beauty of the natural world around us.
Well, the second to the last paragraph was a bit depressing, and the last paragraph, the concluding paragraph, is a bit more hopeful. We hope that people will learn the importance of our natural environment, and do something about it so that the future will be better for all.
Ok, let's go back and I'll re-read unit thirty five again all the way through, this time as I read, you might want to practise your listening comprehension rather than read as I read out loud. Just listen this time.
...
Well, that is our last hot animal around the world lesson. Next week we hope you will again join us here.
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Unit 35 Hot Aminals around the World: The Panda
Some countries have adopted an animal as a kind of national mascot. The bald eagle is often thought of as representing the United States, for example. New Zealanders proudly display their kiwi, a native flightless bird. Australians cannot seem to make up their minds whether the koala or the kangaroo should represent them. China also has two animals which often stand out in everyone's mind: the dragon and the giant panda. As the dragon is a mythological animal, that leaves the giant panda as the only real animal representative of China.
Although dragons have been associated with China for thousands of years, the panda's inclusion into the Chinese psyche is far more recent. The giant panda was not even discovered until 1869; it was already a rare animal at that time, living in the high bamboo forests of Sichuan province and neighboring parts of Tibet.Its more plentiful cousin, the lesser panda, is also referred to as the cat bear or bear cat; however, zoologically speaking, it is neither. The lesser panda is a member of the raccoon family, whereas the giant panda's classification is still a dilemma: some authorities consider it a member of the bear family while others maintain that it belongs to the raccoon family, too.
The giant panda is well named. Reaching a length of 1.5 meters and 160 kilograms, this gentle omnivore is among the largest land animals of China. Subsisting on a diet of bamboo and other plants, and even small animals, it can consume as much as 30 kilograms of food a day. Now that's a giant appetite! Its distinctive markings--broad, white bands of fur alternating with black, and small black circles around the eyes--have endeared the giant panda to animal lovers everywhere.
People may want to hug this huge "teddy bear," but giant pandas prefer to live a solitary life. This may account for their scarcity; these pandas are on all official lists of endangered animals. Estimates of the wild panda population are difficult due to the rugged terrain they live in, but most experts agree that fewer than 1000 remain free. As they give birth to only one or two cubs when mating is successful,the giant panda's survival in the wild is anything but a foregone conclusion. The Chinese government has set aside 11 nature preserves where pandas are known to exist, hoping to protect them from the rapid encroachment of man. Though poaching is still a problem, strict laws have reduced this senseless carnage.
Pandas in captivity number less than 100, the largest share, of course, in China. Those in Western zoos are treated as royalty and are the object of intense scientific interest and care. Recently, veterinarians have given male giant pandas Viagra, hoping to increase the animals' reproductive efficiency. Results are thus far inconclusive. Though births have been reported, they are few and far between it. It seems the panda's chance of survival is razor-thin.
Its extinction would be a sad day for all of mankind. These playful and gentle creatures never fail to amuse adults and children alike lucky enough to observe them in zoos. Every plant and animal that leaves the world due to human intervention and encroachment of habitat diminishes the world we live in. The richness of the Earth's original biodiversity is being attacked. Will future generations of humanity be left with only a few species of food plants, and zoos exhibiting cockroaches and rats?
Hopefully, men will learn the excesses of their ways and strive to protect the remaining natural habitats as an investment not only in the flora and fauna remaining but in the quality of life present and future, of all those on this planet. "Extinction is forever" and "There is only one world" need no longer be heard if everyone becomes conscious of preserving the beauty of the natural world around us.
***************************************************************
adopt A as B, 采用A當(dāng)作B，
Our school has adopted blue and orange as our school uniform colors.
be thought of as...被視為
be regarded as...
be looked upon as...
be viewed as...
be seen as ...
be thought to be...
be considered ...
John is so naive as to be often thought of as a moron.
stand out, 突出，杰出
There were many fine performances, but Alice's singing stood out among them.
be representative of...代表……
The Eiffel Tower is representative of modern architecture rather than classical architecture.
be associated with 與…有關(guān)聯(lián)，被與…聯(lián)想在一起
Bullfighting is associated with Spain.
associate 亦可做不及物動詞，＋with，表示“與…交往”。
None likes to associate with one who is selfish and snobbish.
subsist on...靠…維生
subsist, v, 生存，
When I was a student, I subsisted on bread and tuna fish everyday.
alternate with...夾雜著…
Red stripes alternate with white stripes on the flag of the US.
endear A to B, 使A受到B的喜愛。
Miss Aller's good mood, conscientious work, and open mindedness endeared her to all her students.
account for...說明，解釋…
Hard word accounted for John's success in business.
give birth to...
Theresa gave birth to a healthy baby girl last Thursday in the hospital.
Be anything but + adj, n, 絕不是…
be by no means + adj, n, at all.
be not + adj, n, at all.
John is anything but a good student; he goofs around all day.
他絕不是一個好學(xué)生。
注意與 be nothing but...的用法，意思剛好相反。
John是任何東西（都可以，）但絕不是一個好學(xué)生。
foregone conclusion, 事情尚未結(jié)束就可預(yù)料的結(jié)論，篤定的結(jié)果
There is only one candidate in the election, so his winning is a foregone conclusion.
be few and far between, 少之又少
Nowadays, people like that good old man are few and far between.
razor-thin, (機(jī)會）渺茫的，
razor，刮胡刀片，razor-thin表示“薄得象刀片一樣，引喻為“（機(jī)會）稀少的，渺茫的”，多用來修飾chance.
His chance of winning the election was razor-thin.
strive, strove, striven, v, 努力要。。。盡力要。。。
The students strove to pass their upcoming tests by studying day and night.
be conscious of, 意識到。。。realize,
Only in the 20th century have people become conscious of the fragility of nature and thus started to conserve resources.
直到20世紀(jì)人們才意識到大自然的脆弱，因而開始節(jié)約自然資源。
