精讀外刊：逃過一劫的英國狐狸

UK foxes thankfully spared the baying pack, unlike Theresa May

TALK of resuming fox hunting is over for now after this idea was ditched by the UK』s enfeebled Tory government last week.

Word ＆ Expression

1. Bay

• N.?A bay is a part of a coast where the land curves inward. 海灣
• a short ferry ride across the bay. （ferry n.渡船）

一趟跨海灣的短途渡輪旅程。

• V.?If a number of people are baying for something, they are demanding something angrily, usually that someone should be punished. 憤怒地要求
• The referee ignored voices baying for a penalty. （penalty n.懲罰）

裁判對憤怒要求懲罰的呼聲置之不理。

• 片語：bay area海灣地區

at bay處於走投無路的境地

bay bridge海灣大橋

2. Ditch

• N.?A ditch is a long narrow channel cut into the ground at the side of a road or field. 道溝; 溝渠
• Both vehicles ended up in a ditch.

兩輛車都掉進了溝里。

• V. If you ditch something that you have or are responsible for, you abandon it or get rid of it, because you no longer want it. 丟棄
• I decided to ditch the sofa bed.

我決定把沙發床扔掉。

• 片語：drainage ditchn. 排水溝

幸運的是，英國的狐狸躲過了一劫，不像特里薩·梅(Theresa May)那樣。

在上周英國虛弱的保守黨政府拋棄了獵狐這一想法後，關於恢復獵狐的討論已經結束了。

句子精講：TALK of resuming fox hunting is over for now after this idea was ditched by the UK』s enfeebled Tory government last week.

Over的用法

1)在……上方：

A lamp was hanging over the table．

一盞燈懸在方桌上方。

He saw an arched stone bridge over the river．

他看到河上有一座石頭拱橋。

She saw a water bird flying over the lake．

她看到一隻水鳥從湖上飛過。

2)在(從……)上面：

She spread a cloth over the table．

她在桌上鋪了一塊桌布。

She wore a white shawl over her shoulders．

她肩上披著一條白披巾。

A hovercraft goes over land and water．

氣墊船可以在陸地和水上行走。

3)為……，對……：

It is no use crying over split milk．

牛奶灑了哭也無用。(諺)

We are deeply grieved over his death．

為他的逝世我們感到深切的悲痛。

There has been much discussion over the question．

對這個問題大家有不少的討論。

4)在……(時期)中：

These are the main things we have learned over the past few years.

這是我們過去幾年裡學到的主要東西。

Over the past few years they have consistently gathered in good harvests．

過去幾年他們的收成一直很好。

He came to town over the weekend．

他周末時進城來了。

5)多於，不止(表示數量)：

Over 1，000 people attended the memorial meeting．

一千多人參加了追悼會。

He talked for over half an hour．

他談了半個多鐘頭。

The girl is a little over five．

這女孩有五歲多一點。

6)比……高(增長)：

Their income increased by 21 per cent over that of the previous year

他們的收入比頭一年增長百分之二十一。

The output value in the first quarter was 10 per cent over the same period last year．

第一季度產值比去年同期高百分之十。

---

It was always an odd manifesto promise. After all, fox hunting is not a high priority for most voters – the vast majority oppose lifting the ban. This feeling has grown and now includes 84 per cent of rural voters. Traditionally, though, animal welfare has not been a big decider of how people actually vote.

Word ＆ Expression

1.Manifesto

• N.?A manifesto is a statement published by a person or group of people, especially a political party, or a government, in which they say what their aims and policies are. 宣言
• The Republicans are currently drawing up their election manifesto.

共和黨人目前正在起草他們的競選宣言。

• 片語：Philosophy manifesto 哲學宣言

這一直是一個奇怪的宣言承諾。畢竟，獵狐並不是大多數選民的首要任務——絕大多數選民反對取消禁令。這種感覺已經增長，現在有這種想法的選民包括84%的農村選民。然而，傳統上，動物福利並不是決定人們實際投票的重要因素。

句子精講：This feeling has grown and now includes 84 per cent of rural voters.

百分比的表達法 在英語中，表示百分比一般用percent和percentage，但percent必須與具體數字連用，在英國英語中該詞常分開寫為 per cent，percentage單獨使用時，意為「百分比」、「百分率」。例如：

Ninety percent of these turned out to have a simple explanation．

原來，它們中百分之九十都有一種簡單的解釋。

Since 95 percent of the findings on unidentified flying objects have been ex-plained as sign of nature，these signs should be explained to people．

既然，百分之九十五被發現的不明飛行物被認為是自然現象，那麼就應該向人們解釋這些現象。

What percentage of school leavers go to univeristy？

高中畢業生上大學的百分比是多少？

Percentage常可與large，small之類的詞連用，表示「部」之意，該詞前面如沒有修飾性形容詞，意為「一些」、「一小部分」、「少量」。例如：

A percentage of the soldiers refused to take part in the raid．

少數士兵拒絕參加這次襲擊。

A high percentage of married women have full-time jobs．

大部分已婚婦女有正式工作。

percent與percentage後的謂語動詞的數，應根據介詞 of的賓語的數來決定。賓語為單數，謂語動詞則用單數，反之亦然。例如：

Ten percent of the children are absent．

百分之十的孩子缺席。

A large percentage of pollution comes from automobile exhausts．

大部分污染是汽車排出的廢氣造成的。

percent單獨作主語時，根據意義既可為單數，亦可為複數。例如：

Of the new subscribers，75 percent have paid already．

百分之七十五的新訂戶已經付款。

Nine percent is a large percentage．

百分之九是個很大的百分比。

---

A small group of Tories still counted on this being the case and got prime minister Theresa May to promise a free vote on bringing back hunting: despite assertions this was all about controlling fox numbers and lamb losses, it was really about keeping a small pro-hunt rural vote on board.

Word ＆ Expression

1. Count on

• 指望，依靠
• Dont count on Lillian.

別依靠莉蓮了

2. Assertion

• 斷言，主張
• If we do not do this,the validator will except to find this assertion in every policy it validates.（validator n.驗證器）

如果不這樣做，驗證器會期望在其驗證的每個策略中找到這個斷言。

• 片語：inductive assertion 歸納斷言

---

It proved toxic, losing May votes and possibly her majority; animal welfare is important, especially to young voters. The reprieve is welcome. The backdrop is the rapid decline in British foxes despite the 12-year hunting ban. The well-regarded British Trust for Ornithology estimated a 34 per cent fall between 1996 and 2014.

Word ＆ Expression

1. Reprieve

• V.?If someone who has been sentenced in a court is reprieved, their punishment is officially delayed or cancelled. (被判) 緩刑; 撤銷 (刑罰)
• Fourteen people, waiting to be hanged for the murder of a former prime minister, have been reprieved.

因謀殺前總理而等受絞刑的十四個人獲得緩刑。

• N.?A reprieve is a delay before a very unpleasant or difficult situation which may or may not take place. 暫緩; 暫緩令
• It looked as though the college would have to shut, but this week it was given a reprieve.

看上去這所學院將不得不關閉，但本周卻收到了暫緩令

---

Why is less clear. Studies show that changes in fox numbers in Scotland from the 1960s to 1980s were related to food availability, not 「pest control」. Rabbits are an important food for foxes: as UK rabbit numbers have fallen to less than half, this may be the reason.

Word ＆ Expression

1. Be related to

• 與...有關、
• Im not exactly sure what she does there,but it seems to be related to humorous poems.

我並不確切地知道她為什麼會出現在那些結果中，但似乎與幽默詩歌有關。

句子精講

Why is less clear.

一、why能引導下列幾種從句： 1. 主語從句

Why he took Chinese nationality in 1901 is a question that interests us.

他為什麼在1901年取得中國國籍，這是一個使我們很感興趣的問題。

2. 賓語從句

He asked her why she was doing that.

他問她為什麼要那樣做。

3. 表語從句

Thats why Ive come to see you.

這就是我來見你的原因。

這裡的why在意義和語法上相當於the reason why。如果把此句改寫為：Thats the reason why Ive come to see you.有些語法書上視為同位語從句，但筆者贊同是限制性定語從句，因為why在此句中是個關係副詞，而不是像同位語從句中那樣是連詞。再如：

Could you tell me the reason why she refused to go to college?

你能否告訴我為什麼她不願意上大學嗎？

4. 狀語從句

No matter why she became angry with you, you should apologize to her.

不管她為什麼對你生氣，你也應當向她道歉。 二、why作疑問詞時，可以用來向對方問及原因，可以用Why?或Why not?二者都是省略句。分述如下： 1. 「Why?」用來針對肯定的內容發問。例如：

A:What are you going to do tomorrow?

B:Nothing much. Why?(=Why do you ask me that?)

2. Why not?用來針對否定的內容發問，用在下列幾種情況中：

①對一般疑問句的否定回答進一步詢問原因時。例如：

A：Do you often go to school by bike?

B:No, I dont.

A:Why not?(=Why dont you go to school by bike?)

②對反意疑問句的否定回答進一步詢問原因時。例如：

A：You havent finished your homework, have you?

B: No, I havent.

A: Why not?(=Why havent you finished it?)

③ 對否定陳述句詢問原因時。例如：

A：I cant finish this work in two days.

B:Why not?(=Why cant you finish it in two days?)

④對表示建議、提議的回答時，形式上是否定，實際上是一種強調肯定的語氣。例如：

A：Could you come with me?

B:Why not?(=I can go with you.) 三、why除了用作疑問句之外，還可以用作引導詞（又稱感嘆句）放在句首或句中作插入語，表示驚奇等各種各樣的情緒，不譯為「為什麼」，根據上下文它可以有「喲，啊呀，哎呀，嗨，噢，呃，啊唷」等不同譯法。例如：

①「....」 「Next Friday? Why, whats happening?」「……。」「下星期五？啊，有什麼事嗎？」

②Why! I thought you were in London.哎呀！我還以為你在倫敦呢！

③Why, its quite easy! A child could do it!唔，那是相當容易的！小孩子也會做它！

④Why,what did she say?呃，她說什麼？ 四、why 還可用在書和文章的標題中用一種不規範的句子語序也是符合語法的。例如：

Why I am learning English?

我為什麼學習英語？

Why the bat comes out only at night?

為什麼蝙蝠只在夜裡出來？

五、用「why＋不定式」時，不定式的動詞常是不及物動詞。例如：

He doesnt know why to go there.

他不知道為什麼去那裡。 六、why在口語中可以用作賓語。例如：

Tell me why.

告訴我為什麼。

I dont know why.

我不知道為什麼。

---

「This reprieve is welcome. The backdrop is foxes in rapid decline despite the 12-year hunting ban」 In any event, the classic 「pest control」 argument for hunting has had no teeth for some time. For example, there was no hunting for nearly a year during the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak when other forms of fox control were also curtailed. Yet fox numbers did not rise. Economic gains to farmers from predation on rabbits have also been shown.

Word ＆ Expression

1. Classic

• ADJ?A classic example of a thing or situation has all the features which you expect such a thing or situation to have. 典型的
• The debate in the press has been a classic example of hypocrisy.

新聞界的這場爭論是虛偽的典型例子。

• ADJ?A classic film, piece of writing, or piece of music is of very high quality and has become a standard against which similar things are judged. 經典的
• the classic childrens film Huckleberry Finn.

經典的兒童影片《哈克貝利?芬》。

• 片語：classic style古典風格

classic music古典音樂

2. Curtail

• V.?If you curtail something, you reduce or limit it. 縮減
• NATO plans to curtail the number of troops being sent to the region.

北大西洋公約組織計劃縮減派往該地的部隊數量。

---

Sadly, evidence seems to play a minor role in the debate. A hard core of Tories remain committed to a resumption and, according to animal welfare groups, fox hunts routinely flout the law under the guise of 「trail hunting」. Fox hunting is far from being consigned to history. But, if the political pundits have got it right, it looks as if its most prominent political supporter of late will soon find herself hounded to the point of exhaustion, cornered and torn apart.

Word ＆ Expression

1. Resumption

• 恢復
• Both countries are now hoping for a quick resumption of diplomatic relations.

現在兩國都希望儘快恢復外交關係。

2. Guise

• N.?You use guise to refer to the outward appearance or form of someone or something, which is often temporary or different from their real nature. 偽裝
• He turned up at an Easter party in the guise of a white rabbit.

他以白兔的裝扮出席復活節聚會。

• 片語：under the guise of以…為幌子

in the guise of假借

3. Pundit

• N.?A pundit is a person who knows a lot about a subject and is often asked to give information or opinions about it to the public. 權威; 專家
• a well-known political pundit.

一位著名的政治權威

• 片語：Media pundit 時事評論員

更多精讀文章

關注微信公眾號「神滬小烏龜」

http://weixin.qq.com/r/IzjH38jEopXdrYy8920x (二維碼自動識別)

推薦閱讀：