【英语趣味课堂】马匹-Horses

 Todd: Hello, Daniela, how are you tonight?

 

Daniella: Hi, Todd. I'm fine, thanks.

 

Todd: Now, you were showing me a picture of a horse.

 

Daniella: Yes.

 

Todd: And you were saying that female¹ horses and male horses are different.

 

Daniella: They behave different to me, so maybe it's just my imagination, or not but female horses, mares, are kind of cold and aggressive² towards me cause I'm a female and I kind of compete over the male coaches' affection³, that was my conclusion because male horses are so nice to me.

 

Todd: So you saying the horse can tell if it's a man or woman rider⁴.

 

Daniella: Exactly, my horse can do that. She's more affectionate towards men.

 

Todd: Really!

 

Daniella: Yeah, and she's a female.

 

Todd: So if I want to go horse riding for the first time and I'm on my own.

 

Daniella: You don't have to worry because the coach will make sure the horse will behave and it will fear the coach, at least, and it won't do anything wrong to you, but if you want to make friends with the horse you'll probably have to work out more with a male horse.

 

Todd: Really.

 

Daniella: Yeah, for me it's very difficult to become friendly with a female horse. Maybe it's just my impression. Maybe it's not true but that's my conclusion so far.

 

Todd: Well, that's good to know. Thanks.

 

学习内容：

 

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

imagination

 

Maybe it's just my imagination, but I really think horses behave differently towards me.

 

Your 'imagination' is the ability to create ideas or images in your head. Notice the following:

 

You can use your imagination and get an idea of what the experience was like.

My son has a very good imagination.

cold and aggressive

 

I find that female horses are more cold and aggressive towards me.

 

If a person or an animal is 'cold' they are not friendly or affectionate.  An 'aggressive' animal or person will attack quickly if bothered and can be violent⁵.  Sometimes we consider competitive⁶ people to be aggressive. Notice the following:

 

He can really be cold about other people's problems.

His behavior is very aggressive and he gets in a lot of fights.

compete (for) attention

 

It may be because I kind of compete over the male coaches' affection.

 

If you are 'competing for attention' from someone there are other things that might be interesting or call for their attention, but you want their attention focused⁷ on you.  Notice the following:

 

Sometimes the students compete for attention in the classroom.

My brother and sister are always competing for my father's attention.

affectionate

 

My horse is more affectionate towards men.

 

An 'affectionate' animal or person shows a lot of love, usually through physical contact. Notice the following:

 

You should try to be more affectionate in your relationship.

My elderly⁸ neighbor is very affectionate with her grandchildren⁹.

work out

 

You'll probably have to work out more with a male horse.

 

In this case 'work out' is like exercise or train with the horse.  Notice the following:

 

We started to work out together a few months ago, but I was comfortable riding her immediately.

Have you tried working out on this machine yet?

 

 

 

1 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

2 aggressive   

adj.侵略的，好斗的；敢作敢为的

参考例句：

• You'd better keep the two aggressive boys apart.你最好把那两个好斗的男孩分开。
• These fish are very aggressive.这些鱼极具攻击性。

3 affection   

n.喜爱；爱慕，感情；倾向，意向

参考例句：

• The handsome young man excited affection in a girl.那位英俊的年轻男子引起了一个女孩的爱慕之情。
• He has a deep affection for his old friend.他对老朋友感情很深。

4 rider   

n.骑士，附件，扶手

参考例句：

• The rider forced his horse on through the storm.骑手在暴风雨中策马前进。
• The jury added a rider to their verdict recommending mercy.陪审团在裁决后加了一条建议宽恕的附文。

5 violent   

adj.暴力的，猛烈的，激烈的，极端的，凶暴的，歪曲的

参考例句：

• The madman was violent and had to be locked up.这个精神病患者很凶暴，不得不把他锁起来。
• They caught him and gave him a violent beating.他们抓住了他，把他狠狠打了一顿。

6 competitive   

adj.竞争的，比赛的，好竞争的，有竞争力的

参考例句：

• Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。

7 focused   

adj.聚焦的v.（使）集中， （使）聚集( focus的过去式和过去分词 )；调整（镜头，眼睛）焦点[焦距]以便看清；（光、声等的）焦点；集中（光束于）

参考例句：

• Research has focused on improving the car's aerodynamics. 研究的重点是改善轿车的流线型。
• The discussion focused on three main problems. 讨论集中在三个主要问题上。

8 elderly   

adj.年老的；年龄相当大的

参考例句：

• He is getting elderly.他逐渐变老了。
• The elderly man is quite energetic.这位上了年纪的老人仍精力充沛。

9 grandchildren   

n.孙子；孙（女），外孙（女）( grandchild的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He left a bequest to each of his grandchildren. 他给他的孙辈每人留下一笔遗产。
• His grandchildren afforded him his greatest pleasure in his old age. 他的孙子和孙女们在晚年的时候给了他最大的欢乐。 来自《简明英汉词典》