【英语趣味课堂】骑马-The Horse Ride

Jessica: Ashley have you ever been horsebackriding?

 

Ashley: Yes, I've actually been horseback riding a numbr of times. My grandparents have horses and my uncle. Actually, there was this one time where I was in Idaho visiting for the summer and my uncle, my grandpa took me on a horseback ride, a whole day trip kind of thing, and you know I'm not so great at the horsebackriding thing, you know, I get a little scared. Horses are pretty big animals, and um, so we were, it was beautiful. We were in the mountains, and we were going up this hill, this trail¹ and we got to the top. You know the weather was beautiful when we started out, of course, it always is. We get to the top of the mountain and it starts to rain. Well not only does it start to rain, it starts to pour, and we hear the Thunder in the distance, and the horses get a little scared and the one I was on got really scared, and I look around and my uncle is taking shelter² under a tree, and I'm looking around and we're on the very, very top of this ridge³ of mountains, the top, like, the highest point, you know, and the lightning is coming and I see the only tree that hasn't been struck by lighting⁴ is the one that my uncle is under with his horse and I'm scared and the horse is going crazy and I'm holding on and I'm thinking, "Oh, my God! I'm going to die!" But we got under the tree and we got down to a lower⁵ ridge and we made it, but it was scary⁶.

 

Jessica: So how apt⁷ were you to go back on that horse after that?

 

Ashley: Oh, well, I went, we finished the ride, and it was fine, after that you know, mountain storms, they come and go so quickly. By the time we got down the mountain we were dry and hot from the sun. But you know, got back on the horse the next day.

 

学习内容：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

a number of times

 

I've gone horseback riding a number of times.

 

If you have done something 'a number of times' you have done it more than a couple or a few.  This phrase⁸ is very similar to 'many times.'  You can use 'a number of' in front of any noun⁹ to mean many. Notice the following:

 

We have been to Florida a number of times and it's never been this cold.

I called you a number of times yesterday. Where were you?

start out

 

The weather was beautiful when we started out.

 

We use 'start out' to talk about beginning a journey or trip.  Notice the following:

 

We need to start out around 6 AM tomorrow.

He started out for home a little late because he had to finish up some things at work.

in the distance

 

We could hear the thunder in the distance.

 

If something is far from you, but still close enough to see, hear or feel, then it is in the distance. Notice the following:

 

I think I can see a gas station in the distance.

The beach was so beautiful and you could see the mountains in the distance.

look around or take shelter

 

I looked around and saw my uncle taking shelter under a tree.

 

to 'look around' means¹⁰ to look for something by moving our heads or bodies to see different areas.  When you hide under something to protect yourself you are 'taking shelter.' Notice the following:

 

I am going to look around for a present for your father.

We can take shelter in that old farm house if the rain gets really bad.

make it

 

We made it, but it was scary.

 

We use 'make it' like this to mean 'survive.' In a less severe¹¹ sense it can mean to 'succeed' or 'escape.' Notice the following:

 

Our team made it to the championship game.

For a few days I wasn't sure my dog was going to make it.

1 trail   

n.踪迹，痕迹，一串，尾部，小径，尾，持枪姿势；vt.拖，尾随，追踪，落后于

参考例句：

• The car raised a trail of dust.汽车掀起了一股尘土。
• The hound found the trail of the rabbit.猎狗发现了兔子的踪迹。

2 shelter   

n.掩蔽，掩蔽处，避身处；庇护所，避难所，庇护；vt.庇护，保护，隐匿；vi.躲避

参考例句：

• We took shelter from the rain in a cave.我们在一个山洞里避雨。
• Trees are a shelter from the sun.树木可以遮挡阳光。

3 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

4 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

5 lower   

adj.较低的；地位较低的，低等的；低年级的；下游的；vt.放下，降下，放低；减低

参考例句：

• Society is divided into upper,middle and lower classes.社会分为上层、中层和下层阶级。
• This price is his minimum;he refuses to lower it any further.这个价格是他开的最低价，他拒绝再作任何降价。

6 scary   

a.引起惊慌的；害怕的

参考例句：

• What animal do you think is the most scary?你认为什么动物最可怕？
• Are you afraid of scary movies?你害怕恐怖电影吗？

7 apt   

adj.易于，有...倾向，恰当的，聪明的

参考例句：

• Beginners are too apt to make mistakes in grammar.初学者极易犯语法错误。
• He is the most apt of all pupils.他是所有学生中最聪明的一个。

8 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。

9 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

10 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

11 severe   

adj.严格的，凶猛的，严肃的，严重的，严厉的，朴素的

参考例句：

• The severe storm did for most of the crops.猛烈的暴风雨毁掉了大部分庄稼。
• The pace was too severe to be kept up for long.跟上这步伐太难了，无法持久。