【英语趣味课堂】非洲的野生生物-African Wildlife

Shirley: David, so earlier, I was telling you I've always wanted to go to Africa and I'm just wondering, is that whole safari¹ scene the cliche²...

David: It's not a cliche, but it's something real you have to experience when you get there on the safari. What you see on National Geographic³ and this ... you know .. documentaries is true. It's nothing ... it's not anything that ... they wouldn't show you that's not true that you'll find in Kenya.

 

Shirley: Wow! So I could be just out there ... what driving around in my car and on my own just seeing all those animals?

 

David: No, you don't get to drive in your own car. They provide services for you like ... we have like for instance in Kenya we have an institute called KWS: Kenya Wildlife Service that does that and it has its own warders that are highly trained to protect you when you're in the forest.

 

Shirley: OK, so the tourists are kind of regulated?

 

David: Yeah, sort of.

 

Shirley: All right. So what could I expect to see if I go out?

 

David: You can expect to see the wildlife itself: animals in their own habitat, some sleeping, some walking, some hunting. You never know. It depends on the time when you're doing your safari.

 

Shirley: Am I gonna get chased by a rhinoceros⁴?

 

David: No, they actually don't chase you cause, you know, most of the time you're just passing by. You're not disturbing them, but at times you get into contact with animals. You know, animals live in packs, so when one animal is excommunicated from its pack, it's an angry animal. For instance, buffalo⁵, so when you find one buffalo by itself, that's not a really nice thing.

 

Shirley: So, what would happen if I found a buffalo by itself?

 

David: That's what we call a charged buffalo. It's really angry. It's been excommunicated from it's pack and it cannot join the other pack so it attacks at anything, you see, sometimes they are really dangerous and that's why you need the game warders who carry like ammunitions just to protect the tourists.

 

Shirley: Wow! Really! So what's the chance of me getting attacked by a wild animal?

 

David: One in a million. But you never know. You can never rule these things out.

 

Shirley: So it doesn't happen very often?

 

David: It doesn't happen very often but at times in the past it's happened.

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

cliché

 

The whole safari scene cliché.

 

A cliché is something we see or hear so often that it is no longer special or interesting.  Note the following:

 

The whole L.A. club scene is cliché.

Action movies are so cliché.

regulate

 

The tourists are kind of regulated.

 

Something that is regulated is controlled by government rules.  Note the following:

 

The government needs to regulate the fishing industry.

My father's job is to regulate the national forests.

pack

 

When one animal is excluded from its pack, it's an angry animal.

 

Here, the word pack means a large group.  Note the following:

 

They were attacked by a pack of dogs.

A pack of teenagers always stand on that street corner.

one in a million

 

Getting attacked by a wild animal is one in a million. But you never know.

 

The phrase 'one in a million' means that there is a very small chance that something will happen.  Note the following:

 

Your chances of winning the lottery⁶ are one in a million.

He has a one in a million shot at getting a date with her.

rule ... out

 

You can never rule these things out.

 

When we rule something out that means we decide it is impossible or will not happen.  Note the following:

 

We can't rule out rain so let's take an umbrella.

If things don't improve, I won't rule out quitting.

1 safari   

n.远征旅行(探险、考察)；探险队，狩猎队

参考例句：

• When we go on safari we like to cook on an open fire.我们远行狩猎时，喜欢露天生火做饭。
• They went on safari searching for the rare black rhinoceros.他们进行探险旅行，搜寻那稀有的黑犀牛。

2 cliche   

n./a.陈词滥调(的)；老生常谈(的)；陈腐的

参考例句：

• You should always try to avoid the use of cliche. 你应该尽量避免使用陈词滥调。
• The old cliche is certainly true:the bigger car do mean bigger profits.有句老话倒的确说得不假:车大利大。

3 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 rhinoceros   

n.犀牛

参考例句：

• The rhinoceros has one horn on its nose.犀牛鼻子上有一个角。
• The body of the rhinoceros likes a cattle and the head likes a triangle.犀牛的形体像牛，头呈三角形。

5 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

6 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。