雅思口语高频话题解析：Interesting Animal

 　　Describe an interesting animal.

　　You should say:

　　what animal it is①

　　where it lives (or, you have seen it)②

　　what it looks like③

　　and explain your feelings about this animal.④

　　其实这道题与2007年的Describe a wild animal大同小异，甚至是几乎不变。仅仅是变了一下脸，就继续拿出来作为2008年的新题。其实还是考察考生对事物题中，动物的描述。建议考生在准备的时候变通一下，把此题当作wild animal来准备。原因很简单：有趣的动物不一定是野生动物，而野生动物却可以很有趣。

　　The Beauty ---- Mandarin¹ ducks

　　I happened to meet the Mandarin Ducks over the years in the wild area of Ampere² Garden, in ponds along the big drainage. And, I'm 100% sure they were not normal Ducks. It was 'in the wild' and free to fly off whenever it wanted to!

　　The male mandarin duck is way more colorful, his breast is purple with two vertical³ white bars and the flanks ruddy, with two orange “sails” at the back. The female is similar to female Wood Duck, all dark green brown. Male Mandarin ducks are considered by many to be the most beautifully colored of all waterfowl.

　　In China, the mandarin duck is associated as a Chinese weddings symbol, because it symbolizes⁴ wedded⁵ bliss⁶ and fidelity⁷. A Chinese proverb for loving couples uses the Mandarin Duck as a metaphor⁸: “Two mandarin ducks playing in water”. Mandarin ducks are always depicted¹⁰ in a pair – it is said that if the ducks were separated, they would pine for each other and die of loneliness. Dying of loneliness for love might only be a romantic myth and a cheerful reflection of people's attitude to reality.

　　Anyway, I love these lovely creatures; I wish I could raise one.

　　需要掌握的词汇:

　　drainage: (河流的)流域, 排水区

　　vertical: 纵向的

　　ruddy: 红色的

　　waterfowl: 水鸟，水禽

　　wedded bliss: 婚姻美满

　　fidelity: 忠贞

　　depict⁹: 描绘

　　myth: 神话

　　备选内容:

　　where it lives (or, you have seen it)②

　　Not at a zoo. This little beauty (and its mate) had unexpectedly flown into a countryside park that I happened to be visiting.

　　what it looks like③

　　The adult male is a striking and unmistakable bird.

　　Mandarin duck is known as a perching duck and prefers more of a wooded atmosphere, but it also must have a pond along with that.

　　and explain your feelings about this animal.④

　　Mandarin Ducks form a strong attachment¹¹ to their partners; hence, they are also an emblem¹² of conjugal¹³ fidelity. A pair of Mandarin Ducks is excellent symbols for keeping love alive.

　　Mandarin Ducks, which are referred to by the Chinese as Yuan-yang (simplified Chinese: 鸳鸯; traditional Chinese: 鸳鸯; pinyin: yuān yāng), are frequently featured in Oriental art and are regarded as a symbol of conjugal affection and fidelity.

　　Love at first sight – these mandarin ducks are seen to be deeply absorbed in each other, emitting a feeling of intense and true love. Mandarin ducks are potent¹⁴ symbols of love, affection, fidelity and devotion. This translates to loving couples and marital¹⁵ bliss. But in reality, though, the ducks find new partners each year.

　　Mandarin Ducks are very popular symbols of love and fidelity. They are always seen in pairs, signifying loving couples and marital bliss. The transmitted loving energy is said to be able to create a happy and harmonious¹⁶ marriage.

1 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

2 ampere   

n.(电)安培

参考例句：

• This piece of equipment needs a thirty-ampere fuse.这设备需要30安培的熔丝。
• The units in which we show voltage and current are volt and ampere respectively.我们用以表示电压和电流的单位分别为伏特和安培。

3 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

4 symbolizes   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The use of light and dark symbolizes good and evil. 用光明与黑暗来象征善与恶。
• She likes olive because It'symbolizes peace. 她喜欢橄榄色因为它象征着和平。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 wedded   

adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She's wedded to her job. 她专心致志于工作。
• I was invited over by the newly wedded couple for a meal. 我被那对新婚夫妇请去吃饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

7 fidelity   

n.忠诚，忠实；精确

参考例句：

• There is nothing like a dog's fidelity.没有什么能比得上狗的忠诚。
• His fidelity and industry brought him speedy promotion.他的尽职及勤奋使他很快地得到晋升。

8 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

9 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

10 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

11 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

12 emblem   

n.象征，标志；徽章

参考例句：

• Her shirt has the company emblem on it.她的衬衫印有公司的标记。
• The eagle was an emblem of strength and courage.鹰是力量和勇气的象征。

13 conjugal   

adj.婚姻的，婚姻性的

参考例句：

• Conjugal visits are banned,so marriages break down.配偶访问是禁止的，罪犯的婚姻也因此破裂。
• Conjugal fate is something delicate.缘分，其实是一种微妙的东西。

14 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

15 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

16 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。