A small village was troubled by a maneating lion。So its leaders sent a message to the great hunter,Jones,to come and kill the beast。
For several nights the hunter lay in wait for the lion,but it never appeared。Finally,he told the village chief to kill a cow and give him its hide。Draping the skin over his shoulders,he went to the pasture to wait for the lion。
In the middle of the night,the villagers woke to the sound of bloodcurdling shrieks coming from the pasture。As they carefully approached,they saw the hunter on the ground,groaning in pain。There was no sign of the lion。
“What happened,Jones?Where is the lion?”asked the chief。
“Forget the damn lion!”he howled。“Which one of you idiots let the bull loose?”
琼斯――伟大的猎手
有个小村庄正为一只吃人的狮子而烦恼。于是,村长派人去请伟大的猎手琼斯来杀死这只野兽。
猎手躺着等了几个晚上,但狮子一直没有出现。最后,他要求村长杀只母牛然后把皮给他。把母牛皮披在身上后,猎人到草原上去等狮子。
半夜,村民被从草原传来的声嘶力竭的尖叫声惊醒。他们小心地靠近后,看到猎手正躺在草地上痛苦地呻吟。没有狮子出没的蛛丝马迹。
“琼斯,怎么了?狮子在哪儿?”村长问。
“哪儿有狮子!”猎人怒吼道。“哪个傻瓜把公牛放出来了?”
beast[bi:st]n。兽;讨厌的人,粗野凶残的人
例:There are wild beasts in the mountains。山中有野兽。
drape[dreip]vt。将(衣物、帘等)悬挂,披;遮盖或装饰某人或某物;将某物随便围在或放在另一物上
例:She draped a shawl over her shoulders。她把一条披巾披在肩膀上。
pasture[p?:st]n。牧草地,牧场;牧草
例:Horses are grazing in the pasture。马儿正在牧场上吃草。
curdle[k:dl]v。凝固
例:Lemon juice curdles milk。柠檬汁可使牛奶结成凝乳。
shriek[ri:k]vt。&vi。尖叫n。尖叫声
例:They were all shrieking with laughter。他们都发出了尖锐的笑声。
groan[grun]vi。呻吟;发牢骚,抱怨;受苦,受折磨
例:She’s always groaning on about how much she has to do。她总抱怨自己干很多活儿。
idiot[idit]n。傻子,笨蛋;白痴
例:She always makes a mess of things;she is an idiot!她总是把事情弄糟,真是个大笨蛋!
cattle:牛,畜牛(集合用法,cows,bulls,oxen等的总称)。
cow:母牛,(尤指)奶牛;(美俚)肥胖而不重修饰的丑女人
ox:(pl。oxen)阉牛(被阉割的肉食或劳役用的公牛)
bull:公牛(未阉的公牛)
beef:牛肉(ox,bull,cow的肉)
含有damn的口语用法
1.Damn it。
表示焦躁或厌烦等,意为“讨厌!该死!他妈的!糟了!见鬼!”,如:
Damn it!I forgot to turn off the gas。该死!我忘了关煤气。
Damn it!The noise is driving me crazy!讨厌!这噪音令我发疯!
2.I’ll be[I’m]damned if……
表示拒绝或强烈否定,意为“我决不……;要是……我就不是人”,如:
I’m damned if I steal your purse。我要是偷了你的钱包我就不是人。
I’ll be damned if I lend him money again。我决不再借给他钱了。
3.Well,I’ll be[I’m]damned。
表示惊奇,意为“啊,真想不到!万万没想到!我太吃惊了”,如:
Well,I’ll be damned,he made the same mistake!啊,真没想到,他犯了同样的错误!
Well,I’m damned,he refused to support his old mother。万万没想到,他拒绝赡养他年迈的母亲。