学读[VOA]When the Cat’s Away

本帖于 2009-10-04 07:37:47 时间, 由版主 林贝卡 编辑


Cats are the most popular pets among Americans. So it is not surprising that there are many expressions about cats. Some cats like to catch small birds, like canaries. If someone looks very proud or satisfied with himself, we say he looks like the cat that ate the canary.  

Sometimes, a cat likes to play with a small animal it catches.

So if you play cat and mouse with someone,you change between different kinds of behavior when dealing with another person. For example, a child might offer something sweet to her little brother and then take it away when he reaches for it.

A cat will often catch a small animal and present it to its owner. The saying that looks like something the cat dragged in describes something in bad condition.

Two old and funny expressions describe something that is the best or finest. Americans might say that something is the cat's meow and the cat's pajamas.

Children might call a child who is easily frightened a fraidy cat or a scaredy cat. A copycat is someone who acts just like someone else or copies another person's work. A fat cat is a person with a lot of money.   

You may have known that cats spend most of their time sleeping. Sometimes people sleep for a short time during the day.  This is called a cat nap.

If you tell about something that was supposed to be a secret, we say you let the cat out of the bag. If you are not able to speak or answer a question someone might ask if the cat has got your tongue. 

Have you ever watched children in a classroom when their teacher leaves for a few minutes? When the cat's away, the mice will play means people sometimes mi*****ehave when there is no supervision.

You may have heard this expression: curiosity killed the cat.This means being too concerned about things that are not your business might cause problems.

If your home is very small, you might say there is not enough room to swing a cat.  But you probably should not try this at home!

If you ever had cats as pets, you know it is difficult to train them or to get them to do something.  Cats are not like sheep or cows that can be moved in a group.  So we say a difficult or impossible job is like herding cats.  



请阅读更多我的博客文章>>>
  • 【It's hard to say good-bye】 Celine Dion - Paul Anka
  • 轻松一曲【Hotel California 】by Eagles - Studio Version
  • [朗诵] NCE III-52 泥巴就是泥巴
  • When a Colleague Requests a Reference - a tricky one
  • ZT 外企办公室常用接电话口语大全
  • 所有跟帖: 

    [VOA]When the Cat’s Away - 原版 -lilac09- 给 lilac09 发送悄悄话 lilac09 的博客首页 (216 bytes) () 09/30/2009 postreply 12:29:53

    回复:学读[VOA]When the Cat’s Away -eyeyey- 给 eyeyey 发送悄悄话 eyeyey 的博客首页 (70 bytes) () 09/30/2009 postreply 16:12:15

    eyeyey, thanks for your suggestion. -lilac09- 给 lilac09 发送悄悄话 lilac09 的博客首页 (200 bytes) () 09/30/2009 postreply 21:19:23

    Good reading. -YuGong- 给 YuGong 发送悄悄话 YuGong 的博客首页 (54 bytes) () 09/30/2009 postreply 21:42:17

    学会了 "a cat nap",谢谢lilac. Happy Holidays to you. -婉蕠- 给 婉蕠 发送悄悄话 婉蕠 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 10/01/2009 postreply 06:37:19

    请您先登陆,再发跟帖!