刘德华

听力扫障

1. quirky /kwki/ adj. 古怪的;独特的

2. yell /jel/ v. 叫喊;吼叫

3. supervisor /supvaz（r）/ n. 监督人;指导者;主管人

听下面的文章，并根据文章完成各个部分的练习。从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。文章读三遍。

1. What has made cats popular as household pets in the US？

A. Their favorable sizes.

B. Their lovely appearance.

C. Their unique personalities.

2. What abnormal function do mice have for cats apart from serving as prey？

A. Serving as a food source.

B. Working as companions.

C. Acting as entertainment tools.

3. Who is likely to be likened to a cat in the cat and mouse game？

A. A person able to control someone.

B. A man having an influence on others.

C. A cruel beast feeding on other animals.

4. What is the feature of the action in a cat and mouse game？

A. It is fierce and accurate.

B. It is repetitive and everlasting.

C. It is complicated and changeable.

5. Who can act as a playing mouse in the absence of a cat？

A. An employee far from his leaders watch.

B. A naughty boy fond of playing tricks on others.

C. A well behaved student when the teacher is away.

6. What subject does this programme focus on？

A. Current news.

B. Language study.

C. Popular cultures.

文本解说

在很多人眼里，猫是一个心灵治愈师，你只要与它对视，瞬间烦心事就无影无踪了。猫也是一个好奇的侦探，仿佛对所有的事物都充满好奇，能不断制造出属于自己的乐子。猫具有独特的个性：爱干净、天真无邪、率性而行。因为猫深受大家喜爱，所以很多国家都形成了不同的猫文化。在英语中，关于猫的习语或俚语也很多，如：“It rains cats and dogs.”（天下起了瓢泼大雨）;“Curiosity killed the cat.”（好奇心害死猫）;“like a cat on a hot tin roof”（热锅上的蚂蚁）;“no room to swing a cat”（无立锥之地）;“put/set the cat among the pigeons”（引起麻烦）;“agree like cats and dog”（像猫和狗一样合不来）;“copy cat”（盲目的模仿者）;“enough to make a cat laugh”（让人笑掉大牙）;“enough to make a cat speak”（令人惊讶）;“fat cat”（大亨）。

本文是一篇與语言学习有关的文章，主要谈的是关于“猫”的习语。文章从猫的特质谈起，引出话题，继而过渡到关于猫的习语或俚语学习上，描述了play cat and mouse with someone和“When the cats away， the mice will play！”的使用场景，阐释了猫和老鼠在对应情境中的角色定位，具有较强的趣味性。

在提高听力水平的过程中，同学们要克服文化背景知识障碍。语言是文化的一种表现形式，同学们要想学好英语，必须要了解英语国家的社会文化，储备一定的相关文化背景知识，这有助于理解所学语言。例如“You are， indeed， a lucky dog.”这句话，如果按字面翻译成汉语就是“你真是一条幸运的狗”，可是，在英语中这句话是说“你真是个幸运儿”。“狗”在这儿用来指人不但没有骂人的意思，而且还表示一种亲昵的关系。借助已有的文化背景知识，同学们可以更好地解答各类试题，增强学习英语的信心。

The Internet has taught us many things. One important lesson is this： Cats are funny， strange and often unpredictable animals. Their quirky personalities have made cats popular as household pets in homes across the United States.

And they are great hunters. Mice are often on their top five kill list. But sometimes， a cat will not kill the animal it catches. Instead， the catch becomes kind of a toy or plaything.

The cat seizes a mouse， then lets it go， catches it and lets it go. Over and over again！ It is good fun for the cat but frightening for the poor mouse.

So， if you play cat and mouse with someone， you play a power game with him. You， the person with the power， are the cat. Maybe you pretend to give the other person something he want but then take it away. You toy with him. We often call a situation like this a cat and mouse game. For example， a child might offer something sweet to her little brother and then take it away when he reaches for it.

A cat and mouse game is filled with lots of action： chases， near captures and repeated escapes. In extreme cases， a cat and mouse game is never ending.

Now， lets leave the game of cat and mouse and talk about playing in a different way.

Lets imagine a classroom filled with young children. The teacher must leave the room for a couple of minutes. At first， everyone is well behaved. But the longer the teacher is gone， the more the class acts up. It starts out slowly. Someone throws a piece of paper. A couple of students get up and walk around. Others start laughing loudly. Someone yells！ Suddenly， all of the students are doing things they would never do with the teacher in the room.

But you know what we say： When the cats away， the mice will play！

This expression means that people sometimes misbehave when no one is there to watch them. So， the teacher is the cat and the students are the mice.

We often use this expression when talking about children and parents， employees and office supervisors and even people in committed relationships.