Flying Cats 飛貓
Cats never fail to fascinate human beings. They can be friendly and affectionate towards humans, but they lead mysterious lives of their own as well. They never become submissive like dogs and horses. As a result, humans have learned to respect feline independence. Most cats remain suspicious of humans all their lives. One of the things that fascinates us most about cats is the popular belief that they have nine lives. Apparently, there is a good deal of truth in this idea. A cat's ability to survive falls is based on fact.
Recently the New York Animal Medical Center made a study of 132 cats over a period of five months. All these cats had one experience in common: they had fallen off high buildings, yet only eight of them died from shock or injuries. Of course, New York is the ideal place for such an interesting study, because there is no shortage of tall buildings. There are plenty of high-rise windowsills to fall from! One cat, Sabrina, fell 32 storeys, yet only suffered from a broken tooth. 'Cats behave like well-trained paratroopers.' a doctor said. It seems that the further cats fall, the less they are likely to injure themselves. In a long drop, they reach speeds of 60 miles an hour and more. At high speeds, falling cats have time to relax. They stretch out their legs like flying squirrels. This increases their air-resistance and reduces the shock of impact when they hit the ground.
10. All these cats had one experience in common: they had fallen off high buildings, yet only eight of them died from shock or injuries.
所有這些貓有一個共同的經(jīng)歷：它們都曾從高層建筑上摔下來過，但只有其中的8只貓死于震蕩或跌傷。
語言點1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:in common作賓語 one experience作賓語。冒號后的內(nèi)容是一個解釋性的句子，對one experience in common作具體說明。
語言點2:have…in common 表示“在…方面有共同之處”
例句支持:
The two tennis players,elder Williams and younger Williams,have a great deal in common. 大威廉姆斯和小威廉姆斯這兩名網(wǎng)球選手有很多共同之處。
11. Of course, New York is the ideal place for such an interesting study, because there is no shortage of tall buildings.
當然，紐約是進行這種有趣的試驗的一個理想的地方，因為那里根本不缺乏高樓大廈，有的是高層的窗檻從上往下墜落。
語言點1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:of course放在句首作狀語，起強調(diào)作用。句中把New York說成the ideal place，看似簡單，其實是一種經(jīng)典的修辭格-暗喻。
語言點2:句中ideal的意思是“理想的，完美的”，該詞雖然是形容詞，但沒有比較級和級形式。
12．There are plenty of high-rise windowsills to fall from!
有的是高層的窗檻從上往下墜落。
語言點1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:上一句中用no shortage of這個雙重否定形式來表示肯定，本句直接用plenty of表示肯定，意思雖然相同，但上句的雙重否定形式能更突出要強調(diào)的內(nèi)容。
語言點2:to fall from為典型的不及物動詞的不定式作定語的用法。
Cats never fail to fascinate human beings. They can be friendly and affectionate towards humans, but they lead mysterious lives of their own as well. They never become submissive like dogs and horses. As a result, humans have learned to respect feline independence. Most cats remain suspicious of humans all their lives. One of the things that fascinates us most about cats is the popular belief that they have nine lives. Apparently, there is a good deal of truth in this idea. A cat's ability to survive falls is based on fact.
Recently the New York Animal Medical Center made a study of 132 cats over a period of five months. All these cats had one experience in common: they had fallen off high buildings, yet only eight of them died from shock or injuries. Of course, New York is the ideal place for such an interesting study, because there is no shortage of tall buildings. There are plenty of high-rise windowsills to fall from! One cat, Sabrina, fell 32 storeys, yet only suffered from a broken tooth. 'Cats behave like well-trained paratroopers.' a doctor said. It seems that the further cats fall, the less they are likely to injure themselves. In a long drop, they reach speeds of 60 miles an hour and more. At high speeds, falling cats have time to relax. They stretch out their legs like flying squirrels. This increases their air-resistance and reduces the shock of impact when they hit the ground.
10. All these cats had one experience in common: they had fallen off high buildings, yet only eight of them died from shock or injuries.
所有這些貓有一個共同的經(jīng)歷：它們都曾從高層建筑上摔下來過，但只有其中的8只貓死于震蕩或跌傷。
語言點1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:in common作賓語 one experience作賓語。冒號后的內(nèi)容是一個解釋性的句子，對one experience in common作具體說明。
語言點2:have…in common 表示“在…方面有共同之處”
例句支持:
The two tennis players,elder Williams and younger Williams,have a great deal in common. 大威廉姆斯和小威廉姆斯這兩名網(wǎng)球選手有很多共同之處。
11. Of course, New York is the ideal place for such an interesting study, because there is no shortage of tall buildings.
當然，紐約是進行這種有趣的試驗的一個理想的地方，因為那里根本不缺乏高樓大廈，有的是高層的窗檻從上往下墜落。
語言點1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:of course放在句首作狀語，起強調(diào)作用。句中把New York說成the ideal place，看似簡單，其實是一種經(jīng)典的修辭格-暗喻。
語言點2:句中ideal的意思是“理想的，完美的”，該詞雖然是形容詞，但沒有比較級和級形式。
12．There are plenty of high-rise windowsills to fall from!
有的是高層的窗檻從上往下墜落。
語言點1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:上一句中用no shortage of這個雙重否定形式來表示肯定，本句直接用plenty of表示肯定，意思雖然相同，但上句的雙重否定形式能更突出要強調(diào)的內(nèi)容。
語言點2:to fall from為典型的不及物動詞的不定式作定語的用法。