别犯傻，a fat cat的意思竟是……

宁波市鄞州高级中学 金 琳

人类和猫共同生活了至少9，000年，猫这种生物有超级柔软的肉垫、水汪汪的大眼，以及摸起来超舒服的皮毛，“吸起来”简直让人欲罢不能。作为美国最受欢迎的宠物，cat在英语语言文化中也占有一席之地。它们到底掺和进了哪些短语里呢?一起来学习这些含有cat的表达吧。

听力扫障

1.canaryn.金丝雀

2.pajamasn.睡衣裤

3.herdv.牧放（牲畜、兽群）

扫码听测

信息匹配

一边听录音一边把下文所提供的有关内容进行匹配。需要匹配的内容是录音材料中的关键信息。

In this section， you will hear some idioms and their meanings.After hearing the text， decide which meaning would be most suitable for each idiom appearing in the text.You will hear the material twice.

1.look like the cat that ate the canary A.something in bad condition 2.play cat and mouse B.a child who is easily frightened 3.look like something the cat dragged in C.someone looking very proud or satisfied with himself 4.a scaredy-cat D.a difficult or impossible job 5.a fat cat E.change between different kinds of behavior when dealing with another person 6.herding cats F.a person with a lot of money

文本解说

本文是一篇关于语言学习的说明文，文章主要介绍了关于猫的一些英语习语和俚语。文章信息量较大，且较为繁杂，但趣味性较强。文章的首段为导入部分，介绍的是关于猫的表达十分丰富的原因，其余部分为关于猫的英语习语及俚语的含义和用法介绍。听读时，要注意对文章中提到的相关表达进行梳理。

题材文章词数文化385 难度 ★★体裁建议用时说明文7′

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，likecanaries.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“look 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'spajamas”.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 “catnap”.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 misbehave when there is no supervision （监督）.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 “herdingcats”.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

“it be not surprising that...”……不足为奇

So it is not surprising that there are many expressions about cats.因此，有许多关于猫的表达也就不足为奇了。

句中it充当的是形式主语，真正的主语是that引导的主语从句，即“There are many expressions about cats.”。

【仿写】上周的英语考试Tom过关了一点也不足为奇。