Vocabulary Idioms & Phrases

Reading～Paragraphs 6-12

Post-reading

Listen to paragraphs 6-12.

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Now,answer the following questions.

What is a person likelyto be if he is like a mouse?

When a person is like a mouse, he is very likely to be quiet oract as a coward.

What does it mean if you call somebody a chicken?

It means he/she has no courage.

What does a white elephant mean?

A white elephant means something that is of no use.

Reading

The subjects of many proverbs are animals.

The subjects of many proverbs are animals. → Many proverbs have/use animals as their subjects.

Here are some: “When the cat is away, the micewill play.”

原句 =→ When the person who is in charge of a group is away, members of the group will take advantage of his/her absence and do things they would not normally do when he/she

is around. • When the boss is away, all the workers give themselves a long lunch break.

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Similar Proverbs : A sleepy master makes his servant a lout. The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands. It is the bridle and spur that makes a good horse.

“Let sleeping dogs lie.”原句 =→ If a fierce dog is asleep, you should not awaken it or it may bite you.

Similar Proverbs :Wake not a sleeping lion.Leave well alone.Kindle not a fire that you cannot extinguish.

“You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”

原句 =→ You may provide your horse with water, but if he doesn’t want to drink, you cannot do anything about it.→ Leading a horse to water is one thing and making him drink it is quite another.

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Similar Proverbs :A willful man will have his way.You may force a man to shuthis eyes but you can’t make him sleep.You can behead a man but you can’t shut his mouth. (Chinese proverb)

Which proverbs have animals as their subjects in your own language?

原句 =→ Do you know which/what proverbs in your own language have/use animals as their subjects?

which通常指「在有限數量中的一個或一些」；若所指的並非在有限數量中，則多用 what。

You have already seen the expression “as quiet as a mouse.” There are a lot of similar expressions with “as...as....”They are called similes.

原句 = → There are many expressions which similarly use the pattern “as…as…”

“As proud as a peacock” is a simile with a bird as its subject.

原句 =→ A simile which has/uses a bird as its subject can be illustrated by the expression as proud as a peacock.

This shows that in English the image of the peacock can mean not only beauty but also pride.

not only...but (also)... = not just...but (also)...為對等連接詞，通常介系詞置於此對等連接詞後不省略。• Nowadays, employers are thinking

not only of attracting staff, but (also) of keeping them.

A chicken has an image of fearfulness or cowardice. If you call somebody a chicken, it means he is a coward, not brave enough to do something.

Some fish have special images in English. One of them is a shark.

原句 =→ Some fish have special images in English, one of which is a shark.

We may call people sharks if they deal with others unfairly, such as by tricking them out of their money.

原句 =→ People are called sharks on conditi

on that they are nasty and mean to others.

Two kinds of insects have the image of being very busy: bees and ants. Therefore, you can describe a person who has a lot of work to do by saying, “She’s as busy as a bee.”

原句 =→ Consequently, you can describe a person who has/with a heavy workload as a busy bee.

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其他含動物的英文諺語有：Able to kick the eye out of a mosquito.技藝超倫。Love me, love my dog.　愛屋及烏。A snake in the grass.　暗藏敵人。Cast sheep’s eyes at sb.　暗送秋波。Put the cart before the horse. 本末倒置。To be a regular oyster. 沉默寡言。Turn the pigs into the clover.　避而不答。If a donkey brays at you, don’t bray at him.別和他一般見識。You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.　朽木不可雕。No bees, no honey; no work, no money.　沒有耕耘，哪來收穫。

Every language has words and expressions which describethe characteristics of some animals. Sometimes these animals have the same images in a foreign language as they do in Chinese; sometimes they don’t. 

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Post-reading

Reading for the Main IdeaCheck ( ) the main idea of the reading._____ 1. A simile is an expression which makes a comparison between two persons or things by using “as. . . as. . . .”_____ 2. Different cultures hold different ideas about animals. So they may characterize the same animals in different ways._____ 3. Chinese and Japanese animals look very different from those in America or Britain.

Topics for Discussion

Discussion 1:

Try to think of some

similes or proverbs

(in English and Chinese)

that refer to animals.

as quiet as a mouseas proud as a peacockas busy as a beeas sly as a foxas slow/sure as a turtleas shy/cowardly as a mouseas noisy as a herd of elephantsas useless as a white elephantas cowardly as a chickenas greedy as a shark

Reference answers :

as cold as a fish 冷淡 as poor as a church mouse 一貧如洗 Curiosity killed the cat. 好奇足以喪命。　You can‘t teach an old dog new tricks. 老狗玩不出新把戲。　

Reference answers :

Every dog has his day. 困龍也有上天時，凡人皆有得意日。　 Don't count your chickens before they are hatched. 別打如意算盤。　

Reference answers :Barking dogs seldom bite. 會叫的狗不咬人。　 Dog does not eat dog. 同類不相殘。　 A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 二鳥在林不如一鳥在手。　 Birds of a feather flock together. 物以類聚。　Chinese ：如虎添翼、如魚得水、 虎父無犬子、 狗眼看人低、好狗不與雞鬥、好馬不吃回頭草、兔子不吃窩邊草、又要馬兒跑，又要馬兒不吃草、 龍生龍， 鳳生鳳，老鼠生的兒子會打洞。

Discussion 2: Choose some animal images to describe yourself or your classmates.

Reference answer :Hello, I’m Mouse Girl. I live in a tiny hole in a house. I only come out of my hole when I have to. I’m afraid of the cat in the house. She’s mean and tries to catch me. She is my enemy. If she sees me, I freeze and stay quiet. I stay out of her way.

Reference answer : Otherwise, she pounces. I look forward to becoming a biggermouse so I can move out of my mouse hole and will not be afraid in my own house. As a mouse, I feel safe in a corner but when I come out I have to scurry and sneak in order not to be seen. I feel like no one sees

Reference answer : me and when I open my mouth I feel like only little squeaks come out. I like watching and I see a lot of things other people miss. Sometimes I feel cute and little and sometimes I feel gray and dull. I don’t know how to get bigger. I worry about being stepped on if I come out. Back