2009年7月24日金曜日

Privacy of Pets

Site: USA Today Off Beat

Topic: New cat rocks the old cat's cradle

Key Words: 

  • cradle: ゆりかご
  • comeuppance: 当然の報い、 天罰
  • align: …を一直線に並べる、整列させる
  • whatsoever = whatever: (名詞の後に置いて)まったく
  • unglued: はがれた、 ばらばらになった

I think cats need the place where they can be relieved. We should protect their privacy for their health. I love pet talk, especially about cat. I will read lots of article like this for improving my reading skills during summer vacation!!

Yowling Cat

Site: USA Today Off Beat
Topic: The cat's yowl is not the cat's meow
Key Words:
  • yowl: 長く悲しげに鳴く、悲痛な声を出す
  • strangle: …を絞め殺す、窒息させる
  • intestine: 腸
  • flip: …をピンとはじく
  • staircase: 手すり
  • yawn: あくびをする

As one woman's cat were yawling on midnight,  she thought her cat was being killed. So she went to the place were the cat slept, but there was the cat in an ordinary manner. It occurs most often with cats that have not been spayed or neutered. The former because they seek attention and the latter because they sometimes have problems because of old age. What we can do for this problem is to sterilize the cat and to deny the cat access to windows that provide a view of all that animal movement. This article was very helpful because I have two cats.

2009年7月10日金曜日

Mice

Site: BBC LEARNING ENGLISH
Topic: How mice went global
Key Words:

  • colonize: …に植民地を建設する
  • originate: 起る、生じる
  • rodent: かむ、かじる
  • absolutely: 完全に、まったく
  • cosmopolitan: 全世界的な、多くの人から成る
  • chromosome: 染色体
  • seafaring: 船乗り業、船旅
  • colonist: 植民地開拓者、入植者
  • accidentally: 偶然に、誤って

This article says that we can know about human migration and where early colonists. This is because the colonists accidentally took their home-grown mice, and mice have DNA and genetic patterns that can be identified and classified like humans. Though mice are usually hated, they help us. So I think peopole should a little thank mice.

2009年6月19日金曜日

Pheromones

Site: HOW Life WORKS
Topic: Pheromones: The Scientific Explanation for Sexual Attraction
Key Words:

  • nasal: 鼻の
  • cavity: 空洞、穴 
  • detect: 見つける、見抜く
  • tally: スコアブック、得点
  • distort: ゆがめる
  • detergent: 洗剤
  • antiperspirant: 発刊抑制剤
  • code: 法典、規約
  • desolate: 荒れた、不幸な、わびしい

Comments: This article says that all people have the pheromones which attract a person of the opposite sex. Recerchers did experiment to examine which person are more popular among women, men with pheromones scent or men with no scent. Men with pheromones scent overwhelmningly won. I am so surprised and I think people are naive.

2009年6月12日金曜日

Cat and Red Panda

Activity one
Site: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS
Topic: Cat Nurses Red Panda
Key words learned:

  • whisker: ほおひげ
  • hiss: シューっと音を出す
  • caterwaul: ネコがギャーギャー鳴く
  • catcall: ネコの鳴き声、ひやかし
  • whistle: 口笛を吹く
  • wart: いぼ
  • bear: (人、物を)…へ向かって運ぶ、持っていく、支える、身につける
  • fate: 運命の力
  • take over: 引き継ぐ、優勢になる
  • transaction: 処理、処置

Comments: This video says that this case which a cat nurses red pandas is an unexected occurrence. This is a pretty and emotional content. It is so interesiting!